Operating Portable Augers Stats and Facts

FACTS

1. Augers are among the most dangerous machines on the farmstead. Accidents resulting in injury can occur if augers are not used properly.
2. Causes of Auger Accidents    

The  majority  of  auger  accidents  are  operator caused. Auger-related injuries primarily result from one or more of the following types of incidents: 

• Contact with or entanglement in the exposed screw at the intake. 
• Entanglement in a drive belt. 
• Being struck by an uncontrolled spinning crank used to raise or lower the auger. 
• Entanglement in a PTO drive shaft. 
• Electrocution while moving a raised grain auger around the farmstead and contact with an overhead electrical wire.
• Maintenance neglected or overlooked. 
• Carelessness in auger handling. 
• Operator unfamiliarity with auger safety and operation. 
• Inexperienced youth labor.       

STATS

• About 25 percent of the holes attempted with augers end up being dug by hand.
• Approximately 37 fatalities occurred per 100,000 agricultural workers and an estimated 140,000 disabling injuries to farm workers.
• The Minnesota Extension Service received reports of 14 auger-related deaths, which were attributed to entanglement or crushing (eight) and electrocution (six).
• According to a U.S. an average of six to eight injuries related to augers occurred in Iowa each month. The Canadian Agricultural Injury Surveillance Program reported in 2013 that auger injuries rank second after tractor injuries.
• 602 cases of auger injury accidents (more than one case per week) with 24 deaths were reported. Entanglement in the auger was cited as a major cause in almost 80 percent of the injuries requiring hospital treatment.