tractor

Kubota garden tractors – Mulching

When driving or using a Kubota garden tractor, it is important to think about the discharge of the grass that is being mown, and where that grass is going to go.

How the discharge of grass is handled will have been a consideration when buying either the Kubota garden tractor or some type of accessory such as a mulcher to fit into the tractor.

Whatever type of solution has been decided upon to deal with the discharge of grass from the Kubota garden tractor, make sure that the appropriate cover or fitting is securely in place, and working effectively.

If it is not then grass that has been discharged from the Kubota garden tractor could inadvertently be discharged in the wrong place and in the wrong manner.

Perhaps the most important piece of safety advice concerning a Kubota garden tractor, is to never put your hands or any other part of your body anywhere near the blades that are an integral part of the Kubota garden tractor.

This piece of advice applies even if the Kubota garden tractor is switched off and you think there is no possibility of the blades moving.

With certain types of snowblowers there is a residual energy buildup within the blades meaning that the blades can still move even though the machine is turned off.

With a Kubota garden tractor this is a principle that is worth adhering to, irrespective of whether the Kubota garden tractor is being used on lawn or has been adapted to be used as a snow blower.

In terms of environment, it is important to turn off the blades and stop them functioning when going over land that could damage them.

This primarily applies to times when the Kubota garden tractor could be crossing a gravel path a road or at any time when it is not actually cutting grass.

Be aware of any point where you might need to cross a public highway for any reason. It may be that if you’re using a Kubota garden tractor on a piece of land that has a highway running through it, you need to cross a public raid to continue your work.

A Kubota garden tractor is not designed to be used on public highways, and such usage where it is essential should be kept to a minimum.

In the event that you need to be in the vicinity of any public path, highway or intersection whilst using the Kubota garden tractor, make sure you are fully aware of any potential obstacle or person or vehicle that might come into contact with you.

Bear in mind it is unlikely that they will be expecting a Kubota garden tractor to be on the road, and thereby it’s unlikely they will have anticipated having to manoeuvre such an obstacle.

 

Kubota garden tractors – environment

Prior to using the Kubota garden tractor, it is important to give some thought to the environment that the tractor is to be used on .

This primarily applies to understanding that there may well be a number of objects scattered around the ground, that could well be a potential hazard whilst operating the Kubota garden tractor.

As a safety precaution, it is a good idea to make sure that all objects that are visible or moved from all the areas of land where the Kubota garden tractor is to be used. This involves items such as stones, sticks, wire, bones, toys, general household debris etc.

These are normal household items found both in the home and in residential settings, and are quite likely to be scattered around land or ground where the Kubota garden tractor is to be used.

These objects if not removed can be swept up by the operation of the blades of the Kubota garden tractor and directed towards anyone or any thing within a significant radius, causing potentially lethal or fatal damage if it would hit someone.

It is important to be aware of the parameters of the land where the Kubota garden tractor is being used. If there are any public highways or any lanes or roads where there are likely to be either people or vehicles that can appear suddenly, then the operator of the Kubota garden tractor needs to be especially aware of these areas, and slowdown operational use of the Kubota garden tractor at these points .

The operator or driver of the Kubota garden tractor also needs to be aware of any walls or buildings adjacent to the land where the tractor is to be used.

This is because of any discharge of an object by the blades towards a building that could potentially damage or break windows or other parts of the building. Objects thrown at speed towards a wall by the blades of the Kubota garden tractor could rebound back off the wall and possibly hit and injure the driver or operator of the Kubota garden tractor.

It is a good idea to always wear safety glasses or safety goggles when driving or using the Kubota garden tractor. This means simply that in the event of any object ricocheting back towards the operator, they would be afforded some protection by way of wearing such goggles.

A word about clothing. This is a subject that people may not think about as being important or significant when using or driving a Kubota garden tractor. However it is important for the operator to wear clothing that could not get caught in any part of the tractor’s operating machinery.

To this end it is a good idea to wear something like overalls, or clothes that can be sure not to be at risk of being loose and getting caught in any part of the Kubota garden tractors inner workings.

The operator of the Kubota garden tractor should always wear sturdy work boots or shoes when driving the tractor. They should never operate the tractor whilst wearing sandals or in bare feet.

 

Kubota garden tractors – pet hazards

One of the important thing to realise when using a Kubota garden tractor is that it has extremely sharp and fast blades that are used to cut the grass underneath the tractor.

