Maintaining a clean environment in agricultural facilities is vital to ensuring product quality and employee safety. Ag facilities handle a variety of ingredients, with a variety of risks and seemingly endless methods for managing them.
Controlling Dust at Furst-McNess Agricultural Facilities
Combustible dust is constantly present in these environments, something Furst-McNess knows all too well. Their commitment to compliance and safety led them to seek an automated solution.
According to Ron Kerkhoff, the operations manager at Furst-McNess, the implementation of SonicAire Fans in the load-out receiving area alone is expected to yield cost savings of approximately $10,000 per year in overtime expenses. Eliminating the need for monthly intensive cleaning sessions reduces labor hours and creates a cleaner, safer environment without disrupting routine operations.
Fugitive Dust Challenges for Agricultural Facilities
Dust is a constant in agricultural facilities, leading to concerns about the following:
- Strict Compliance Standards
- Expensive Housekeeping
- Time-Intensive Cleanings
- Combustible Dust Explosions
- Employee Health Liability
- Citations and Fines
The Hierarchy of Dust Control
Who Comes Out on Top?
Organizations employ several different methods to prevent dust hazards, with varied effectiveness. Here they are, ranked in order of efficiency.
- Dust Control Fans [Elimination/Prevention]
These fans create an airflow barrier, preventing dust from settling in hard-to-reach areas like ductwork and beams. By ensuring dust settles on the floor for easy removal, this method effectively eliminates and prevents dust buildup, addressing the primary hazard of combustible dust explosions.
- Dust Collectors [Elimination]
Dust collection systems capture significant dust from primary operations. While they reduce dust buildup, they cannot entirely eliminate fugitive dust, making them a partial elimination solution.
- Regular Cleaning [Substitution]
The substitution method involves manually cleaning dust-prone areas. While effective, this method is labor-intensive, expensive, and potentially hazardous for employees, particularly in elevated locations.
- Isolating Dust-Producing Operations [Engineering Controls]
This method isolates dangerous processes or materials to minimize contact. Partial isolation is possible, but dust often escapes, posing risks to employees in the area.
- Dust Control Program [Administrative Controls]
Implementing control programs, including regular inspections and hazard analyses, can help mitigate risks but doesn't impact dust production and buildup. A plan means nothing without follow-through.
- Masks/Respirators [PPE]
Using personal protective equipment minimizes inhalation of dust. While it protects against inhalation, it offers little protection against the explosive nature of combustible dust.
By focusing on elimination and prevention methods, facilities can better manage dust hazards, ensuring a safer environment for employees.
How Do Dust Control Fans Combat Fugitive Dust?
SonicAire's proprietary BarrierAire technology, tailored explicitly to agricultural dust, can revolutionize dust control in your facility:
High-Velocity Airflow: Create robust airflow that prevents combustible agricultural dust particles from gathering on overhead structures.
Thermal-Current Control: Manages thermal currents to prevent dust buildup in inaccessible areas prone to fire and explosion risks.
Automated Dust Management
SonicAire fans, equipped with BarrierAire® Technology, automate dust management, making it easier to maintain cleanliness and safety without extending work hours or halting production for cleaning.
Introducing the CIID1-Certified XZ-210, and XZ-215 Fans
The new CIID1-certified XZ-210 and XZ-215 fans are purpose-built for hazardous, highly explosible environments. (Agriculture is certainly one of these environments.) They’re engineered to meet stringent industry standards, deliver unmatched performance in preventing dust buildup, and comply with NFPA and OSHA regulations.
Using BarrierAire™ technology, the XZ-210 and XZ-215 fans effectively disrupt thermal airflow patterns, ensuring combustible dust particles agglomerate as they rise and settle on the floor rather than accumulating on difficult-to-clean surfaces.
Continuous Cleaning Backed By SonicAire’s Compliance Guarantee
SonicAire is so confident in its product’s ability to solve your fugitive dust problem that it offers the SonicAire Compliance Guarantee*.
If SonicAire fans, when installed and maintained according to their recommendations, fail to eliminate the need for overhead housekeeping, they will provide a full refund or reimburse the cost of any imposed fine, whichever is less.
