Fall Protection on Bins

[Blaithin]

Since you work in an elevator, you can likely sympathize with this story.

My grandpa was very afraid of heights, he didn't even climb a wooden bin, but during the depression, he got himself a job painting grain elevators. I regret that I never got a chance to find out more details, why, and how it went. Desperate times.
Then my dad had a career climbing power poles( including competitions), and communication towers. The fear of heights apparently didn't run in the family..

I don’t like heights. I move like an old granny, hunched over and shuffling along. At work I can manage because of protective measures and the comfort of frequent use, but I don’t go near the edge of anything whenever possible. And even with being tied off, it takes me a car or two to get train legs back on car top.

My brother is a power linesman building towers. Heights don’t seem to bother him at all.

[Herc]

Watching truckers walk on the edge of their trailers is another example of a high risk adventure.

Its usually the the young and invincible types who still think their sense of balance is perfect.

Wait what. Walking on the edge of their trailers? Where’d you read that ffs. Never happens.

[Blaithin]

Wait what. Walking on the edge of their trailers? Where’d you read that ffs. Never happens.

Of course it does. Especially on the models with the grated walk way along the edge.

[Herc]

You sure thats what chuck meant? Don’t think you’d need balance to walk on a designated walkway. Just sayin....

[Blaithin]

I’m getting the impression you’ve never had to take any fall restraint training…

Pretty much if you’re higher than 8’ you either need a guard rail along the edge, a safety zone to keep you away from the edge, or something you’re tied to to stop you from going over the edge or catching you if you do. A walkway on a grain trailer has none of those. Doesn’t matter if it’s designated.

People will jump from bin tip to bin top, you really think they wouldn’t walk down the edge of the trailer and tell themselves they’d just fall into the grain if they slipped?

[AlbertaFarmer5]

I actually have first hand experience with this. When I was about 4ish, I was "helping" dad put shingles on a wooden grainery.
Dad being very concerned about safety kept warning me that I was going to fall off.
And he was right, and I did fall off, right onto the pile of lumber laying beside the bin, which reduced the distance I had to fall, but wasn't as soft and forgiving as the ground might have been,
I picked myself up, cursed the pile of lumber for being there, and probably climbed back up.

I know it is possible to get off of a 5 ring (westeel size rings), bin after the ladder blows down, and the bin is about to over flow, twice in fact. Wouldn't want to try it with any of the bins now though.

[rumrocks]

[QUOTE=

I know it is possible to get off of a 5 ring (westeel size rings), bin after the ladder blows down, and the bin is about to over flow, twice in fact. Wouldn't want to try it with any of the bins now though.[/QUOTE]


Final score - Gravity 1 - Cartilage 0.
Probably similar score in the rematch.

[foragefarmer]

I actually have first hand experience with this. When I was about 4ish, I was "helping" dad put shingles on a wooden grainery.
Dad being very concerned about safety kept warning me that I was going to fall off.
And he was right, and I did fall off, right onto the pile of lumber laying beside the bin, which reduced the distance I had to fall, but wasn't as soft and forgiving as the ground might have been,
I picked myself up, cursed the pile of lumber for being there, and probably climbed back up.

I know it is possible to get off of a 5 ring (westeel size rings), bin after the ladder blows down, and the bin is about to over flow, twice in fact. Wouldn't want to try it with any of the bins now though.

I know us farm kids get an earlier jump on other kids when it comes to work experiences, but you have to admit you on top of the bin at "4ish" while your father re-shingling a bin is hard to grasp. What was to be learned at that age without you breaking your neck?


I guess it's easier climbing down augers than attaching a bungie cords to ladders!

[AlbertaFarmer5]

I know us farm kids get an earlier jump on other kids when it comes to work experiences, but you have to admit you on top of the bin at "4ish" while your father re-shingling a bin is hard to grasp. What was to be learned at that age without you breaking your neck?


I guess it's easier climbing down augers than attaching a bungie cords to ladders!

Realistically, expect I wasn't as much help as I thought I was, and it probably wasn't dad's idea for me to get up there, but I probably wouldn't take no for an answer, and besides, I could have been 5, not 4 and that makes all the difference.

In hindsight, safety wasn't one of dad's highest priorities. Amazing no one ever got hurt, grinding without safety glasses, riding on bales on the loader or wagon, up to 4 kids with him on an open tractor, etc.

