Around 20 employees from different departments in El Batán gathered at the auditorium and in La Redonda for a course on agricultural machinery maintenance and safety on 22 June 2009. The instructors, Jesús López Torres, Álvaro García, and Francisco Javier Reyes, were machinery experts from the John Deere company. They presented information on various types of motorized agricultural machinery, ranging from the conventional to more modern machines that can be directed via satellite.
The presenters gave several recommendations to participants to help them avoid accidents: always read the manual, wear a seatbelt, refrain from taking passengers, and do not have children playing in nearby areas. Handle oil and gas with care, staff were told, as spills can make land infertile. Finally, for personal health safety, wear gloves to avoid direct contact with gas or oil hoses, as oil can seep into one’s blood stream from the skin and over time this may cause cancer. In general, the instructors stressed that machine operators should know and practice security measures and wear protective equipment. After the theoretical component of the course, the group went to the field and put some of the new principals into practice.
