Another Grain Bin Incident

[Gee Ray]

The need to enter the bin is often the grain will bridge. As the auger empties the bin the operator looks in from the top and will step onto the unknown bridge which then collapses. There is safety gear designed for some one to wear in a bin but often the person is tired, hot, and in a hurry and thinks to himself, "I'll be ok this time." Harvest days are often long and exhausting, leading to trouble.

The vibrator idea is good in theory but I do not believe the round steel bins will tolerate the repeated vibrations. It seams like there is almost always something that needs adjusted or repaired on a silo.

I only worked part time at the Kaneville Seed & Feed Inc in IL. for one year.

 

[Shenandoah MF1760]

I wonder what if any safety equipment is designed to prevent this type of accidents/deaths...and how many victims are/were not using said equipment...?

This is from the OSHA site: Grain Handling - Overview | Occupational Safety and Health Administration​

What can be done to reduce the hazards in grain handling facilities?​

When workers enter storage bins, employers must (among other things):

1. Turn off and lock out all powered equipment associated with the bin, including augers used to help move the grain, so that the grain is not being emptied or moving out or into the bin. Standing on moving grain is deadly; the grain can act like "quicksand" and bury a worker in seconds. Moving grain out of a bin while a worker is in the bin creates a suction that can pull the workers into the grain in seconds.
2. Prohibit walking down grain and similar practices where an employee walks on grain to make it flow.
3. Provide all employees a body harness with a lifeline, or a boatswains chair, and ensure that it is secured prior to the employee entering the bin.
4. Provide an observer stationed outside the bin or silo being entered by an employee. Ensure the observer is equipped to provide assistance and that their only task is to continuously track the employee in the bin. Prohibit workers from entry into bins or silos underneath a bridging condition, or where a build-up of grain products on the sides could fall and bury them.
5. Train all workers for the specific hazardous work operations they are to perform when entering and working inside of grain bins.
6. Test the air within a bin or silo prior to entry for the presence of combustible and toxic gases, and to determine if there is sufficient oxygen.
7. If detected by testing, vent hazardous atmospheres to ensure that combustible and toxic gas levels are reduced to non hazardous levels, and that sufficient oxygen levels are maintained.
8. Ensure a permit is issued for each instance a worker enters a bin or silo, certifying that the precautions listed above have been implemented.

 

[Bentrim]

Some times as the grain is unloaded from a bin the bottom will empty but the top will not. Think of tunneling into sand at the beach, you can get a hole dug and the sand will stay put now someone come walking across the hole or it just plain collapses.
There are harnesses that are supposed to be worn and farmers are cautioned to never enter a bin without someone close by. But most being in a hurry bypass these recommendations and will say I was OK last times or this won't take long. Sometimes old rotten grain can give off gases that can kill.
So like the watch commander on Hill Street Blues always said Be Careful Out there

 

[5030]

I own 2 large GSI vertical grain tanks and I NEVER get inside them unless they are EMPTY. Great way to die from suffocation under the grain. If I have to get up on top and open the manhole to check anything, I always have another person on the ground with me. Never alone.

 

[lincmercguy]

Bridging is the most common reason people enter a bin as others have mentioned. Corn is the most common bridging grain where I'm from. It just tends to lock together better than other grains. We raised wheat and I don't think it's ever bridged for us.

There are some safety systems such as harnesses, but most don't want to use those. One I've seen is a steel structure in the center of a bin that would stop someone from falling in too much. They might get stuck, but it would stop them from covering their upper body and give them something to use to climb out.

We went into wheat bins all of the time, but only after it was empty enough that the grain wasn't flowing over the unloading auger. At that point we're standing on the concrete bottom, just have to watch out for the auger intake. This was done to shovel the rest of the wheat into the auger.