This means performing routine maintenance, replacing worn parts, replacing safety shields, and making sure lights and flashers work and slow-moving vehicle emblems are clean. Machinery breakdowns during harvest are likely to result in frustration or anger that leads to excess stress as well as greater chance of injury. Steps to increase safety include repairing safety equipment, making sure shields are in place, blocking up the combine header before working underneath, and making sure you are very visible when traveling on rural roads. Many serious lost-time injuries occur when getting in and out of a machine, so make sure ladders, steps, and handholds are in good condition. When climbing up or down, always maintain at least three points of contact-one hand and two feet or one foot and two hands.
Combine fires are costly.
Keep the combine and other machines clean. Watch for sources of combustible materials that could lead to a fire, such as leaky fuel lines, weak hydraulic hoses, and oil-soaked crop residue. Make sure there is at least one, and preferably two, ten-pound ABC dry chemical fire extinguishers on every combine. Smaller extinguishers are useless against a typical combine fire. It's important to get down off a machine every two hours or so, even for a five-minute leg stretch.