Sheep Shearing — Safety Guide

“‘Body stressing’, ‘hit by moving object’, ‘open wound’, and back and arm claims are proportionately higher in shearing than in all other industries.”– ‘Health and Safety in Shearing’, WorkSafe Victoria.

The sheep shearing industry has deep roots in Australia. It has a long history of hard work, long hours and unfortunately plenty of safety risks. However, it’s also a very rewarding line of work when operated in a safe environment with all necessary safeguards and procedures in place.

There are three main causes of injury to staff in Australian shearing operations; poorly designed shearing sheds and sheep yards, individual, injury-causing movement, and dust, chemical, and noise exposure.

Personal Safety

Given sheep shearing is considered a high-risk occupation, it is important to maintain a general level of caution about your daily tasks. This level of caution should extend from your own individual maintenance i.e. hydration levels and energy levels right through to acceptable use of shearing machinery ensuring safety to yourself and those around you.

General Safety

Outside of the staff responsibility to remain alert and cautious at all times while working in a shearing operation, the layout and design of the shearing shed plays a pivotal role in ensuring the safety of all staff.

There are many types of deigns, layouts and safety features that can be considered when originally constructing your sheep yard and shearing shed. The traditional styles are ‘Centre Board’ and ‘Across-the-Board’, however, in order to maximise safety and reduce injuries, the ‘Raised Board Design’, which has been making waves in the shearing industry may be a good option. The most positive aspect of this design is the fact that none of shearing shed hands have to bend over to grab the wool as the board is at a more accessible height, removing the need for brushes and brooms too. The importance of not having to bend means that one of the biggest causes of injury — back pain, will be almost entirely eliminated for all shed hands.

The shearers can also reduce the risk of back pain and long-term injuries from their occupation. The use of a sheep sling, will raise the sheep off the ground allowing the shearers to operate in an almost standing position, increasing productivity and reducing injury. Putting the sling design in a raised board design shed will mean that there will be no persons at risk of chronic back pain.

Another one of the most common injuries as stated by WorkSafe Victoria is ‘hit by moving object’, typically caused from having sheep ramming into the back of your legs whilst trying to move them from yard to yard.

A well laid out sheep yard will allow for less injury. Specifically, some sheep yard designs give the sheep only one direction to go, which in turn speeds up the moving process, whilst creating a safer environment for the staff too.

Noise, Chemical, and Dust Safety

The shearing shed can be a very noisy place due to machinery such as wool presses, grinders and motors. All this machinery at the one time can be considered a health risk.

Exposure to high volumes of noise for extended periods of time on a daily basis will certainly create long term hearing difficulties for the staff. For this reason, it is very important that employers source machinery that is both quiet and efficient. Some machines can come with mufflers to block unwanted noise, however, if there are no available alternatives, it is important to include restrictions on usage time and location of some of this machinery. Also, the use of a fibreglass flooring in the sheep yard section of the shearing shed can significantly reduce the noise of sheep running into the facility.

The shearing industry is a place that uses chemicals in production, which are deemed to be hazardous. For example, the shearing staff can be exposed to chemicals used for blowfly and lice control during direct application, crutching and shearing. In order to prevent this safety risk, the use of less toxic chemicals should be sought after, undertake blowfly treatment outside the shed, and allow only those who have been practiced in chemical usage to undergo this part of production. Further too, if there is no option to undertake blowfly and lice control outside from the shed, potentially invest in a ventilation system that works to filter the air.

Finally, another important safety measure in the shearing shed is to continuously clean all surfaces on site. This will not only reduce bacteria and the spread of germs but reduce the amount of dust and fine air-born particles that can potentially be asthma causing. One simple solution is to spray the yards and work site with water to settle dust before and after a workday. As mentioned previously, however, a ventilation system will mean that spraying to settle dust will be far less necessary.