MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA, U.S. — The Grain Elevator and Processing Society (GEAPS) and Kansas State University are offering one new distance-education course and one repeat course starting April 23. Both courses contain 10 hour-long lectures and run for five weeks. Enrollment is now open.

The new course, GEAPS 522, Materials Handling III, is the last of a three-course series, but it stands on its own, and there are no prerequisites. The other course, "Grain Drying" (GEAPS 524) was last offered in June and July of 2011.  Registration for both courses closes on April 16.

GEAP 552 - Material Handling III focuses on powered-transmission design, system design and other affiliated systems utilized to move and store grain and related commodities.

It is designed for people with responsibilities relating to management, operation and maintenance within grain storage, handling and processing facilities; specifically grain-facility owners/operators; elevator superintendents; location or regional managers; designers, engineers, maintenance personnel; university students; and anyone with a professional need to learn more about grain and ingredient handling characteristics and the equipment used in grain and processing facilities.

Lectures cover types, components and selection of motors, gear reducers, V-belt drives, and chain drives; equipment safety and OSHA requirements; liquid systems, types and applications and piping systems; compressed air systems, equipment and capacity requirements and piping systems; dust-control systems, including emission points, equipment types and applications; grain-handling system capacity requirements; and storage-systems design, including bin types and capacities and system/facility layout principles.

GEAPS 524 - Grain Drying will teach the basic principles of grain drying and its effects on end-use quality. It also focuses on capacity and energy efficiency, dryer types and their use for specific grain types. The course, developed by a team of university specialists, is intended for just about anyone with responsibilities relating to grain drying. The list includes facility owners and operators, elevator superintendents, location or regional managers, maintenance personnel with dryer maintenance and repair duties, grain-dryer manufacturers, distributors and technical sales staff; commercial grain producers that dry on-farm; university students; and anyone with a professional need to learn more about grain dryer operation.

These five-week courses were developed in a partnership between KSU and GEAPS.