The first meeting of a new industry Health & Safety Working Group has been hailed a success by hosts, The British Agricultural and Garden Machinery Association (BAGMA).
Attendees at the meeting
The initiative, borne from two of the association's dealer members, is designed to create a space where Health & Safety professionals can share experiences, discuss common issues and, most importantly, come together to find practical solutions that bring benefit to the agricultural and groundcare sectors.
Individuals representing brands including John Deere, Kubota, Case and more, came together at BAGMA HQ in Peterborough with one shared vision - to find ways to make the industry safer. BAGMA said, while it’s clear there is no ‘one-size-fits-all’ solution, the day demonstrated the importance of sharing experiences and the value to be gained from cross-sector discussion.
Alongside a number of the country’s leading dealerships, BAGMA say they were also pleased to welcome a number of industry experts to the event, including the DVSA’s Andrew Donald and Paul Marsh from BAGMA service provider SafetyAide.
Attendee Jo Robinson, group health and safety manager at Farol Ltd, said of the event, “While we may represent different businesses, brands and specialisms, we all have the same objective: making sure everyone goes home safe at the end of the day. Openly sharing experiences, challenges and ideas in this way is exactly how we continue to improve health and safety standards and drive our industry forward."
Christia Killen, health and safety manager at Lister Wilder, added, “What I found most valuable about the first meeting was realising that we’re all dealing with many of the same challenges. Sharing practical solutions and learning from each other means we can all make progress much faster than trying to solve everything independently.”
On the event, BAGMA general manager Nick Darking said, “We are well aware that people’s eyes tend to glaze over when you mention Health & Safety, but the startling statistics around injuries and deaths in the outdoor power sector prove that it’s a topic that needs to be tackled head on. This inaugural meeting was incredibly well received by all that attended and it signals an important step towards working collaboratively to improve the safety of those working across the industry.”
BAGMA say the next meeting of the group will take place virtually on Tuesday 15th December 2026.
