10 min read
An Equipment Manual basically puts in writing common sense understandings for how equipment on the farm must be used and cared for. Two fundamental objectives or guiding posts are ensuring both the longevity of the equipment and the safety of the user. The following tips highlight key aspects that an effective Equipment Manual should be sure to cover:
What needs to be checked before anyone operates each piece of equipment? Pre-operation protocols could include the requirement to check oil, tire pressure, and mileage. Checking mileage is particularly important if you are charging the participating farmer for fuel costs based on usage.
What safety measures must be taken for each piece of equipment? Safety measures could include requiring specific gear to be worn or properly using available safety devices.
What special procedures or issues should participating farmers be aware of for each piece of equipment? Are there any oddities or quirks for turning a specific piece of equipment on or off, shifting gears, or setting safety devices, etc.? Does the tractor attachment have to be hooked up in a certain way? The more details you can provide the more likely they’ll be followed.
When and where must the participating farmer return the equipment? Is the participating farmer required to return the equipment after each use? Do they need to securely lock the building or facility where it is kept? Note that insurance policies often require equipment to be secured in order to be covered. If the barn was unlocked and your tractor was stolen, you may not be able to recover on an insurance claim. So be sure to read your insurance policy and include any special requirements in your equipment manual.
Before the equipment is returned, what does the participating farmer need to clean or check? Requiring the participating farmer to clean the equipment after each use will help maintain the value of the equipment over time, which makes good business sense. Also, if the participating farmer is responsible for paying for fuel costs you’ll need to be sure he checks and logs the mileage after each use. Post-operating monitoring requirements could include other things that may need to be checked such as oil gages, tire pressure, warning lights, etc.
What restrictions or limitations on usage must the participating farmer follow? While it may seem obvious, it’s a good idea to explicitly state that equipment can be used only for farming purposes and only on-site. For example, it would be inappropriate to use the tractor to get a car out of the ditch or to drive the tractor to a friend’s farm to help with a massive compost project. This is particularly important as most insurance policies will only cover a claim if the use is proper and on-site.
What procedure must the participating farmer follow if a piece of equipment breaks or is not operating properly? If multiple farmers have access to the equipment it’s important that repairs are dealt with as efficiently as possible. You could post a phone number or email address and require the participating farmer to immediately report malfunctions, odd noises, repair needs, etc. Also, you may want to establish a policy that allows the landowner to handle and pay for all repairs upfront and to pass on the cost of the bill should it become clear that the damage was caused by negligence or misuse on behalf of a participating farmer. This may ensure that repairs are handled as efficiently as possible.
What is the protocol for tracking equipment usage? Tracking usage serves a number of purposes, including to remind farmers of all of the above procedures, as well as to investigate what happened if a piece of equipment ends up broken and nothing was reported. A tracking procedure could simply include a clipboard with a pre- printed usage log where farmers “check out” and “check in” each piece of equipment whenever they use it.
The usage log could include columns for date, time, and name as well as check boxes for the participating farmer to indicate that the pre-operation items above were checked, the equipment was returned clean, and that malfunctions were either not observed or were reported according to the procedure above.
Each of these tips work together to create a system of accountability. Ultimately, a well-thought-out Equipment Manual will not only help prolong the life of the equipment and protect farmers from injuries, it will also help instill good habits in the beginning farmers. It will teach them best practices for taking care of the equipment as if it were their own. In addition, the data on the usage log will be useful for tracking repair costs, upcoming repair needs, and other details that will help the farm incubator manager track the overall costs and effectiveness of offering equipment as part of the farm incubator project.
Be sure to have each incubator farmer review the Equipment Manual and acknowledge her agreement to follow the terms. Ideally, this would be in writing. You could either have them sign or initial at the bottom or acknowledge in an email that they have read it and will abide by it. Also, be sure to keep a copy in a visible and relevant location such as on a clipboard in each place where equipment is kept on the property so that the participating farmers can review it as needed.
It is a good idea to include the manual as an addendum to the lease agreement. See section 7 of the Model Incubator Lease for one example of how to include it. If you do decide to include it as part of the lease, then any changes to the manual need to be in writing and agreed to by both parties of the lease. “In writing” is as good as scratching something out and writing on top of the manual. Nothing fancy is needed. Announce when a change has been made to the manual and ask everyone to sign the page as soon as possible. At the close of the year, edit the file, reprint, and start fresh with typed revisions next year.
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