It’s time to stand up for grain safety! Stand Up for Grain Safety Week, an annual safety outreach effort hosted by the National Grain and Feed Association (NGFA) and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), is March 29-April 2, 2021.
This industry-wide effort to raise awareness about grain handling and storage hazards and spread resources that provide education and training on best safety practices is made possible through the NGFA-OSHA Alliance. This partnership facilitates cooperation and communication between the regulatory agency and the grain, feed, processing and export industry.
“It may be more important than ever to bring awareness and practicability to best safety practices for grain handlers, to maintain and protect our robust workforce,” noted Stand Up for Grain Safety Week leaders in 2020.
The NGFA, along with OSHA and its safety week partners — the Grain Elevator and Processing Society (GEAPS) and the Grain Handling Safety Council (GHSC) — are providing resources and safety training guides that everyone working around grain handling facilities can use. If you come across a helpful tip, prevention measure or safety reminder, the NGFA encourages you to share it widely! Small changes can make a significant impact when it comes to safety in the workplace.
The NGFA renewed its cooperative alliance with OSHA in 2020, launching a five-year agreement with the agency, GHSC and GEAPS as fellow signatories. Through the alliance, the four signatories agree to reduce and prevent exposure to safety and health hazards associated with the grain handling and storage industry (such as falls, entanglements, combustible dust, electrical, engulfment and struck-by hazards).
The grain handling industry is a high hazard industry where workers can be exposed to numerous serious and life-threatening hazards. These hazards include: fires and explosions from grain dust accumulation, suffocation from engulfment and entrapment in grain bins, falls from heights and crushing injuries and amputations from grain handling equipment.
During the week of March 29, companies can participate in a nationwide safety effort by hosting a “stand-up” on any prevention measure that addresses grain-handling hazards. NGFA will issue daily training guides throughout the week and share updates on social media with #StandUp4GrainSafety.
For those not familiar, a safety “stand-up” is a voluntary event for employers to talk with their employees about safety best practices. Companies can conduct a stand-up by taking a break to have a toolbox talk or discuss any safety activity, such as conducting safety equipment inspections, developing rescue plans or discussing job-specific identified hazards. It’s important to remember that a small change from an employee makes the workplace a safer place to save lives.
The kickoff event will be held on March 29 with a combination of virtual and live activities at the University of Nebraska Ag Extension Center near Lincoln, NE.
Topics for the 2021 Stand Up for Grain Safety Week include:
- Near miss reporting/leading indicators
- Bin safety — engulfment prevention/fall protection
- Quality of product and how that plans into safety
- Emergency action plans
For more information on the event, go to standup4grainsafety.org.
The NGFA, through funding provided by the National Grain and Feed Foundation, has easy-to-share, brief videos on ngfa.org/safety demonstrating safe grain bin entry, combustible dust safety as well as the connection between safety and grain quality management that could be great tools during a stand-up.
NGFA also has “Safety Tips Sheets” dedicated to grain bin entry, grain quality and grain bin safety at ngfa.org/safety. Each of these topics can serve as themes for stand-up activities.
These are just a few examples of what a safety stand-up can cover in your workplace. Managers are encouraged to plan a stand-up that works best for their environment. NGFA has several resources designed to help you participate in Stand Up for Grain Safety Week, including Safety Tips Sheets, training videos, interactive courses, guidance documents and best practice sheets. Browse the website to find training materials that could help your workplace, or contact an NGFA staff member with questions or suggestions for safety guides.
We encourage every person who works in or around grain facilities to join the effort. ■
