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Fall Protection Systems for Feed and Grain  Applications

grain elevator

Diversified Fall Protection's FPS's Division is the leading fall protection system provider to the grain and feed industries nationwide.  We entered the fall protection industry, protecting feed and grain industry workers over 20 years ago, pioneering the industry standard in overhead rigid rail fall protection. From indoor to outdoor installations, both permanent and portable, overhead rigid rail fall protection systems provide the highest degree of mobility and safety.  The FPS's Division's patented TD3 Truss allows for greater spans between support columns, reducing the costs and footprint of your system.

Turn to the safety experts at Diversified Fall Protection for turnkey fall protection systems that keep your grain and feed operation workers safe while working at heights.  Our solutions mitigate indoor and outdoor fall hazards, including open hatches and exposed edges, confined space, working in close proximity to spouts and chutes, ladders, and work on top of railcars, trucks, and barges.  Contact us for expert assistance with your fall arrest, fall restraint and fall protection requirements for grain and feed applications.

Fall Protection Solutions For Grain & Feed Industries

Design Considerations

Grain and Feed Industry Fall Protection Design Considerations

The processing operations carried out in the feed and grain industries can expose workers to significant fall hazards.  The vertical storage characteristics of grain silos and storage towers can lead to the build-up of pressure and heat, which left unchecked, may result in an explosion. Silos and towers utilize fans and related equipment designed to keep the stored material from settling. Maintenance personnel use ladder systems to monitor the moisture, heat, gas, and pressure levels from the top of the silo. In addition to the fall hazards presented by the ladder system, service personnel may fall from the top of the silo, or through the access panel into the storage area itself. Although most silos have internal escape hatches at their base, workers can suffocate attempting their own rescue. Explosion risks, fall hazards, and confined space issues combine to make silos and storage towers extremely dangerous work areas.

Conveyors used to fill grain silos present additional fall hazards. Employees must have a safe means to access elevated conveyor systems as well as fall protection available while they perform tasks such as clearing clogs and jams. In many instances, a permanent ladder system equipped with a vertical life is used to reach the conveyor and a horizontal lifeline is installed so workers can safely traverse the conveyor system.

Truck loading presents yet another set of fall hazards on the farm. Fall protection for loading areas typically consists of rigid beam fall arrest systems, or L, U, or T-style gallows that have been equipped with horizontal lifelines. Special care must be taken to ensure that falls from trucks can be arrested before a worker comes into contact with the surface below. The typical trailer height (12’ or 4’) must be taken into consideration to design a system that can safely arrest falls without allowing workers to strike the ground. If the loading area is not a concrete pad, calculations must be made to provide a foundation that will support the fall arrest system in the event of a fall.

DFP has years of experience designing and installing fall protection systems specifically tailored for each the feed and grain industries. Our understanding of your facility's unique access points and fall hazards, combined with our turnkey approach to OSHA compliant fall protection will keep both your facility and employees safe.

OSHA Regulations

  • HLL/VLL
    • 1926.502(d)
      'Personal fall arrest systems.' Personal fall arrest systems and their use shall comply with the provisions set forth below. Effective January 1, 1998, body belts are not acceptable as part of a personal fall arrest system. Note: The use of a body belt in a positioning device system is acceptable and is regulated under paragraph (e) of this section.
    • 1926.502(d)(8)
      Horizontal lifelines shall be designed, installed, and used, under the supervision of a qualified person, as part of a complete personal fall arrest system, which maintains a safety factor of at least two.
    • 1926.502(d)(9)
      Lanyards and vertical lifelines shall have a minimum breaking strength of 5,000 pounds (22.2 kN).
  • Ladders
    • 1926.1053(a)(18)
      Fixed ladders shall be provided with cages, wells, ladder safety devices, or self-retracting lifelines where the length of climb is less than 24 feet (7.3 m) but the top of the ladder is at a distance greater than 24 feet (7.3 m) above lower levels.
    • 1926.1053(a)(19)
      Where the total length of a climb equals or exceeds 24 feet (7.3 m), fixed ladders shall be equipped with one of the following:
    • 1926.1053(a)(19)(i)
      Ladder safety devices; or
    • 1926.1053(a)(19)(ii)
      Self-retracting lifelines, and rest platforms at intervals not to exceed 150 feet (45.7 m); or
    • 1926.1053(a)(19)(iii)
      A cage or well, and multiple ladder sections, each ladder section not to exceed 50 feet (15.2 m) in length. Ladder sections shall be offset from adjacent sections, and landing platforms shall be provided at maximum intervals of 50 feet (15.2 m).

Talk to a fall protection specialist

Tell us about your fall protection needs, and we’ll configure a system that rises to your challenges.