One day last summer Aaron Duignan from Carrick on Shannon in Co Leitrim was working on the farm at home and went to attach a bale lifter to the back of his tractor but couldn’t find any linchpins.

Aaron said this was a common occurrence when he wanted to hook up a machine to the backend of the tractor and was very frustrating. He found that other farmers on social media were having similar difficulties with the traditional linchpin, and some were taking risks using unsuitable alternatives when they couldn’t find the proper pins. Aaron decided there must be an easier way.

He thought if there was a means of keeping the bolt and clip together there would be less chance of losing the two pieces and came up with some rough designs for the idea. Aaron, who is a law student, had no mechanical engineering background, so he asked a neighbour to make up the first bolt and clip combo.

ADVERTISEMENT

The bolt is made of hardened steel and there is a spring-loaded ball bearing inside that keeps pressure on when opened so it is very safe to use. He called the new invention the Safety Bolt. Aaron entered the bolt into the 2015 NUIG Students’ Union Enterprise Awards competition and was runner up. He got more bolts made up and took part in the innovation arena at the Ploughing. According to Aaron, he got great feedback at the Ploughing and now has plans to make it available to a wider audience.

“In order to make the Safety Bolt available to as many farmers as possible, I have teamed up with Distag QCS Ltd, to manufacture and distribute it worldwide,” he said.

Initiative

Aaron showed great initiative with this idea. He saw a common problem on farms and came up with a way to solve it. Have you done anything on your farm to make life safer and easier? If so, please send pictures and information to pvarley@farmersjournal.ie or text your pictures to the Irish Farmers Journal on 00 353 (86) 836 6465 via Whatsapp or normal text message. Entries featured in the Irish Farmers Journal will get a €50 One4All voucher.