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Home > Quality > Grower Accreditation criteria |
Grower Accreditation CriteriaSection 1: Facilities Required1.1 MaintenanceRequirement All the equipment provided for shearing, wool handling and pressing must be clean and adequately maintained. This equipment may include, but is not limited to, shearing plant, grinder, wool press and wool table. 1.2 Safety1.2.1 Occupational Safety & Health ActRequirement Under the Occupational Safety and Health Act the woolshed and its surrounds must be made a safe environment in which to work. Recommendation Growers should take all practical steps needed to ensure they comply with the Act. Booklets on the Act and how it applies to farm workplaces are available free of charge from the Occupational Safety and Health Service of the Department of Labour. A comprehensive manual on the topic is also available for a fee from Federated Farmers. These publications will help you identify and fix potential hazards, and to minimise any potential legal liability. Some typical safety requirements which growers may consider appropriate for their woolshed are:
Note: you are responsible for the safety and behaviour of your contractors employees as well as for your own workers. In other words, if you see a contractors employee doing something dangerous, you have a legal duty to stop them. 1.2.2 Spline DrivesRecommendation It is strongly recommended that all shearing plants have a spline drive short gut. This is an important safety measure to minimise the risk of injury from handpiece lockups. 1.3 Health & Good Employment PracticeRecommendation Hand washing facilities and a clean operating toilet should be provided. Clean drinking water is essential for employee health and is a requirement under the Occupational Safety and Health Act. Supply tanks should be checked before shearing begins, to ensure they are free of contamination. 1.4 Notice BoardRequirement There must be a notice board located in a prominent position in the wool room. This will be used to inform staff and contractors of the
1.5 Wool Shed LightingRequirement The woolshed must have good, consistent light in the wool handling areas. Natural light cannot be relied upon at all times of the working day and must be supplemented with artificial lighting. 1.5.1 Lighting LevelsThe type of light must be in the daylight range with a colour rendering index of at least 85. All tubes must be 1.5 m long and fitted in pairs with clean reflectors. The objective is a minimum light level of 400 lux at all times in the wool handling areas. For advice on suitable tubes please contact Meat & Wool Innovation. 1.5.2 Light PlacementTo achieve the required lighting level, lights must be installed over all wool handling areas. These include the shearing board in all cases and the table or blending heap, whichever is appropriate. Wool table Lights with double 1.5 m tubes placed lengthwise 1.4 m above the centre of the table Blend heap Lights with double 1.5 m tubes placed 2.2 m above the floor over the centre of the blend heap Shearing board Lights placed 2.2 m above the shearing board in the following arrangements:
1.6 Containers1.6.1 Bins and Fadge HoldersRequirement There must be enough bins and fadge holders in the woolshed to allow staff to make the required number of fleece and oddment lines. This includes separate bins for main fleece lines and key oddments, along with separate containers when required for:
Acceptable containers for oddment lines are wool packs, solid plastic containers, cardboard boxes, plastic drench containers, drums and baskets. Sacks and bags, such as fertiliser bags must not be used for this purpose. 1.6.2 Fadge Fastening DevicesRequirement All the hooks, pins, clips or nails used to hold fadges in position must be permanently attached. This is to prevent them from falling into the wool and later causing expensive damage to mill machinery. 1.7 Wool TableIf full wool sheep are to be shorn, the fleece wool is best skirted on a wool table. Recommendation A maximum of 1000 fleeces per wool table can normally be handled in a 9 hour day. If the shearing rate exceeds this an extra table(s) should be installed. There are a range of shapes available, but the minimum size table surface area is 1.2 m x 2.4 m (or 2 m in diameter for round tables). LinksOccupational Safety and Health Service www.osh.govt.nz/order/catalogue/index.shtml |
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