Inspections, the main components being checked
Mandatory regular inspections of tractors might improve farm safety, but they are still a work in progress. Among other things, inspections should include the lighting system, the brakes, the steering and the organization of the control system
Speaking about inspections will perhaps reopen old wounds in the hearts of the some three hundred workshops that once upon a time began the process to become certified inspectors by the then Unacma, now Federacma: attending training courses, undergoing inspection visits, adapting their facilities. They invested time and a lot of resources in a project that never got off the ground, even after twelve long years. It was in fact the end of 2012 when Legislative Decree 179, known as the Development Decree, stipulated, among other things, mandatory inspections for agricultural machinery. Given the postponements, derogations and implementing decrees that were never passed, we have come to the present without a single inspection ever having been made, not even for tractors that are more than 40 years old. Anything that might have begun to be done under the strictures of a specific law specifying the times and methods for performing a comprehensive inspection, came to a halt. And it is still on hold.
A few important things to keep in mind. People continue to die on tractors. There are about 120 fatal accidents every year, mostly due to the vehicle overturning, less frequently from being crushed during a maneuver or being crushed between moving mechanical parts (drive shaft, harvesting machine gears, etc.). Many of these deaths – the majority of them, say some – could have been avoided by inspecting and subsequently updating the vehicles to comply with the most recent safety regulations. Or, at least, by taking action on the main elements, which numerous study groups and commissions reduce to the bare minimum and declare to be two: the use of a frame in the event of a rollover (cab or rollover protection) and the use of seat belts. Studies and tests have shown that roll bars and seat belts alone are enough to prevent most deaths related to overturning of agricultural machinery and this is why it was decided at the time to include compliance with safety regulations in the checks performed during roadworthiness tests. This decision has been opposed by some agricultural groups, who are convinced that determining whether a tractor is suitable for road circulation is one thing, and making it compliant with Law 81/2008 on workplace safety is another. The disputes that have arisen on this point have had played an important part in the continuous postponements of the implementing regulations, the lack of which still prevents the start of a comprehensive inspection program. Such a program should, of course, begin with the older machines.
Risk of infringement. The decisive push to loosen the presently completely frozen gears might come from Brussels. In fact, for some years now the subject of inspections has no longer been solely an Italian matter: the adoption of the Mother Regulation has unified the legislation on agricultural machinery and related obligations. And since Europe requires that every four or five years tractors with a speed higher than 40 kilometer per hour be inspected, and the first "fast" tractors as defined in Mother Regulation were registered in 2018, we are one step away from infringement proceedings, with all that that entails. Such a scenario might have positive aspects if it finally leads to starting the organizational process to implement inspections. This would affect not only post-2018 vehicles: there is in fact an Italian law that states that inspections for traditional vehicles with a speed lower than 40 kilometers per hour – thereby including also the older vehicles – follow, in terms of calendar and procedure, the same procedure set out for "fast" vehicles, so that the entire vehicle inspection could suddenly be set in motion again, albeit with turtle-like slowness.
According to Gianni Di Nardo, general secretary of Federacma, "From the day of approval of the implementing decrees to the day of the first actual inspection, up to four years could pass. First of all – explains Di Nardo – it will be necessary to train and certify the operators. It is true that three hundred of them have already taken the courses, but less than 20 completed the certification process before we suspended it, as it was not possible to actually do inspections". "Let's not forget that, at the same time as training mechanics and inspectors of the Department of Motor Vehicles, it will be necessary to equip repair shops with specific instruments, which are not always easily available on the market. Thus – continues Di Nardo – we could imagine a time interval of at least three years before the inspectors are certified and the first repair shops equipped. Extending the process to at least five hundred repair shops, which is how many we estimate will be needed to cover the country, will probably take another year".
What needs to be inspected. Let's take a leap of faith and start thinking about what the inspections will be like once we start doing them. As things stand, they are a dual-sided affair, composed of two distinct, yet connected, elements: the roadworthiness inspections and those to make work in the field safe – or less dangerous.
Regarding the nature of the former, without the implementing decrees of Law 179/2012, there are few certainties.
Nevertheless, we can refer to what is set out for motor vehicles and heavy vehicles. Thus, it is easy to predict that the lighting system will be checked - including the direction indicators - and the brake lights, as well as the rear-view mirrors, any specific lights on the operating machines and then, certainly, the brakes (including the parking brake), steering (to assess any looseness) and tires (condition and height of the tread or beads). Finally, the suspension, if the vehicle is so equipped. "When it comes to visibility, let's not forget the condition of the windshield and the efficiency of the windshield wipers," notes Domenico Papaleo, who follows the topic for FederUnacoma. "In road vehicles – he adds – engine emissions are also very important, but in an agricultural tractor this data is not easy to evaluate, especially for older machines, and in my opinion it is not even among the most pressing. I think the main elements are the roll bar or cabin plus the seat belts: devices that can save a life in the event of a rollover".