As such there are a number of hazards that can be identified purely as a result of the nature of the tractor.

These hazards if anticipated can be dealt with and the risk factor can be reduced to a minimum.

It is a crucial safety factor when using a Kubota garden tractor that there are no other people in the vicinity where the tractor is to be used.

This includes pets and animals, other members of the family, or any bystanders or pedestrians who could be in proximity to where the Kubota garden tractor is being used.

There are two particular risks that can be identified and dealt with.

Firstly is the risk of a person or animal or pet coming too close to where the tractor is not been seen by the operator of the tractor for a number of reasons.

This could result in the person or animal being seriously injured or hurt either by the blades of the Kubota garden tractor, or by some inadvertent contact with the Kubota garden tractor itself.

The Kubota garden tractor can be quite noisy when in use, and it is quite easy for the driver or operator to be distracted and not be fully aware of what is going on around them.

If a child or young teenager or animal or pet gets too close to where the Kubota garden tractor is being used, then it is quite possible for some type of accident to happen.

To prevent this it is the responsibility of the driver of the Kubota garden tractor to make sure that all people and animals are well clear of any area where the Kubota garden tractor is to be used.

If anyone strays into the area at any point, then it is the responsibility of the driver of the Kubota garden tractor to immediately stop the tractor, make sure it is in a safe and neutral position and not running, and then to make sure that any people or animals who have strayed into the vicinity are removed to a safe distance.

The other danger concerning the use of the Kubota garden tractor relates to when the blades could inadvertently hit some type of objects on the ground, and the subject is then effectively thrown out at some speed into the surrounding environment.

If other people or animals are present in that environment, then it is highly likely that they could be injured by this flying object.

Such an object could be something as simple as a stone, or some piece of discarded debris that is not seen beforehand.

It is a good idea whenever, using the Kubota garden tractor to check the land that the tractor is to be used upon beforehand, and make sure that any objects that are visible and could be dangerous if thrown up in such a manner are removed to a safe place.

 

Kubota garden tractors – driving age

It is important to remember that a Kubota garden tractor is a piece of industrial/agricultural machinery that people drive in the same way that you would drive a car/automobile van/truck etc.

It is vitally important that whoever drives the Kubota garden tractor is of an age that is appropriate to the use of such a machine.

Because the Kubota garden tractor will often be used in a residential setting, there is a tendency to assume that age appropriate driving might not necessarily apply.

This is incorrect and could be extremely dangerous.

A Kubota garden tractor has potential to be dangerous, indeed fatal, if driven in an unsafe or haphazard manner. As such the Kubota tractor should only be used by a responsible adult, who is fully aware of both the machine and any issues concerning the environment on which the Kubota garden tractor is to be used.

Some manufacturers may put an age specific requirement in the manual, which can serve as a guide, but should not be taken as an absolute rule. How responsible a teenager can be varies widely, and it is a determination that only a responsible adult can make.

The issue of age appropriateness in terms of driving the Kubota garden tractor should in many ways refer or relates to the ability of said person to read and understand the operations manual that comes with the Kubota garden tractor. 

Also to be in a position to fully comprehend how the controls work, and the potential hazards and dangers that could be encountered.

If the person is age-appropriate, and has enough awareness to comprehend these issues, that is normally a sufficient requirement for someone to undertake the use of a Kubota garden tractor.

In the event that a parent deems an adolescent to be age-appropriate to drive or use the Kubota garden tractor, then that adolescent should be guided and trained and supervised by a parent at all times.

Such parental supervision is advised as a safety requirement, purely because however responsible the adolescent may be, they may encounter hazards or problems whilst using the Kubota garden tractor that only an adult would be able to fully understand and deal with.

In many ways this applies to a responsible adult as well. Whoever operates the Kubota garden tractor should have read the instruction manual and be fully aware of how to use the tractor, and what to do in the event of there being a problem or an emergency.

Whoever uses the Kubota garden tractor on a regular basis will probably undertake these duties.

In the event that another responsible adult is entrusted to use the Kubota garden tractor, it should be established that they have a similar understanding of the safety protocols and operations that are clearly defined in the manual that comes with the Kubota garden tractor.

 

Kubota garden tractors – Instructions

Operational safety of a Kubota garden tractor begins with understanding and following the instructions that come with the Kubota garden tractor.

This should come by way of an instruction manual, that will be either in a hardcopy or by way of an electronic download document normally a PDF document.

