Safety

CONVEY '19 Webinars | Summer 2019 | Subscribe for access to 12 webinars covering OSHA rules, safety best practices and preventive maintenance | Subscribe to webinars

Training Employees on Revised OSHA Hazard Communication Standard (66 mins.) |  Nov. 14, 2013 | View webinar | View presentation slides

NGFA Update on OSHA's Enforcement of Boot Pits (61 mins.) | Oct. 22, 2013 | View webinar | View presentation slides 

The NGFA-produced "Training Modules" through Articulate 360 are published periodically as part of the Association’s continued commitment to safety in the workplace. These modules are funded by the National Grain and Feed Foundation and are designed to provide information on certain types of hazards and best safety practices within the grain handling and feed industry. Check here often to find new, relevant and interactive content.

Articulate 360 Training Module: Slips, Trips, and Falls
Articulate 360 Training Module: Lockout/Tagout

Combustible Dust Safety 

The most recent safety training video funded by the National Grain and Feed Foundation outlines important housekeeping procedures and identifies potential ignition sources for combustible dust. Watch now.

Safety and Grain Quality

Working in or around a grain bin exposes farmers and workers to serious and life-threatening hazards, including entrapment and suffocation from engulfment. This video, funded by the National Grain and Feed Foundation, illustrates the connection between grain quality and safety. Watch now.

Grain Bin Entry Safety

NGFA Director of Safety, Education, and Training Jim Seibert reviews the basic safety precautions and equipment needed to enter a grain bin. This short video, funded by the National Grain and Feed Foundation, breaks down each step of the process to ensure managers and employees don’t miss a step and stay safe every day. Watch now.

Your Safety Matters

Developed jointly by the NGFA and Grain Elevator and Processing Society (GEAPS), this safety training DVD is geared specifically to employees of grain handling, feed manufacturing and grain processing operations. The 30-minute DVD, which also is available in Spanish, addresses many safety-related issues, including confined space safety. Members:  Watch      Download       Non-members:  Watch      Download

Grain Bin Safety on the Farm

The National Corn Growers Association and the National Grain and Feed Foundation (NGFF) – the NGFA’s research and education arm – completed a joint DVD project to promote grain bin safety on the farm. Preview the video for more information.

Don’t Go With the Flow

Developed in 1998 by Purdue University under a contract with the NGFF, this program reviews the hazards associated with flowing grain and the most common types of grain entrapments at commercial facilities. Preview the video for more information. (Order Form)

• This Firefighting Manual contains information for operators of grain handling facilities and firefighters on emergency and firefighting procedures. The contents of the manual are primarily intended to address planning for and fighting fires in grain elevators. However, the information has significant applications for feed mills, processing plants, flour mills and other facilities that store and handle bulk agricultural commodities. Chemical fires also are addressed briefly, which has applications for fertilizer and chemical plants. 

• This guide provides a basic overview of the changes made to the general industry standards addressing slip, trip, and fall hazards found in Subpart D of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) standards. The guide is meant to serve as a foundation upon which individual companies can build their own tailored plans specific to their facility, operations, personnel, and other conditions. Sample documents found in the appendices provide templates that may be used to update site-specific programs and procedures.

• On May 12, 2016, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) issued a final rule requiring certain employers to submit data electronically from their work-related injury records to the agency. The final rule also solidifies OSHA’s anti-retaliation protections for employees reporting work-related injuries and illnesses.The final rule generally becomes effective on Jan. 1, 2017.  However, compliance with anti-retaliation provisions and reporting deadlines will be phased in through 2019.

• NGFA and the American Feed Industry Association released a hazard communication compliance  guide for consideration and use by grain handling, feed, ingredient and processing facilities. With a June 1 implementation deadline approaching for compliance with major elements of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s recently revised Hazard Communication Standard (HCS), the associations created the document to ensure the industry is prepared for updated compliance requirements. For more information, download the free, nearly 50-page document.
• Please note – If you share the document, please include the following information: “This document is distributed with the permission of the National Grain and Feed Association, the American Feed Industry Association, the Corn Refiners Association and the North American Millers Association.” We also ask that the credit include the name of the publication and the publication date (e.g., “The document Guidance: Hazard Communication Program at Grain Handling, Feed, Ingredient & Processing Facilities was originally published in May 2015”).
• For more information, see the recorded webinar where experts from the organizations highlighted recent changes and provided answers to members’ most frequently asked questions.

• NGFA prepared a guidance document to assist grain handling facilities in evaluating their boot pits to determine whether they meet OSHA’s definition of permit-required confined spaces.

• This guide provides basic concepts to assist grain handling facilities in developing and implementing a sweep auger operations safety policy.

Safety and Health Compliance Manual

• Overview of Safety and Health Compliance Manual

National Fire Protection Association Study

A significant increase in costs and loss of overall storage capacity for both concrete and steel bins were the findings of recent study on the application of the National Fire Protection Association’s (NFPA) explosion/deflagration venting requirements per latest editions of NFPA 68 – Standard on Explosion Protection by Deflagration Venting. The NFPA standards are commonly used in North America (Canada, United States and Mexico) as the basis for determining if explosion venting is required and if so, the total amount of vent area required.

This study was financed by the National Grain and Feed Foundation and was conducted by the engineering firm Van Sickle, Allen and Associates in Minneapolis, Minn. The NFPA briefly considered conducting a research study to determine appropriate venting ratio data for silos utilized for storing agricultural commodities, including grains and oilseeds. The NFPA research was intended to follow up on one conducted through the NGFA’s Fire and Explosion Research Program in 1983. However, the NFPA Foundation ultimately decided not to pursue new research.

For more information, see an Executive Summary on the report.

To order a full copy of the 90-page study, the cost is $250 for non-NGFA members and $100 for NGFA members, contact Jess McCluer, NGFA vice president of safety and regulatory affairs.

More information to come.