Safer, easier bin access for drivers and farm staff

The climb at the top of the bin

Many feed bins are filled through a lid at the top. Depending on the bin, someone may have to climb a fixed ladder to open the lid before a delivery and close it afterward. That's often the driver, who may make several stops a day, but it can also be farm staff.

NIOSH guidance on grain storage structures recommends keeping ladders in good condition and avoiding climbing them "in wet or icy conditions." It also recommends safety cages on permanent ladders longer than 20 feet, and handrails and guardrails where workers move from the ladder onto the roof (NIOSH, Safe Grain and Silage Handling). That guidance was written for grain bins, but the fall hazard on a ladder is similar for feed bins. Ontario's farm-safety guidance likewise calls for safety cages on fixed access ladders, or other fall protection such as three-point contact (Government of Ontario).

A fatal fall, and a ground-level fix

A 2012 article in Professional Safety, the journal of the American Society of Safety Engineers, described hazards on aquaculture farms. It reported that "a feed delivery worker fell from an elevated feed bin as he climbed a ladder to the top to open a hatch to bin. He died" (Professional Safety, July 2012). According to the article, the death "led to a widespread practice of providing ground level handles for opening and closing the hatch lids on the bins." The authors noted that warning signs alone give too little protection, and that ladders left in place should still have fall protection.

That case came from fish farming, not swine production. It shows how one approach, moving lid operation to the ground, can remove the need to climb.

Falls are common in trucking

Delivery drivers face fall risks off the bin as well. In 2013, workers in the US truck transportation industry had 19.9 injuries from falls to a lower level per 10,000 full-time workers. Those injuries required a median of 30 days away from work (US Bureau of Labor Statistics, Monthly Labor Review, 2016). In more than half of those cases the source was the truck itself. These figures cover the whole trucking industry, not feed delivery specifically.

When biosecurity gear creates a safety problem

Disposable plastic boot covers are a common way to keep a driver's boots from carrying contamination onto a farm. In an Ontario study, feed-company staff and producers described them as "slippery, too big, and easily ripped," "especially dangerous in the winter," and said they had "resulted in several workplace accidents" (Dewey et al., Journal of Swine Health and Production, 2014).

A follow-up pilot study with 40 Ontario feed-truck drivers found that drivers wore their own boots in the farmyard on 72.3% of visits. All three drivers who tried treaded disposable plastic boots said they were unsafe and wouldn't keep using them (Bottoms et al., Canadian Veterinary Journal, 2015). Reusable rubber overshoes did better, but many didn't fit over winter boots. The lesson is that a biosecurity measure people find unsafe or awkward often won't get used.

Convenience for farm staff

Bin lids matter between deliveries too. PIC's feed-bin management checklist advises making sure "bin lids are properly sealed." It also advises that in summer, if the bin is warmer inside than outside after a delivery, the lid be left open to prevent caking and mold, then closed afterward (PIC, Feed Bin Management Best Practices). Each time a lid has to be opened, checked, or closed, someone may have to make another trip to the bin, and sometimes another climb.

US and international differences

• The trucking injury figures and NIOSH guidance are from the US. The boot-cover findings come from Ontario, Canada, in winter, and may differ by region and season.
• Workplace safety rules differ between countries and, in Canada, between provinces. Check the rules that apply where you operate.

What this means in practice

Safety guidance points in a consistent direction: remove the need to climb where possible, protect the climb where it can't be avoided, and choose biosecurity measures that are safe and practical enough for people to actually use. For your own sites, follow applicable safety rules and your company's safety program.