There is likely to be a tendency to dismiss the manual as a bit irrelevant.

This would probably be a mistake. The manual for a Kubota garden tractor will give a number of general safety and operational alerts and a general guide as to how best to use the Kubota garden tractor in the most productive manner possible.

The operating manual for a Kubota garden tractor will contain information about the operation of the tractor, information about how to assemble the Kubota garden tractor, if that is appropriate, and information concerning the servicing, maintenance and parts replacement process.

As such the manual may be something you need to refer to at different times of your usage of the Kubota garden tractor, rather than something to read through upon acquiring the tractor.

If you are buying a Kubota garden tractor that is used or second-hand, there is a fair chance that either you do not get a manual with it, or depending on the age of the Kubota garden tractor, the manual is relatively old and out of date.

In any event is a good idea to contact Kubota directly or a Kubota dealer, and make sure that you acquire a manual for the latest model of the Kubota garden tractor you have.

One of the advantages of a manual is that there should be a number of clear diagrams and possibly pictures showing the controls and various mechanisms that work the Kubota garden tractor.

This can be especially useful if you have not had a Kubota Garden tractor before, or you are switching from another manufacturer to a Kubota tractor.

It is especially important to know whether various controls are in the context of the operators environment before beginning to use the Kubota garden tractor.

It is especially important to know both how to start the tractor, and how to turn it off quickly, in the event of an emergency. It is important to know this in advance of having to actually do it.

If the diagrams or pictures in your Kubota manual do not match the actual layout of such controls on your Kubota tractor itself, then it is vital that you check if possible with a Kubota dealer exactly which controls mean what and how best to work them.

This is a very important safety protocol when beginning to operate or use a Kubota garden tractor, in any type of garden or land based environment.

The farm as a workplace – Health and safety

Seeing the farm as a workplace is important because it is then possible to assess what the potential risks and dangers are to employees and plan safety measures accordingly. One of the problems with this is that many people see farming as a lifestyle rather than as a business venture.

I mean by that people who are not actively engaged in working on a farm! People who were, farm would be fully aware that it is a business that environment needs to be thought of as a workplace rather not as any type of lifestyle.

Many businesses and industrial complexes have very specific occupational health and safety legislation that apply to them and rigourously enforced. Farms are quite often either exempt from this legislation or have a number of special conditions attached to it.

This is simply because farms are much more difficult to regulate and control than a static industrial base.

There is also often a belief that farming and agriculture is by their nature are a hazardous occupation and that’s just a fact of life. Whilst there is some truth in that, it does not mean that a number of real precautions can be taken that make sure that the health and safety of workers and family members is protected, when using kubota tractors or equipment

This is especially important where children and teenagers are involved as many will grow up on a farm and be subject to its environment both at home and workplace.

Life on a farm by its very nature will mean that children and young people will have a much reduced lack of clarity about the differentiation between a home and workplace. Often simple things such as daycare will mean that family members will babysit or mind younger children or siblings while doing work around the farm.

There is often not the option to separate out life between work and home, or between work and home environment. This means that each family needs to adjust accordingly.

The social and economic factors that affect health and safety on a farm come down to a sense of awareness that although the farm is a workplace, it is also a home for a lot of children and young people. Often there can be a sense of adventure and excitement about a lot of areas of farm life and farm machinery, especially for teenagers and younger children.

Parents now from which to encourage this in one sense, but should also be aware that children and young people need to be aware of basic safety considerations that would be part of their normal upbringing in a home that was not part of a farm.

The safety considerations can range from simple things such as crossing a road, to be aware of the dangers of certain poisons and chemicals, to looking out for the safety of sibli through to the safety of driving factors or ATVs or quad bikes.

The farm as a workplace – Farm labor

Working on a farm in any capacity is probably as far as you can get from what would be perceived as traditional 9-to-5 job, if they even exist any more. The nature and type of work on any farm is intense, resulting in long unsociable hours, and all the problems that go with that.

It is likely that people on a farm or work anything from between 60 to 80 hours a week, often starting extremely early in the morning sometimes at sunrise, working right through sometimes into the night. Farm workers will need to be adaptive to the situation in extremes of weather, or if are significant problems with any animals on the farm, or other emergencies that may arise.

There is a real sense of instability in one particular context as to how farms work. They are not static places. Farms are continually changing in terms of the weather that has a huge effect on how they function, and the types and usages of different machinery that take place. The pace of work will vary considerably and this can sometimes be a difficult environment to plan for safely.

