Harvesting Safety and Health
Dee Jepsen
  

National Farm Safety and Health Week is September 18 - 24. This year's theme is "Harvesting Agricultural Safety and Health."

With summer coming to an end, the excitement of harvest season is just beginning. Combines and corn pickers are working their way into farm shops for their last minute adjustments, gravity wagons and grain trucks are sneaking out of their storage places, grain bins are getting their final sweep from 2004 leftovers, and tillage equipment and grain drills are standing by just waiting for the new crop to be removed so they can start on the 2006 crop. Yes it's a busy time for grain harvest in Ohio. 

Talk to anyone in agriculture and you'll hear the importance of well-maintained equipment. Farm managers know that 'downtime' is not productive. And as daylight hours become scarce, it's important that the equipment remain in working order to have an efficient and fast harvest.

Well, the same holds true for the workforce. Injuries can plague production time as much as impaired equipment.

Where Should Farm Managers Start?
Safe operations begin with management and end with management. Employees need good safety role models, ones that heed caution and place employees' welfare before all other tasks. To do this is easier than one might think. Farm managers should create an environment that emphasizes safe behaviors. This begins with safe equipment.

Machinery
Tractors and equipment are the primary cause of injury to Ohio farmers. More than all other hazards combined, the tractor is the deadliest piece of equipment on the farm. Before the tractor is driven to the field, make sure it has a charged fire extinguisher, working lights, and an SMV in good condition.

Farm employees should be taught proper tractor operation, and receive a refresher course if the employee is hired seasonally. The Department of Labor (29CFR1928.51), mandates that all tractors operated by employees be equipped with Roll Over Protective Structures (ROPS) and that annual training be documented. This same law specifies that no extra riders be on tractors, except for training purposes or when an extra manufacturer-installed seat is provided.

Combines and Corn Pickers
By engineering design, these pieces of machinery are constructed with the intent to pull, rip, and cut through plants. Operators should never attempt to dislodge stalks or grain sheaves with their hands or feet while the equipment is running because these machines do not have the intelligence to distinguish between plants and body parts.

While servicing harvest equipment, it is often necessary to leave the machine running. In these cases, shielding usually provides protection so adjustments can be made without risk to the operator. The owner's manual outlines these procedures. Other areas of caution while working with harvest equipment include:

• Properly lock and block raised equipment while working under it. Never rely upon the hydraulic cylinders to support the header.

• Wear non-skid footwear to prevent slips and falls from combine platforms and ladders.

• Always carry a fully charged fire extinguisher.

• Properly prepare the combine for road transport when traveling between fields. This includes emptying the grain tank to reduce the weight and lower the center of gravity, remove the header to reduce the width, move the auger into transport position, check that all lights are functional, and ensure the SMV emblem is visible and in good condition.

Grain Wagons
Similar to other equipment, grain wagons and grain transport vehicles should have a maintenance check. Tires should be free from excessive cracks, properly inflated, and secured with all lug nuts. Rear red reflectors and SMV emblems are also required on all grain wagons used on pubic roads during night or low visibility conditions. If operating during daytime conditions, an SMV emblem is the only requirement.

Augers
Augers have their own safety risks for farm workers. The most immediate danger is the risk of entanglement with the rotating PTO connected to the tractor of the auger/conveyor moving the grain into the grain into bins. Bin workers should wear close-fitting clothing to prevent unintentional contact with the rotating equipment, and never use their hands or feet to dislodge grain in a plugged auger. Because of the close proximity the worker has to rotating parts, the equipment should always be shielded.

Augers can come into contact with overhead electric lines when they are being moved while in upright positions. The National Electrical Safety Code requires that all overhead power lines in the grain bin area be at least 18 feet above the highest peak of the grain operation.

Dusts and Molds
Consumption of dust is a common health concern for all farm workers during harvest season. Harvest dust included plant matter, which is organic material, as well as soil dust, which is primarily inorganic. The size of these particles is usually too large to settle deep into the lungs. However, they can accumulate in the upper respiratory tract causing irritation and acute breathing disorders.

Wearing a dust mask while using open-stationed equipment or when working around grain unloading operations will protect the worker from dusts and molds. Long-term exposure from grain dust is a common health concern among older farmers. 

Noise
Harvest activities of all types are loud. Workers are usually exposed to long periods in these noisy environments and should always wear hearing protection while unloading grain or operating open-stationed tractors. Combines, cab tractors, and grain trucks will have different levels of protection depending upon their insulating abilities. Like every other safety device, the older equipment is less protective than the newer.

Let's celebrate the fall harvest season by cultivating safety and health practices with the same enthusiasm that we exercise when we harvest the crops.

 

Dee Jepsen, Program Director for Agricultural Safety and Health, can be reached at 614-292-6008, or jepsen.4@osu.edu

 

This column is provided by the OSU Department of Food, Agricultural, and Biological Engineering.