Safety adjustments. These elements bring us to the other side of the matter, that is, adaptation of the agricultural vehicle to the regulations on safety at work. There is a guideline from INAIL (national insurance institute for accidents at work) on the subject and it is very likely that the inspections will incorporate it, in part or in full, when it comes to deciding what to focus on.
In addition to some of the elements mentioned above, the document obviously focuses on moving parts, hot parts and, last but not least, the ergonomics of the driving position and controls. For the former, it is hardly necessary to mention the protections of any drive shafts and the PTO shaft, but also belts and fans, which on older tractors were within easy reach.
Exhausts, transmission and engine parts also require protection (again in this case we are talking about older tractors). Finally, as regards the work environment, it ranges from ladders and handles or handrails to be placed at a well-defined height, up to the organization of the controls. Critical controls must be easily and uniquely identifiable and it should be impossible to activate them by mistake. The text refers to start (key or push button), accelerator, emergency stop, parking brake, differential locks, power take-off and lift controls.
Excessive waiting. "All in all we know what we need to look at. What we don't know, however, is who should do it and how", explains Marika Stefan, co-owner of Tractor Service in Conegliano, Veneto: an independent repair shop specializing in repairing and inspecting agricultural machinery. "Unfortunately - she continues - too much time has passed since the law was approved and now the deadlines have piled up: it will take years, once we start, to catch up".
According to Tractor Service, many farmers, aware of the risks, are waiting for the green light for the inspections: "We have customers who ask us when they can bring in their tractor and unfortunately we have to tell them that at the moment we are unable to do inspections. Obviously, there are also some people who take advantage of the situation to avoid making an obsolete vehicle compliant, and this is why, I believe, we need a true scrapping campaign, that provides aid to farmers in exchange for the demolition of vehicle that are no longer safe".
The main problems, we are told by the repair shops, are well known to most of the "insiders". First of all, seat belts and roll bars; but, without a doubt, the most neglected requirement is the one regarding the protection of drive shafts.
This is a problem that can cost lives and makes it difficult to understand the resistance of certain farmers towards a device with a relatively low cost. Certainly lower, the technicians themselves point out, compared to other structural work, such as on a cabin or a roll bar. In these instances it is sometimes not easy to find a suitable attachment point, especially on older vehicles. And this is the reason why the need for a comprehensive scrapping program is increasingly clear.
Ottavio Repetti
Le revisioni che già si fanno
Mentre si attende di conoscere la data di avvio delle revisioni previste dal Codice della Strada per i mezzi a motore, esiste già una categoria di attrezzi sottoposta a verifica ogni due oppure tre anni. È quella delle irroratrici, per le quali da ormai un decennio vige l’obbligo della cosiddetta verifica funzionale. Che deve stabilire, in primo luogo, la corrispondenza tra il dosaggio impostato e quello effettivamente distribuito in campo, ma anche l’efficienza generale dell’attrezzo e il rispetto dei requisiti di sicurezza ambientale. «La situazione, oggi, è nettamente migliore rispetto a quando iniziò la campagna. Ormai le irroratrici controllate sono in buone condizioni, sia funzionali sia in materia di sicurezza», spiega Domenico Papaleo di FederUnacoma, che prosegue: «Le principali parti da sostituire sono i manometri e gli ugelli, che spesso sono usurati e vanno cambiati perché non rientrano nei parametri legislativi di riferimento. Inoltre, di frequente sono da rimpiazzare i regolatori di portata e le scale di lettura del serbatoio; infine, nel caso degli atomizzatori, a volte è necessario sostituire la pompa principale». Una particolare attenzione andrebbe poi dedicata alle protezioni dell’albero cardanico, che potrebbero non essere in piena efficienza, e non dovrebbero essere neanche trascurati alcuni interventi minori come quelli relativi ai tubi che potrebbero sgocciolare o al serbatoio lavamani che potrebbe essere rotto o usurato.
Inspections already in progress
While we wait for a start date of the inspections required by the Highway Code for motor vehicles to be determined, there is already a category of equipment required to undergo inspection every two or three years. It is that of sprayers, for which a so-called functional inspection has been required for a decade now. The inspection must first of all determine the correspondence between the set dosage and the actual one being dispensed in the field, as well as the general efficiency of the equipment and its compliance with environmental safety requirements. "The situation today is much better than when the campaign began. By now the sprayers being inspected are in good condition, both functionally and in terms of safety", explains Domenico Papaleo of FederUnacoma, who continues: "The main parts that need to be replaced are the pressure gauges and the nozzles, which are often worn and need to be changed because they do not fall within the reference legislative parameters. Additionally, the flow regulators and tank reading scales often need to be replaced; finally, in the case of sprayers, it is sometimes necessary to replace the main pump". Particular attention has to be paid to the PTO shaft guards, which may not be fully efficient, and some minor interventions should not be overlooked, such as those relating to the tubing that may drip or the hand-washing tank that may be broken or worn.
