World Grain - February 2020 - 70

GEAPS
Event is March 21-24 at the Minneapolis Convention Center
by Susan Reidy

S

GEAPS Exchange
2020 is March 2124 in Minneapolis,
Minnesota, U.S.
Photo courtesy of
the Minneapolis
Convention Center.

afety and the latest in grain
handling technology will
highlight the Grain Elevator
and Processing Society's (GEAPS)
Exchange 2020, which returns to the
Midwestern U.S., March 21-24.
The event, which will be at the
Minneapolis Convention Center,
Minneapolis, Minnesota, U.S.,
includes several safety-oriented
sessions while the Idea Exchange
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to explore new equipment and
processes. In addition, there will be
more than 40 hours of educational
programming as well as social
events and a post-conference tour at
Rahr Malting.
GEAPS International President
Steve Myers, Bunge Milling, has
attended the Exchange for the past
12 years. He uses the conference as
an opportunity to meet with partners
face-to-face to get a lot of work done.
"Last year, I got to talk with one of
our software suppliers," Myers said.

"We sat down and went over all of
the new updates and they gave me
a look at some new things that they
are working on. Exchange is such a
large gathering of industry folks; it's
a huge opportunity to address issues
at our facility."
SAFETY FOCUS
The Opening Workshop, from 8 to
9:30 a.m. on Sunday, March 22,
will focus on the commitment to
safety. Industry leaders and safety
SURIHVVLRQDOVZLOOJLYH¿UVWKDQGDFcounts of real-life safety situations
and the methods they have used to
correct hazards and prevent injuries. Participants will have a chance
to engage in case studies and ask
questions. Presenters include Kevin
Danner, regulatory compliance director, Landus Cooperative; Brad
Bousquet, vice-president of safety,
CVA Cooperative; and Eric Grundke,
corporate safety director, Kiewit.
Several of the Expo Pods, which

are designed for small groups and
hosted in the Expo Hall, will focus
on safety issues. Some topics include
grain entrapment rescue tubes, grain
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space entry equipment and grain bin
entry roles and accountability.
Like last year, there will be a grain
entrapment rescue demonstration in
the Expo Hall.
The 40 hours of educational
programming also includes sessions
focused on safety. Donald Groover,
senior vice-president at DEKRA,
will present World Class Safety
Culture from 7:30 to 8:30 a.m. on
March 23, with a look at the pillars
of a good safety foundation and
how they distinguish the best safety
companies. That afternoon, Vahib
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of Stonehouse Process Safety,
will discuss safe processing of
combustible dust.
Other safety sessions include
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around belt conveyors, presented
by Jerad Heitzler, training manager,
Martin Engineering, and Safe
From Day One, which will cover
managing the hiring process, the use
of instructor-led and online training,
hands-on training, job shadowing
programs and routine reinforcement
training, presented by Joe Mlynek,
partner, Safety Made Simple, Inc.
NEW TECHNOLOGY
New technology will be on display
at the Expo Hall, which will feature
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products and services across 18 categories. The grand opening will be 11
a.m. on March 22 and the Expo will
World Grain - February 2020

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