Watch: New app boosts farm safety with accurate location sharing
A new free app is aiming to support farm safety by allowing people to share their precise location with emergency services in the event of an accident.
The point8 app, commissioned by North East and West Kerry Development (NEWKD), allows farmers to create and share unique location codes on their farm holding using GPS or by tapping a map.
This makes it easier for emergency services, as well as contractors, vets, milk collection and service providers, to reach the correct location quickly and safely.
Dinny Galvin, a dairy and sheep farmer from west Kerry, had called for an Eircode style system to be developed for farm buildings and fields after an accident on his farm around two years ago.
He raised the issue with his fellow members on the NEWKD Farm Families Committee who became aware of an app which generates location codes even in the most remote areas of farmland.
The new app was built by Irish company Loc8 Code using its own technology and funded by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM).
In addition to navigation features, it also includes farm and machinery welfare monitoring, providing added support for on-farm safety.
Farm safety
Gary Delaney, the founder of Loc8 Code, told Agriland that the company's technology has now been applied to farm safety.
"An Eircode may identify a farmhouse, but in many cases on farms, farm accidents happen away from farmhouse for which an Eircode doesn't function.
"The idea of Loc8 Code is using an 8-character code that can define a location anywhere across the island of Ireland and anywhere across a farm.
"It may be a farm building, but it may be in the middle of a field.
"By simply using the app to generate a code, that code can then be communicated to the emergency services and the ambulance service has Loc8 Code built into its response systems, into its navigation systems and its call answering systems," he said.
Delaney encouraged farmers to download the app and get familiar with it before they may need it in the case of an emergency.
"Use the app to go to all the key infrastructure across your farm, particularly buildings where people might be working and create a Loc8 code, put it on a sign.
"Attach that sign, say something like 'In the event of an emergency call 999 or 112 and give this Loc8 code' and the code is there," he said.
Game changer
The app was officially launched last night (Monday, November 9) by Minister of State with responsibility for farm safety Niall Collins on the farm of Sean Brosnan near Castleisland.
"The launch of the point8 app is really important because a lot of farm accidents happen away from the farmer's home, in the land holding and that could be well removed. It could be a number of miles or kilometres away in a remote area.
"Now that we have an app that can pinpoint the exact location of a person who may have had an accident to bring the emergency services direct to them rather than to their home via the traditional Eircode. I think it's a real piece of innovation.
"I was glad that the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine was able to support the development of this app and I think it's going to be a real game changer," he said.
Further details about the app, which can also be used both smartphones, desktop computers and some sat nav devices, can be found on the Loc8 website.
