After a few relatively safe years, grain entrapment and consequent deaths have again spiked in the last two years. For example, 27% more reports of grain entrapment were reported in 2019, as compared to 2018. More alarmingly, a higher death toll in grain silos was also reported in 2019. 53% more people died in grain silos back in 2019, compared to the death toll reported in 2018. Alongside indicating that the grain conditions have been far less than ideal in recent years, these facts also show a growing lapse in safety measures. A quick look through the essential safety tips for silo management and cleaning should help.

Risk Mitigation: Do Not Enter the Silo Unless…

Risk mitigation is not easy inside a grain silo, so the first rule here is to minimize the number of times people enter it. It is possible to do this by simply cutting out the need to enter a silo with overhanging grain altogether. That may not always be an option, of course, so the following safety measures must be practiced to keep accidents at bay.

• Turn off everything, especially the silo sweeping auger (separate it from the fixture, just to be safe).
• Don’t just depend on a warning sign or two to alert people about the silo being occupied; make sure that there is at least one other man present outside.
• When trying to free the grain manually, make it a rule for everyone to always stay on a rung that’s above the compacted grains’ upper level.

Risk Elimination: Get Your Silo Cleaned Professionally

Are you still worried about safety but also need your grain silo cleaned? Check out the experts at Pneumat Systems and you can completely eliminate the risk factor altogether. Even if you do not have the budget to buy their cutting-edge, grain silo/bin cleaning equipment, companies like this also provide a wide range of silo cleaning services at an affordable rate, using the same tech.

Risk Management: Powerful Safety Lines

Sometimes, some people are unlucky enough to be in a grain silo accident, despite their best attempts to avoid them. This is an ongoing issue that cannot be solved without replacing manual labor with mechanical silo cleaning and grain dislodging measures. However, those risks can still be better managed though. Proper safety harnesses and powerful pulling lines can save lives in case of an unforeseen accident. They offer viable protection in case:

• Someone slips off the ladder, or
• Gets trapped under rapidly falling grain.

Automated pulleys with powerful motors can pull entrapped men from a deadly scenario, moments before the full bulk of the dislodged grain falls on them, making a timely rescue possible.

Finally, it is also important that anyone entering the silo is appropriately trained. There are ways to survive entrapment for a long time, providing the rescue team with the time they need to complete the rescue. Everyone working near the silo should know how to protect their breathing space and “swim” above the grains.