National grain safety week set for March 29-April 2

Washington — OSHA and its Alliance Program partners in the agriculture industry are hosting the fifth annual Stand Up 4 Grain Safety Week – slated for March 29-April 2.

The industrywide initiative aims to raise awareness of hazards related to grain handling and storage by providing employers and workers with educational opportunities, resources and training on best safety practices. Employers are encouraged to designate a coordinator for their individual events, decide what type of event to conduct, determine the best time and length, choose who should be involved, and promote the event internally and externally.

The types of events can include a toolbox talk or companywide safety activities such as discussions on job-specific hazards, developing rescue plans or conducting safety equipment inspections. Group demonstrations of safety procedures and regional half- or full-day seminars with safety or equipment demonstrations also can be planned.

The event’s organizers recommend encouraging all employees to participate. Local producers and Four-H Club or National FFA Organization chapters also can be invited to take part.

The event starts at 10 a.m. Central each day, with a virtual kickoff event scheduled for March 29. Registrants will have free access to virtual training sessions during the rest of the week, each day featuring a different focus and resources:

• March 30: Near-miss reporting
• March 31: Impact of quality on safety
• April 1: Bin safety
• April 2: Emergency action plans

The organizations in the OSHA Alliance Program that are sponsoring the event are the National Grain and Feed Association, the Grain Handling Safety Coalition, and the Grain Elevator and Processing Society.