World Grain - June 2019 - 6

FROM THE EDITOR

Caution: Do not enter

uch like driving without a seat
belt, entering a grain bin without taking the proper precautions is an unnecessary risk that can
have deadly consequences.
Despite the ubiquitous educational
campaigns to raise awareness of the
dangers associated with grain bin entry
- not to mention some countries adopting zero-entry laws and safety standards
- hundreds of fatal and non-fatal grain
entrapment incidents still occur each
year around the world.
The awareness campaign was in full
force at this year's Grain Elevator and
Processing Society (GEAPS) Exchange,
which featured a pre-conference workshop on grain entrapment prevention
and rescue as well as bin rescue demonstrations during the three-day expo. On
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displayed a wide range of equipment designed to keep employees out of bins. The
workshop was entitled: Why Are They
Still Entering Grain Bins? The answer, I
believe, has to do with time and money.
Virtually all entrapment incidents involve out of condition grain that has
crusted or clumped, which prevents or
limits the ability to move grain out of bins.
Desperate to get the grain moving, some
workers choose to enter bins and either
stomp on grain that has crusted on the surface, which can lead to rapid engulfment,
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to dislodge clumped grain on sidewalls,
which can cause a deadly avalanche.
Cutting corners to save both time and
money is a great temptation in any business, but particularly in a tight-margin
industry like the grain sector. It takes
time to execute lock-out, tag-out procedures and put on fall protection gear
before entering a bin. Also, there is sigQL¿FDQWH[SHQVHLQSXUFKDVLQJDHUDWLRQ
systems and other high-tech equipment
designed to prevent grain from crusting
6

or clumping or state-of-the-art equipment that allows workers to break up
grain without entering the bin. Making
sure all employees have received grain
entrapment rescue training and purchasing the rescue equipment also is a timeconsuming and expensive proposition.
But the potential death of an employee
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settlements, and the negative publicity
that accompanies such a tragedy, should
provide enough incentive to make these
investments without thinking twice. Each
IDFLOLW\VKRXOGIRVWHUDVDIHW\¿UVWFXOWXUH
clearly conveying that bin entry is a last
resort and no one should enter a bin withRXW¿UVWH[HFXWLQJORFNRXWWDJRXWPHDsures and wearing fall protection gear.
Also, an employee should never, under
any circumstance, enter a bin alone.
If there's a silver lining to this tragic
situation, it's that the message seems to
be getting through to more workers at
commercial facilities. Jeff Decker, president, Decker Consulting & Investigations, told GEAPS Exchange attendees
that about 30% of the grain entrapment
incidents in the United States occur at
commercial facilities, while 70% occur
on farms. The ratio was 50-50 just a few
years ago. But, he added that the number of overall incidents were about the
same, which means more grain engulfment accidents are occurring on farms.
The global grain industry must remain relentless in its mission
to educate its workers
about the grave dangers associated with
grain bin entry. The
goal must be to someday bring engulfment deaths to zero in both commercial
facilities and on the farm.
Arvin Donley
Editor

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WORLD GRAIN (ISSN 0745-8991) Volume 37, issue 6,

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World Grain - June 2019

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