Steven A. Freeman

Review of Entrapments in Bulk Agricultural Materials at Commercial Grain Facilities

Abstract Seventy-one cases of entrapment in various bulk agricultural materials at commercial grain facilities were identified during the period from 1969 through 1995 in 25 states and the province of Ontario. The present annual rate of five fatal entrapments in the commercial grain industry is estimated to be 4.3 per 10,000 facilities. While fatal entrapments appear to be relatively rare events compared to other work-related fatalities associated with the grain-handling industry, the morbidity of entrapment victims is extremely high. In fact, 92% of the complete entrapments identified resulted in a fatality. As with farm-related grain entrapments and suffocations, entrapments in commercial facilities tend to occur in the Corn Belt and involve out-of-condition grain, primarily corn. The data gathered in this study also suggest that employees become entrapped when they are circumventing safe work practices and that an employee working alone is unlikely to survive the entrapment. It is also clear that current injury surveillance mechanisms do not provide adequate information to develop comprehensive prevention and first response strategies for the commercial grain industry.

Potential Impact of a ROPS Retrofit Policy in Central Iowa

Research studies have shown that tractor rollovers are the leading cause of work-related death in U.S. production agriculture. Previous studies have also shown that while rollover protective structures (ROPS) are the most effective means of preventing these deaths, it is estimated that over half of the tractors in use on U.S. farms are not equipped with ROPS. To gauge the impact of a ROPS retrofit policy, tractor sales in Central Iowa were monitored for a three-month period in early 1998 to determine the proportion of tractors without ROPS being sold by equipment dealers versus those being sold through other channels such as auctions, farm sales, and private transfer. During the study period, 549 tractors sales were documented in Central Iowa. Of these tractors, 72% were equipped with ROPS. Of the 152 that were sold without ROPS, 43% were sold by equipment dealers. ROPS retrofits were readily available for 92% of the tractors that were not equipped with them at the time of the sale. A fully implemented ROPS retrofit program for equipment dealers would have reduced the number of tractors sold without ROPS in Central Iowa by over 40%. The results suggest that such a policy could have a significant impact in reducing the number of farm fatalities and thus should be investigated further.

Baseline Childhood Farm Safety Data for Indiana

A survey of Indiana farm homes was conducted in the winter of 1994-1995 to establish realistic baselines concerning child safety practices for populations in rural Indiana for the purpose of: (1) adjusting interventions to target specific issues where prevention efforts are most needed; and (2) evaluating the effectiveness of safety efforts targeting rural Indiana families. A questionnaire was designed to obtain baseline information for child safety practices on Indiana farms, and a stratified random sample of 1,500 Indiana farms (arrayed by county) was selected from a population consisting of all 60,000 Indiana farms. Survey procedures involved two mailings, and phone interviews with non-respondents, which yielded 597 usable questionnaires. Survey responses indicate that on Indiana farms where children reside or frequently visit, 63% of owner/operators allow children to ride as passengers on tractors and/or combines, and 36% allow children to operate tractors. Survey responses suggest that grandparents are more likely than parents to prohibit potentially dangerous farm activities (e.g., riding on tractors, combines, and grain transport vehicles, and operating tractors and ATVs), while parents are more likely to implement strategic safety practices (e.g., having a fire escape plan, and obtaining CPR/first aid training). Survey results also show that Indiana farm families do not meet national goals for the use of bicycle helmets, child seats/seatbelts, or smoke detectors.

Quantifying Stressors Among Iowa Farmers

In order to identify events/activities that are particularly stressful for farmers/ranchers, afarm stress survey based on the proportionate scaling method was mailed to a stratified random sample of 3000 Iowa farmers by the USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service. The participants were asked to compare 62 life events and farm activities to a marriage (assigned a baseline rating of 50), decide if it was less stressful or more stressful, and then assign a stress rating between 1 and 100. As expected, the most stressful events were the death of a spouse or child. Other high-stress events were disabling injuries, foreclosure on a mortgage, divorce, machinery breakdown during harvest, and loss of crop to weather. Mean stress ratings varied by age, marital status, and type of farming enterprise. Farmers between the ages of 40-59 and 60-79 had the most items with high stress levels. Females had more high-stress items than males. Divorced farmers had fewer high-stress items than other respondents. Farmers whose primary focus was raising horses had more high-stress items than other farm types. Significant outcomes of this study go beyond the specific mean stress ratings of the events and activities. The results indicate that farm stressors can be quantified using the proportionate scaling method and that the impact of the stressor is based not just on the event but is also dependent on the characteristics of the farmer (e.g., age, gender, marital status, etc.).