[blackpowder]

Foolish and naive to judge previous generations. Dad's first aid kit on the rigs in the 50s had a tourniquet. And he was practiced in it's use lol.
First time pulling a surflex with 830 tractor seat over drawbar, Dad said "don't fall asleep".
Third paying job I ever had we had to climb up the load of logs and walk down it with a chain saw to trim limbs before we could hit the road. In the dark. Walk down the load of butt forward trees and trim as far down as we could reach. From ground run saw in one hand over your head. Im tall. Too warm to shatter off skidding and contractor wouldn't pay to hand buck at the deck.
Respect for heights increases for me over the years. And so does bin size. I'm a lot stiffer ( not in a good way) and slower too.
Proper fit testing and training for a fall harness not fun but I suppose castration better than death. Maybe. A hassle I've been avoiding. I cringe when an employee gets up there. If building today I'd pay for every feature. Staircases. Hell, its just debt not real money lol.
Hiring the local Genie is how I fix bin lids now. Sure are some crappy lid designs. I hate climbing now as opposed to 30 years ago. I hate giving in to fear but it's occasionally healthy lol.
Procrastination and complication avoidance would be my excuses. I'm cheap unless I want it lol.
Although as the old boy around here I still have occasional value. Caught the sprayer operator going near a high pressure hyd leak with his hands the other day to find a leak. A teaching moment ensued.
I forget the terminal height from ground from training but it's lower than you think.
Good post Blaithin.

[burnt]

Interesting timing for this topic - I was thinking about fall arrest after climbing a bin here the other day to close a lid. I was wishing for a handrail up there!! Going up there is a task that scares me skinny now and I leave it for my sons as much as possible, when they're around.

A far cry from the teenage years and would race the hired man up the outside of my brother's 20x70 and 24x80 upright silos. On open rungs. Fearless and very stupid. We survived.

Funny, last summer I got one of my sons to do a climbing job for me in the barn to install a crossbar in the trusses. My 5-year-old grandson, ever the perceptive one asked, "Grandpa, why are you always getting your sons to do your work for you?" I explained that like other older folks, I'm getting stiff and unsteady and don't like climbing anymore.

A month or so later, while he was helping with piling firewood in the basement, he was worried about Grandma (who is really quite fit and agile) getting in there with him. She asked, "What are you worried about?" He says, "Well older people aren't as steady as they used to be..."

Nailed it. Kids remember.

[rodd]

It came up in discussion how most farmers have no form of all protection on their bins. Who here does or doesn’t? Why not?

Most excuses I’ve heard so far are no surprise.

Inconvenient and cost.

But the guys who’ve known people who’ve fallen or have slipped themselves use something.

Seems silly not too really. Everyone preaches don’t go in a bin yet nobody seems to say protect yourself when climbing them.

We bought a 32' scissor lift 2 years ago, haven't climbed a bin since. 4Wheel drive, goes anywhere and fits on a car trailer. Amazing how often it is used for other stuff on the farm. Trimming trees, working on combine or trailers. Installing temp cables, makes that annoying job easy. Probably the best random purchase on the farm.

[chuckChuck]

Wait what. Walking on the edge of their trailers? Where’d you read that ffs. Never happens.

Huh? So it never happens that truckers use the the edge of a grain trailer without a catwalk? You been farming long? Loaded many trucks? Cause it happens. Most truckers are smart enough not to do it but a few will show you their tightrope circus skills.

I had to tell one trucker this year that walking on the edge while cleaning the trailer is a not a good idea. He wasn't all that young either.

We purchased a boom lift for working on bins too. We have used it for lots of other jobs as well.

[Blaithin]

If you’re going to get technical… boom and scissor lifts also require harnessing up in OHS.

I’m far from an OHS lover of all the paperwork and redundant training, but when looking through the OHS monocle at farming…. One safety hazard fix does tend to just lead to another safety hazard lol

A proper harness and a couple lanyards would probably be one of the handiest tools around the farm. Climbing bins, lifts, roof work, grain legs, hell, even if someone was dead set on going in a bin, if they were harnessed and tied that gives a small chance of rescue if shit goes south.

[Herc]

Huh? So it never happens that truckers use the the edge of a grain trailer without a catwalk? You been farming long? Loaded many trucks? Cause it happens. Most truckers are smart enough not to do it but a few will show you their tightrope circus skills.

I had to tell one trucker this year that walking on the edge while cleaning the trailer is a not a good idea. He wasn't all that young either.

We purchased a boom lift for working on bins too. We have used it for lots of other jobs as well.

Fill front hopper to 50 on truck gauge, move to back hopper. Fill trailer gauge to 65. Thats how I load a truck. How bout you and ur truckers. No need to climb truck. No need to tight rope walk the side. And I’ll stick to my guns, never seen a person tight rope walk the side.

And besides, intended purpose vs non intended purpose. Can you bring up more examples of non intended purpose we need to fix for stupid people. List them, I’ll wait.....