Heat Stress Prevention

This article is based on portions of a video presentation covering heat stress prevention held Aug. 23 by the National Grain and Feed Association (NGFA) as part of its annual Harvest Safety Week. It features:

• Jason Eardley, director of process safety, ADM, Decatur, IL.

• Paul Gooch, safety director, Consolidated Grain and Barge, St. Louis, MO.

• Brian Grimm, director–safety, health and environmental, Bartlett Grain Company, L.P., Kansas City, MO

• Rob Grabowski, environmental health and safety manager, George’s Poultry, Springdale, AR.

To view the video presentation, CLICK HERE.

Biggest Safety Issues

Jason Eardley: During this time of year, at harvest season, we have to increase our personnel, which is difficult to do in this current job climate.

When you bring in a lot of new and inexperienced people who aren’t familiar with the operation or internal requirements and procedures, it requires a lot of oversight from the existing people.

We’ve seen over the years that a large portion of our injuries occur to people who have been with the company fewer than two years, and a large percentage of that group are people who have been with the company fewer than six months.

On a smaller scale, we have a lot of problems with producers and customers not being able to open gates on trucks or railcars. They have had their truck in a barn or maybe outside for 11 months, and it’s not in the best condition. Along with that, we also have difficulties with vehicular movement. Since we can have hundreds of trucks in a facility per day, this leads to fatigue and overexertion.

Keeping employees focused on the task and working safely, looking out for each other, and taking breaks throughout the day are ways we help keep our employees safe during harvest. -Paul Gooch, Consolidated Grain and Barge

Paul Gooch: The work shortage definitely creates challenges. During harvest season, employees are going to be working longer hours, and with longer hours comes employee fatigue and complacency, which can increase risks.

Brian Grimm: One of our difficulties is that customers are bringing trucks that haven’t been on the road for 10 months, and they’re pulling in drivers who haven’t been on the road for 10 months either.

You get a lot of 15-year-old kids and the 90-year-old grandpas who are being pulled out of retirement to come to your property. This type of inexperience is difficult in itself, but then you add that to the fact they are unfamiliar with the traffic flows and patterns at your facility.

Another safety issue is that as Team Members work later into the evening during harvest, we have to ensure there is adequate lighting and good visibility for those evening hours.

Rob Grabowski: One of our main safety issue issues is the rapid nature of the work during harvest that tends to keep us on our toes. The high number of trucks coming into receiving points always has us worried about worker safety, especially around the elevators and rail reception points. This is complicated further by the fact that some of our locations are in highly populated areas, so various aspects come into contact with school or community events.

Throughout our different locations, we supply hydration resources like electrolyte supplements, bottled water, and sports drinks.

-Rob Grabowski, George’s Poultry

Ways to Avoid Heat Illness

Gooch: Planning work, so employees do the strenuous work in the cooler part of the day. Planned break times, water at the work stations, providing shaded areas so employees have a place to get out of the sun, and rotating employees to different jobs. And employers need to verify employees are drinking water during breaks and throughout the day.

Grimm: Regarding our heat safety plan during harvest season, we stick with ensuring that our Team Members have water, rest, and shade. Our train loading days are the hardest. When we have that time crunch, we rotate Team Members in and out to give them the needed rest and chance to hydrate.

Grabowski: One of the key ways we focus on heat safety during this time is through mandatory hydration periods. Throughout our different locations, we supply hydration resources like electrolyte supplements, bottled water, and sports drinks.

We also structure in rest periods, so workers don’t suffer from overexertion. This entails specifically structuring break periods so that we’re not overworking some team members, while others are taking breaks. We also make sure that everyone is on the same page with these break schedules and actually adhering to them.

Eardley: Heat illness is very challenging, and strategies like training and work loading during low-temperature periods are very important.

If somebody is overzealous and wanting to prove themselves, they might work through what they shouldn’t be working through. We emphasize that we don’t want them to do this.

We even include charts in the bathroom to monitor the color of excretions to be sure they’re properly hydrated.

Our train loading days are the hardest. When we have that time crunch, we rotate Team Members in and out to give them the needed rest and chance to hydrate. -Brian Grimm, Bartlett Grain Company

Formal Heat Policies

Eardley: We don’t have a formal heat policy or program, but we do rely on plans like the Injury Prevention Plan in California, and we use sections of other programs like the marine program that includes instructions for people working on barges when it’s hot. We also require our facilities to implement Corrective Action Preventive Actions (CAPA) plans to address the different safety needs of each season. In the summer, this includes things like making sure that your air conditioning is working, you have appropriate staffing, etc.

Gooch: We have a formal heat illness policy and training that implements and promotes a safe work environment.

Grimm: We’re currently working on a pretty basic heat illness program based off of consultation with some people at OSHA. We will have the written program, but we do provide training to all Team Members on water, rest, shade, and signs and symptoms of heat illness. We also emphasize training other workers to recognize heat illness in each other.

Best Heat Safety Advice

Eardley: Don’t prepare the week before. Hiring is tough, but get the people you need now, and get them trained. Make sure they’re familiar with your facility before you have 400 trucks lined up. Also, make sure they’re acclimated to the heat and know the work they’ll be doing.

Gooch: Develop a plan to keep employees safe, and work the plan.

Grimm: We’ve all been working understaffed the past two years, but the most important thing is keeping an eye on your Team Members, especially when you’re working 12-hour shifts. Look for signs of fatigue. Sometimes you might need to recognize a person in need of a day off to recharge their batteries so that they’re fresh to carry out the remainder of the season.

Grabowski: Keep your people in mind, and ensure that the decisions that are being made don’t impact their lives in a negative manner. Your actions should show team members that you appreciate them.

Alyssa Durst, associate editor