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Robert E. Thomas
Information Specialist
573-882-2480
ThomasR@missouri.edu
Published: May 25, 2006
Story Source: Karen Funkenbusch (573) 882-2731
time is no match for modern farm machinery
COLUMBIA, Mo. - No matter how fast you think your reaction time, you're no match for the speed of even slow power farm machinery, said a University of Missouri farm safety specialist.
Karen Funkenbusch lets her students learn this lesson 'first hand'. She uses an extremely accurate digital timer designed by Mark Haidekker, MU biological engineering faculty member, that mimics the control panel found on farm machinery.
Students compete to see who has the quickest hand to hit an off-switch when a green light randomly flashes red. Their exact reaction time is shown on a digital display.
Funkenbusch drives the point home with a chart that matches the student's reaction time to how many times a power take-off (PTO) has turned.
At 540 rpm, units can pull in about seven feet every second. At three-quarters of a second — the average reaction time for a human being — an operator will have been wrapped around the shaft before escaping, she said. It would be far worse with such units that turn 1,000 rpm.
"It is a common misconception that a human being can react fast enough to avoid serious injury," she said.
"I always tell them (students) that machines are always faster than they can possibly react," she said.
"Students are young and many think they are fast, but even if an operator can react in one-tenth of a second, in that short time, the PTO would have pulled in eight inches to entangle a hand or shirt sleeve," she said. 'Once entangled, there is little a person can do."
The lesson is to keep all safety shields and guards in place, especially after repairs are made, she said. Stay clear of all moving parts. Always shut off the engine before working near a PTO.
Never wear clothes that have loose sleeves or cuffs or frayed edges. Don't wear jewelry that may dangle, or jackets with drawstrings, long shoe laces or scarves. Long hair and braids also can pose hazards around PTOs.
Great care should also be used while operating augers, machinery with belts and pulleys and cornheads that pull in crops at 12 feet per second.
Reaction times may be slowed by age, physical condition and the use of alcohol or medications.
"No matter how fast the reaction time, it's never enough to avoid injury from farm equipment. You must use safety precautions," she said.
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| Laura Beach of Leonard, Mo. tests her reaction time in digital device as part of an agricultural safety class. Her time — about three-tenths of a second — is correlated by instructor Karen Funkenbusch to chart figures that indicate how much of her body would become entangled in an unshielded power take-off operating at 540 revolutions per minute during that short time. Photo credit: Steve Morse photo, University of Missouri Extension and Ag Info |
