Accidents happen…….take care

The busy grass silage season puts strain on machines and operators. The pressure may not be quite so intense during this year’s dry and sunny conditions, but many farms and contractors still work long hours and often well into the night to get the job done.   11 October, 2012, is a night Dutchman Peter van der Heide (36) will never forget. It could have been any colour of SPFH, but in this particular case it was yellow, and a seven-month old New Holland FR9040 belonging to Dutch contractor J.A.N. Koning. The forage maize was done, and Peter was harvesting a cut of late season grass when a blockage occurred between the chopping unit and the blower. The operator shut down the machine, and in his enthusiasm to get the job done assumed the blower rpm would drop back to zero before he had got out of the cab and into the opposite side of the machine. Unfortunately for Peter when he put his hand in to pull out the blockage, there was a slight movement and the tops of three of his fingers were mangled. Surgeons were unable to save them, and when the bandages came off and he saw the full extent of the damage, it suddenly dawned on Peter that he might never be able to drive the SPFH ever again. Missing his middle finger, he could no longer change the driving direction by depressing a button in the rear of the joystick. News of his accident soon reached New Holland dealer Kort where mechanics puzzled the possibility of modifying the controls. Peter was invited to the dealer on his birthday (December 17), and given the best present he could have wished for. The solution they came up with was to replace the button in the rear of the joystick for a floor pedal operated with his right foot. After six months of rehabilitation, Peter was doing what he loved best, and back behind the controls of the FR9040 in time for the 2013 grass season. He is a lot more safety conscious these days, and when a blockage occurs waits until all systems have shut down before going anywhere near the chopping unit and blower. But he still loves his job, and the SPFH. His advice is to read instruction manuals thoroughly and always completely shut down a machine before getting anywhere near the moving parts. “This accident should never have happened and was entirely my own fault.”