There is also less likely to be a distinction between so-called management and labour functions. This has real indications for safety on a farm, in that there is less likely to be a division of labour or responsibilities for specific jobs.

People who were, farm are not going to specialise, which is why unlikely they are going to specialise in one particular area of work. People will be expected to and will want to know as much as they can about all areas of work on the farm, in order to be as useful as possible.

Nature of normal employment practices take pre-much a back seat in farming. This means that so-called normal time off, either days off and holidays simply did not happen why have to be planned for with much care. Equally there is unlikely to be any type of structure by way of training or job learning.

People who work on a farm,with kubota tractors,  perhaps more than any other learn their tradethrough experience and observation, and whilst this is a natural way to learn does raise real safety concerns. That works fine if the operator of the farm is aware of safety issues and plans accordingly.

There is in many ways a real sense of uncertainty about working on a farm. This can be either because of external factors, or changes in farming practice and the use of technology. External factors are primarily things such as the weather, mechanical or tractor breakdowns, or extreme situations no one could plan for.

Farms need to adapt to have a run as a business continually, and the use of technology is a big part in this. This sense of uncertainty means that the level of risk intensifies and again makes safety and planning safety more difficult.

All these things mean that health and safety issues on a farm need to be planned and acted upon in a way and manner that’s other businesses simply cannot do. Safety needs to be a primary instinct of everyone who works on a farm said it becomes a central part of their thinking, rather than anything to do with policies or procedures that people might be aware of and thing they have to follow.

This does not mean that the farm should not have a health and safety policy, or have policies and procedures in lots of areas, such as storage of poisons or use of agricultural machinery. A well-run farm will have well thought out health and safety policies and procedures, but people who were, farm need to have a much more instinctual sense than perhaps other people in different businesses as to how safety can and should be observed in a number of different and challenging situations.

The farm as a work and home environment

It is perhaps you need to farms that many families grow up on them and as such get involved in the running of the farm from an early age. In other types of household children would do chores around the house and run errands for the family. In a farm these chores and errands are effectively translated into part of the work environment from an early age.

At the other end of the spectrum many people who own or run a farm will do it most of their lives, there is not a point at which they retire. This means that at both ends of the age spectrum there are people involved in the work of the farm and special care and consideration needs to be given to their protection.

Young people and children who work on a farm, are perhaps especially vulnerable simply because they are exposed to dangers and hazards that they do not perceive as being out of the ordinary, or which are out of their normal range of abilities to deal with at a specific age.

Many of the dangers they will be exposed to are simply day-to-day mechanics of the farm either concerning plant or machinery or toxins or poisons that are used on the farm. Extra care must be taken to ensure that any risk they are exposed to disproportionate to their age and ability to understand what the risk is.

At the other end of the spectrum are people of a much older generation or age who simply never retire. They may well have worked on a farm or their life, and it is important to recognise that their level of experience is a vital asset. Equally the older they get their physical and mental faculties are likely to become more impaired, quite often without them realising it.

Given that the farm is likely to be their livelihood they may well feel in denial of the own physical or mental reality at times. Both these factors need to be taken into account by whoever has active day-to-day responsibility for the running of the farm and looking after kubota tractors and equipment.

Especially difficult is that it is different to many other businesses in that it is not possible often to transfer people to different or lighter duties and difficulties arise. The nature of a farm but not lend itself to this.

Children or people who grow up in a farm to not have too enter the workforce and be subject to physical or mental examinations in the way that other businesses require. There is unlikely to be any type of ongoing assessment or evaluation of the capabilities of the people employed on the farm.

This means that special care has to be taken to ensure that employees are well cared for and assess raided by other means to make sure they are cared for in a proper manner. The farm operator will have a duty of care to look after everyone on the farm, be they employees or relatives or both.

The nature of people who work on a farm will vary hugely, ranging from those you see it as an agricultural profession, often people with degrees in horticulture or other types of qualifications from agricultural colleges, through to people who simply see farming as a type of lifestyle option.

In between will be many people who spend the majority of their lives on a farm at as family members, or as full-time or part-time labourers are earning a wage, by the short-term or long-term.

The diverse nature of these personal factors means that whoever is responsible for the farm must insure that the workforce is popular but after in whatever way is practicable given the nature of the farm and its environment.

