Ken Hellevang and Chuck Schwab: Crust Removal Before Unloading

Ken Hellevang

Each situation is different.

We need to develop a plan as to how we’re going to work on that crust. If we have unloaded some grain, and we don’t see an inverted cone or funnel shape, then we’re likely to have a void underneath that crust.

Recommended safety practices become absolutely critical – working in teams, wearing harnesses, and making sure we don’t end up with the crust collapsing and someone falling into that space, getting covered and entrapped.

People can use poles and other methods from outside the bin to break up the grain.

There is a danger of creating grain clumps that impede the flow by getting caught in the sump.

There is no easy solution. Again, keep safety in mind.

When you start looking at entrapments that lead to fatalities, it’s often individuals who are working by themselves.

When we discover we have a problem, we need to shift gears and think about how we are going to safely remove the crust.

If we need to go find somebody so we have a team, that needs to be the first priority.

Chuck Schwab

For commercial operations, it’s important to follow the standard operating procedure for confined space entry and lockout/tagout.

Part of the standard operating procedure beyond that might be notifying the local emergency rescue or firefighter group to let them know there is a potential for a problem.

Regardless of the location, when you are in a non-flowing grain situation, it’s paramount for everyone to reset their priority from getting the grain out of the bin to keeping everyone safe.

Look at the ability to communicate with anyone who has to go inside storage.

Can you retrieve that person once he or she is in the bin?

There are so many moving parts.

Reprinted from Grain Journal July/August 2020 Issue