Collapse of grain silo prompts warnings

A full grain silo is believed to have collapsed near Mallala, South Australia, in June 2018.

SafeWork SA was notified of the incident, which occurred on 20 June.

Workers were in the vicinity but no-one was injured, and SafeWork SA inspectors attended the scene to assess the circumstances of the incident.

Grain silos on farms are an integral part of farm infrastructure and have a variety of uses in areas servicing the farming community.

In an incident alert, SafeWork SA has reminded workers of the risks associated with in situ grain silos on farms, and said that persons conducting a business or undertaking (PCBU) need to conduct regular maintenance and inspection of silos.

According to SafeWork, obligations and control measures for owners of silos include:

• Ensure regular silo inspection and maintenance is conducted, and where required the structural integrity of the silo is assessed by a competent person.
• Consider structural inspection after extreme weather events.
• Do not enter, work inside, on, above or beneath a silo while filling or emptying is occurring.
• Comply with requirements for safe working in confined spaces.
• Always ensure in situ silos with physical damage (eg, by impact from mobile plant) are assessed and repaired by a competent person or prior to attaching additional load to the silo eg, winches or hydraulic lifts.
   

Image credit: ©iStockphoto.com/36clicks