Safety Precautions for Wheat and Rice Threshing

Nowadays, combine harvesters are used for wheat and rice harvesting, threshing as they reap and storing the grain in time, but many farmers still use swathers and sickles to harvest, requiring on-site threshing, which poses some safety hazards worth noting. To ensure safe production, the following points should be mastered:

1. Preparations should be thorough. The thresher must be inspected by the agricultural machinery safety supervision department, and only after passing inspection can it be put into operation. Operators must undergo safety training and understand operating techniques and safety knowledge. Before working, a trial run should be conducted first; only after everything is normal can it be put into operation.

2. During operation, divide labor clearly and assign responsibilities. The person responsible for feeding must not wear loose, flapping clothing; cuffs must be fastened tightly. Female workers should wear work caps and tie up long hair or braids. During operation, both hands must not cross the warning line on the feeding table board, and it is forbidden to use forks or wooden sticks to push wheat or rice bundles into the drum. When a blockage occurs, do not pull or push forcefully by hand; stop the machine to clear the fault.

3. If a motor is used as power, the power cord connections must be firm and reliably sealed. Switches must be installed in wooden boxes, no less than 1.7 m above the ground. Fuses must be used according to regulations; it is forbidden to substitute iron wire, copper wire or lead wire. Power lines should be no less than 3.5 m above the ground. All electrical equipment should be installed by an electrician to ensure electrical safety. Operators should wear insulating shoes and must not be barefoot or wear damp shoes. If a fault occurs or a smell of burning rubber is detected, cut off the power immediately for inspection and repair. If the circuit catches fire and burns, do not pour water or use a fire extinguisher before the power is cut off, to prevent conduction and leakage. If someone receives an electric shock, also cut off the power first before rescuing them, or use wooden sticks, bamboo poles or other insulating objects to pry the wire away before rescuing. Never pull the shocked person by hand before the power is cut off, otherwise you will be shocked as well.

4. On the threshing floor, special attention must also be paid to fire prevention. To ensure safety, first eliminate ignition sources. Matches and lighters must not be brought onto the floor, and smoking is even more forbidden. Necessary firefighting equipment should be provided on the floor, such as sandboxes, water vats and fire extinguishers. For nighttime threshing, electric lights should be used for lighting on the floor; open flames must never be used for lighting. The exhaust pipes of tractors or diesel engines should be fitted with "spark arresters" to prevent sparks from escaping and causing a fire.