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Publication #ABE306

 

Shortcuts are Short-sighted! or, Invest Seconds, Save Lives1

Carol J. Lehtola and Charles M. Brown2

Stepping over a power take-off instead of walking around a tractor might seem like a time-saving shortcut, but it exposes you to a much greater risk of injury or death.

Often, there's a "recommended safe way" of doing a task and a way that seems quicker but is more hazardous. Many people use the more dangerous shortcut to save time.

However, timed studies show that the time invested in doing a task safely is quite insignificant, especially when compared to the costs of injuries or possible death that could result from the extra hazards involved in the shortcut.

Taking a few seconds to do a task safely may seem inconvenient at the time, but Table 1 shows how little time it takes. Remember that every time you take a shortcut, you are rolling the dice for injury or death.

For some specific examples of the small amount of time it takes to be safe, see Table 2. To put these times in perspective, the total time invested for 100 repetitions of the task was calculated.

Table 1. 

Time Invested

Total Time for 100 Repetitions

3 seconds

5 minutes

5 seconds

10 minutes

10 seconds

17 minuntes

Remember:

Figure 1. 

Case Reports

Examples and detailed analysis of a death that resulted from an inappropriate shortcut are given in the following report:

"Farmer Dies When Entangled in Old Flight Elevator PTO Shaft." Iowa Case Report: 04IA006. Report Date: June 22, 2005. Iowa State FACE Program, Iowa State University, Iowa City, IA. <www.cdc.gov/Niosh/FACE/stateface/ia/04ia006.html>.

For More Information

For more information about tractor safety, visit the Florida AgSafe Web site: <www.flagsafe.ufl.edu>; or the National Agricultural Safety Database (NASD): <http://www.nasdonline.org/>.

This publication is a part of the Safer Tractor Operator series. A complete list of publications in this series is given below. All are available at your county Extension office, at the EDIS Web site, <http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu>, and at the Florida AgSafe Web site.

Quiz Answers: 1. False. 2. False. 3. a, b, and d.

Tables

Table 2. 
Task Time Invested

100 Repetitions

Walking down steps instead of jumping off combine

7 seconds

12 minutes

Walking around an auger instead of stepping over it

2 seconds

 3 1/2 minutes
Engaging cylinder locks on combine when working near or under head 30 seconds

50 minutes

Getting off mower to pick up something instead of leaning over to pick it up as you drive by

20 seconds

33 minutes
Remember: The time you invest in performing a task safely is minimal when you compare it to the high financial and emotional costs associated with death, injury and disability.

Footnotes

1.

This document is ABE306 (formerly AE306), one of a series of the Agricultural and Biological Engineering Department, Florida Cooperative Extension Service, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, University of Florida. First published September 2001. Minor revision: August 2006. Reviewed November 2009. Please visit the EDIS Web site at http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu.

2.

Carol J. Lehtola, associate professor and Extension Agricultural Safety Specialist, and Charles M. Brown, coordinator for information/publication services; Agricultural and Biological Engineering Department, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, University of Florida, Gainesville, 32611

The Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (IFAS) is an Equal Opportunity Institution authorized to provide research, educational information and other services only to individuals and institutions that function with non-discrimination with respect to race, creed, color, religion, age, disability, sex, sexual orientation, marital status, national origin, political opinions or affiliations. For more information on obtaining other extension publications, contact your county Cooperative Extension service.

U.S. Department of Agriculture, Cooperative Extension Service, University of Florida, IFAS, Florida A. & M. University Cooperative Extension Program, and Boards of County Commissioners Cooperating. Nick T. Place, Dean.