ASABE Revises, Adopts Standards

The American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers (ASABE) has revised ANSI/ASAE S354.6, Safety for Farmstead Equipment, to include specifications that are not covered by other ASABE safety standards and that are intended to provide a reasonable degree of personal safety during normal operation and servicing of farmstead equipment. The document was revised to include updates to the normative references.

The standard applies to agricultural field equipment used in agricultural operations for the production of food and fiber (examples include livestock feeding systems, livestock watering and waste handling systems, crop dryers, milling systems, material handling equipment, etc.). It does not apply to agricultural field equipment nor to self-propelled mobile equipment such as motor vehicles, all-terrain vehicles, and skid-steer loaders. In addition, it does not apply to farmstead equipment covered by other ASABE safety standards unless it is specifically referenced by these standards.

ASABE members with standards access and those with site-license privileges can access the full-text via electronic download on the ASABE online Technical Library at elibrary.asabe.org. Others can obtain a copy for a fee from the library or contact the society at OrderStandard@asabe.org.

The society also has adopted an international standard for U-frame-type, three-point-hitch couplers on agricultural tractors. The adopted document is designated ANSI/ASABE AD11001-1:2016 NOV2016, Agricultural wheeled tractors—Three-point hitch couplers—Part 1: U-frame couplers. It replaces ANSI/ASAE S278.7 JUL2003 (ISO 11001-1:1993). A previous version of ASABE S278 served as the original basis of the ISO document.

The adoption further harmonizes national and international standardization, a goal that facilitates manufacturing, safety advancements and product marketing worldwide.