Problem
When grain trucks drive over hopper grates the pressure of the bogie wheels and the torque they exert can cause the grate to come out of its track. A trapping hazard is caused by this rising and falling of grates as the truck rolls forward. A worker following a truck had his lower leg trapped by a grate (each 4M x 400 mm in size) causing injury.
Solution
A length of angle iron was bolted to the base of the concrete walls which line the hopper grates. The angle iron eliminates the trapping hazard by preventing the grates from rising and falling.
A (‘shedder’) plate was welded to the length of the angle iron. Adding this plate makes the angle iron into a shedding surface which guides the grain into the grate so that the product does not ‘hang up’.
Hierarchy of Controls:
Engineering
Benefits
- The bolted guide plate prevents the large, heavy steel grates from rising and causing injury.
- An extra benefit has been that little grain is now wasted as the guide plate means nearly all grain is directed through the grates and into the hopper.