An Expert System for Tractor Selection

A user friendly expert system to assist the farmer in tractor selection was developed based on the evaluation procedure developed by Rider et al. (1979). This evaluation procedure utilizes Nebraska Tractor Test data from 1980 to 1986 along with information provided by the farmer to make selection decisions. The expert system provides the farmer with a list of tractors that are best suited for a specific operation. However, it is only designed to aid the farmer in the tractor selection process, not to provide a definite solution.

An Investigation of Three Physical Parameters of PTO Entanglements

The PTO driveline is the most common means of transferring power from a tractor to towed machinery and stationary equipment. While equipment manufacturers install shielding to protect operators and bystanders from coming in contact with operating PTO components (particularly around the knuckle), entanglement is still a cause of some of the most catastrophic agricultural work-related injuries. This study investigated the influence of material type, material length, and angle of material introduction on entanglements with a spinning PTO shaft knuckle. These variables were tested using a laboratory PTO apparatus where 165 entanglements were recorded during the 720 trials conducted. The results indicate that lighter materials, such as cotton thread, have a significantly higher probability of becoming entangled than heavier materials, such as leather bootlaces. Materials that were longer (i.e., extend further below the midline of the PTO knuckle) have higher probabilities of becoming entangled than do shorter materials. The horizontal path that the material traveled across the centerline of the PTO shaft impacted the probability of entanglement. When the angle of intersection of the horizontal path of travel relative to the centerline of the PTO shaft is 90 degrees, or close to 90 degrees, a higher probability of entanglement occurs. All 165 entanglements occurred on the downward rotational side of the PTO knuckle regardless of which side the horizontal path of travel started from. The results of this study provide the first look at understanding the physical phenomena associated with the initial stages of PTO entanglements and set the stage for future research.

Object-oriented Methodology for Analyzing and Allocating Resources for Field Operations

An object-oriented methodology for machinery management was developed by combining knowledge system techniques with conventional problem solving techniques. The methodology developed here, if incorporated into a machinery management tool, provides the farmer with the ability to evaluate the physical feasibility of an overall farm plan (regarding field operations) being considered for the future and to identify possible solutions when the farmer is unable to complete this overall farm plan using current resources. The developed methodology also provides the farmer with the ability to assess the progress being made toward completion of the defined calendar as a result of changes in the farm’s physical resources (time, labor, and machinery) at any point during the season and to identify possible corrective actions if the progress is behind schedule.

Identifying Predictors of Academic Success for Part-time Students at Polytechnic Institutes in Malaysia

A central challenge for higher education today is to understand the diversity and complexity of nontraditional students’ life experiences and how these factors influence their academic success. To better understand these issues, this study explored the role of demographic characteristics and employment variables in predicting the academic success of part-time students at four polytechnic institutes in Malaysia. Demographic characteristics studied included respondent’s age, gender, marital status, number of children, parent’s educational level, and financial resources. Employment variables assessed were number of years working, job relatedness to the program, job satisfaction, and monthly salary. A total of 614 part-time students completed the survey. Results indicated that being an older student, being female, paying for their own education, and having high job satisfaction were statistically significant predictors of part-time students’ academic success. Understanding the effects of demographic characteristics and employment variables on students’ academic success might help administrators and educators to develop teaching and learning processes, support services, and policies to enhance part-time students’ academic success.

Rural Assistive Technology Hypermedia Decision Support System

A prototype hypermedia decision support system for the selection and documentation of rural assistive technology (BNG DATA) was developed to aid professionals working with farmers, ranchers, and agricultural workers with physical disabilities. The hypermedia system (constructed using HyperCard, an environment that combines hypertext and database features) consists of a hypermedia database of rural assistive technology examples and an accompanying decision support system that helps users identify solution alternatives to meet the needs of their clientele. End user acceptance of BNG DATA was determined using an evaluation questionnaire. The end users evaluating the prototype considered BNG DATA to be easy to learn, easy to use, and unanimously considered BNG DATA to be a valuable resource that they would like to have for their own use. Using a statistical experiment in conjunction with the questionnaire, it was also concluded that BNG DATA significantly reduced the amount of time required by end users to find acceptable solution alternatives for their clientele (a = 0.01) and increased the end users’ confidence in the solutions they obtained (a = 0.10). This article describes the development and testing of BNG DATA, focusing on the steps taken to ensure end user acceptance.