MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA, U.S. — The Grain Elevator and Processing Society (GEAPS) announced recently details for Exchange 2012 planned March 3-6, 2012, in Minneapolis, Minnesota, U.S.

The GEAPS Educational Programming Committee has selected the final presenters for the Idea Exchange, planned March 4. During the 90-minute session, 13 people will have a few minutes to get their main points across.

There are two parts for the Idea Exchange. One, ‘What’s New?,” provides a forum for businesses to briefly discuss products that are new to the industry. The other piece, Why Don’t They?...I Did!” features innovations made at grain facilities that others could find useful.

Presenters selected include:

Why Don’t They?... I Did!”

  • Sweep auger process modifications, Tim Muck, operations supervisor, The Andersons, Metamora, Ohio, U.S.

What’s New?

  • Alimak SE Ex-Elevator, Alimak Hek, Inc.;
  • Cimbria Combria Cleaner Model 159, Cimbria Bratney;
  • Carbon fiber repair application for agribusiness, CCS Group Ltd.;
  • Maximum Security Bubba Gate, US Grain Storage Systems;
  • Digital cable systems, CMC Industrial Electronics;
  • Commercial Bin Sweep, LeMar Industries;
  • Extron ASC Series2, Lakeland Companies;
  • BAI Super Loader, Bulk Ag Innovations;
  • BinMaster MultiBob System, BinMaster Level Controls;
  • Enterprise Inventory System, CompuWeigh Corp.;
  • RopeCon, TMSA Tecnologia em Movimentaçao SA; and
  • PMI Lift, PMI.

Exchange 2012 also will include more than 30 hours of education programs, from more than 45 speakers. The Education Committee, led by Ken Schmenk of The Andersons, selected 18 educational sessions.

A sampling of the sessions include:

  • The Bigger Picture: A Look at the Future of Grain Operations. As grain prices rise and production continues to increase, the grain-operations industry will have to grow, too. Of course, the additional grain will have to go somewhere, and more storage capacity will be needed. But the post-harvest grain industry will have to evolve in other ways, too. This session will explore current price-and-production trends and show how they’re likely to drive changes at your company or grain facility. Key issues are inventory management, dryer capacity, food and feed safety, biotechnology approvals and specialization. Speaker: Dr. Charles Hurburgh, Professor, Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering; Professor in Charge, Iowa Grain Quality Initiative, Iowa State University. Session coordinator: Kathy Reading, vice-president sales and export compliance officer, Seedburo Equipment Co., Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
  • Know Your Rights: Preparing for an OSHA Inspection. OSHA has legal obligations, but your company has rights, and it’s useful to know what they are in detail before the feds come knocking at the door. This session will feature the accumulated wisdom of former OSHA inspector Kip Reiher, who spent years in the field. With an insider’s perspective, Reiher will discuss the OSHA processes, offer real-world examples about the perils of uncontrolled inspections, and provide advice about how they can be mitigated. When it is OK to say no? Speaker: Kip Reiher, consultant, Safety Services of Northwest Ohio LLC, Perrysburg, Ohio, U.S. Session Coordinators: Kirby Bradley, safety director, Garden City Co-op, Garden City, Kansas, U.S. and Joe Hochstettler, risk coordinator, Blanchard Valley Farmers Cooperative, Findlay, Ohio, U.S.
  • Tying the Islands of Automation Together. Grain facilities operate as unified entities, but their automated components sometimes function independently. Systems used for hazard monitoring, grain temperature control, equipment maintenance, inventory management, power-monitoring, dust systems, bin sweeps, document management, and so on, are sometimes treated as separate islands. Why not bring them together? This session will discuss the multiple advantages of unifying all automated systems in a grain facility, and how to get the job done right. Speaker: Kip Reiher, consultant, Safety Services of Northwest Ohio LLC, Perrysburg, Ohio, U.S. Session Coordinators: Kirby Bradley, safety director, Garden City Co-op, Garden City, Kansas, U.S. and Joe Hochstettler, risk coordinator, Blanchard Valley Farmers Cooperative, Findlay, Ohio, U.S.