The farm as a workplace – environment

The term environment in an agricultural or farm setting makes people think in terms of either the layout of the land, or the type of practices that are used on a farm that can range from organic farming through to a farm that uses all types of pesticide that it can. The time environment makes people think of an eco-friendly system that is beneficial to the earth beneath it.

Whilst all this can be true to a farm, the time environmental factors relate much more to the external and internal environment that characterises the nature of the farm. Perhaps more than any other business if farm is subject to the weather.

The weather characterises what can and cannot be done at any particular time of year on a farm, but also determines that work, farm must be carried out irrespective of what the work is. Many farms situated in areas that experience extremes of weather, and have to adapt and run themselves accordingly.

Another issue concerning a farm is that there is an overlap in terms of boundaries, both physical and emotional between the farm as a workplace and the farm as a place where the family live. This is not unique to farms and often occurs in retail or other types of businesses.

Where it matters perhaps more narrowly is that people who live on a farm are pretty much on call at all times bail night if the situation warrants it. This could be done to weather or other factors to do with animals on the farm. As long as people who live on the farm recognise there is no clear boundary they can adapt to it but it does make it a more difficult working environment to be in.

People who work on a farm are possibly by nature much more self-sufficient than other people. The nature of most farms means they are quite isolated geographically, and are not easy to get to by any medical or emergency services if needed.

That may sound a bit dramatic, but the nature of work, farm is often quite hazardous and people who were, farm need to know how to deal with any emergency that arises as best they can. This means that emergency services may take a considerable time to reach a farm, and workers and residents of the farm need to be aware of that and plan accordingly.

People who work on a  farm, often using kubota tractors, can feel quite isolated, both physically and emotionally.

The nature of work means that people will be on their own quite a considerable period of time during the day or night, with little backup or support from other workers. The sense of isolation can potentially be a problem but can be planned for, if thought through and adjusted accordingly.

Any farm is going to have a number of environmental hazards such as noise, vibration, lighting etc which are a byproduct either of the environment or the work that is carried out on a farm.

The issue from a health and safety perspective is that there is unlikely to be any monitoring or regulation of these hazards in the way that they would be in most other types of businesses take place in either an office or industrial setting.

This means that people who work or who run the farm need to be especially aware of these at hazards, and make sure that both themselves and their co-workers are protected accordingly as best as possible.

Equally there will be no or very little control over personal hygiene of workers on the farm, which can actually be quite a sensitive issue and is down to the individual and their own sense of personal responsibility. There is unlikely to be any type of statutory or legal requirement on personal care or hygiene of workers in the way that they would be in other industries.

The farm as a work environment – general safety concerns

Thinking in terms of a farm as a work environment, is really important in terms of understanding the health and safety issues involved in working on or running a farm. It is important to appreciate that a farm can vary hugely in terms of size and scope of activity. In terms of size it can range from a small holding of a few acres to a large area of land could cover tens of thousands of acres.

A farm can be involved in many different types of agricultural activities. It can be used to grow different types of crop, such as corn, soy bean, wheat, hay or even grass or tree or flower plants. If farm can also have a considerable amount of livestock on it, and many big industrial farms produce beef, dairy, hog, sheep and poultry. There are also many types of fruit and vegetable farms, and in addition many types of garden centres that are of a significant size could also be classified as farms.

The type and layout of land can also vary hugely on a farm. In some areas land is incredibly flat, other areas if farm can have a lot of almost mountainous type terrain, whereas some farms will be a mix of both.

Farms will have a multitude of different types of buildings, with different types of machinery, both fixed and mobile. There will be a wide range of vehicles used on a farm, ranging from heavy duty industrial tractor type diggers, through to normal tractors, through to atv and quad bikes.

A wide range of people will also be involved in running the farm. using Kubota tractors and Kubota equipment. If farm is slightly unique because it is likely to employee people as any business does, but it is also likely to employee or at least make use of the services of family members as well.

Many children grow up on a farm and get used to the way of life from an early age. This can also raise significant issues concerning health and safety, and particular importance needs to be paid to the welfare of young people in any agricultural or farm setting.

There are four main areas of activity that give rise to safety issues surrounding a farm.

These are environmental, personal, work activity and social economic and political factors. All these areas are to an extent unique in the running of a farm because of the nature of safety and how these factors need to be treated in order to make a farm safe environment to work in, but at the same time make sure it is not a risk averse environment.

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