Jim Lenz, GEAPS :
Conveyor systems are the backbone of grain handling operations, keeping everything moving smoothly, but when they’re not maintained, they bring everything to a grinding halt. In this episode we’re joined by Jake Crockford, an experienced problem solver with IBT Industrial Solutions, who spent over a decade helping grain facilities. Stay ahead of equipment challenges. Let’s get started. Hello and welcome to the show. Welcome to the Whole Grain Podcast. My name is Jim Lenz, your host and producer of the show and the director of global education and training at GEAPS. We’re the mission of the Grain Elevator and Processing Society is to champion, connect and serve the global grain industry and our members At GEAPS. We work to be the global community and thought leader for the grain industry which feeds and fuels the world. Thanks for listening today and for joining the network of thousands of other grain handling and processing professionals across the globe taking strategic steps to grow professionally. The Whole Grain Show will give you the competitive advantage to win at work so you can make more of an impact.
Jim Lenz, GEAPS :
Our special guest in today’s episode is Jake Crockford. Jake is an account manager outside sales at IBT Industrial Solutions. Ibt is a Jeep’s premier partner our highest level partnership we offer, with the most benefits, with exclusive opportunities only available to premier level partners, including this special episode of Whole Grain. In this episode, jake generously shares his hands-on knowledge about tackling issues like aging equipment, supply chain distributions and the ever-present workforce challenges. He also breaks down the key components of conveyor systems, like the tail, the head and drive, and provides practical tips to keep operations running efficiently, whether it’s stocking the right spare parts or improving communications with suppliers. Jake offers actionable advice you can use right away. Get ready for an insightful conversation packed with real-world tips and strategies to help keep your grain moving. Let’s dive into the conversation.
Jim Lenz, GEAPS :
All right Conveyor systems are a cornerstone of the grain handling industry, enabling the efficient movement of grain through every stage of operations. Today’s episode focuses on key aspects of maintaining these systems and the insights that come from working directly with grain facilities. Joining us today is Jake Crockford, an account manager and outside sales specialist with IBT Industrial Solutions. With over a decade of experience at IBT and prior roles in the grain industry, jake brings a unique perspective to problem solving in grain operations. Jake, welcome to Whole Grain. Hey, Jim, thanks for having me, Jake, to start the conversation on a positive note. Could you share a mantra or success quote or any piece of advice that has shaped your professional journey?
Jake Crockford, IBT Industrial Solutions:
The harder you work, the luckier you get, so something that I’ve always liked and strive for I like it.
Jim Lenz, GEAPS :
Could you share what drew you to IBT and what you find most rewarding about your role?
Jake Crockford, IBT Industrial Solutions:
to IBT and what you find most rewarding about your role. Sure, I really enjoy what I do here. I spent a number of years just with our grain products division, focusing on those variety of components that make up our grain division. But within IBT we’re an industrial distributor, so really we’re a generalist. We deal with a lot of different components and all things that you would have in your facility. When you’re specialized, you’re kind of geared towards that one individual component that you can address and from my perspective there’s a lot of different things that go into it that maybe I need to tweak this, maybe I need to change that to get the desired outcome, not necessarily that one component, that one specialized attribute that I need to focus on. From that I can kind of look at things holistically and maybe I don’t need to sell you the entire gearbox. Maybe I just need to change a shiv to address a sizing or a speed issue and get things corrected that way, as opposed to maybe a more expensive route or a lesser efficient route.
Jim Lenz, GEAPS :
To me that sounds like in your role. In order to be successful, you’ve got to have a good, broad base of understanding. But add lots of depth there and you are a problem solver. And so it seems like on a daily basis, the conversations you have must be quite broad ranging and supporting people’s needs, exactly.
Jake Crockford, IBT Industrial Solutions:
There’s a lot to it some days, but it’s very rewarding. I enjoy it.
Jim Lenz, GEAPS :
Can you share a little bit about how your work at IBT, particularly how your role, addresses the challenges faced by grain handling facilities? Samur?
Jake Crockford, IBT Industrial Solutions:
faced by grain handling facilities, some more Probably on a weekly if not daily basis, I run into either a labor or skill issue, regardless of the industry, not just the grain industry. There’s other customers that I call on that are more industrialized or more manufacturing. They’re all struggling to find warm bodies basically. So that is a continuing issue that we’re going to see. But as this workforce gets younger and younger, so does the could say so. I hear that a lot.
Jim Lenz, GEAPS :
We as a global membership association hear that from our members quite often. I was just in a conversation with our chief executive director, john Colport, and we’re working ourselves on helping people quickly get up to speed. For those who are new or newer to the industry, you were right the knowledge is leaving and so you’re doing, and your organization is doing, their part to help support that. So you always got to be in the know and I’m sure you do a lot of training with all the products and services you have. You’re getting education yourself right all the time and staying up to date and then passing that forward with your clients and prospective clients, right.
Jake Crockford, IBT Industrial Solutions:
IBT is very on the forefront of educating our workforce, so we pride ourselves on our internal training that we conduct with not only our outside sales force but also our inside sales force the guys that would pick up the phone if you called in. We also work with our suppliers and the manufacturers that we distribute for to get up-to-date info from them so that we can take that back and share it with our customer base. So some of these things they’ve been in production for a long time. There’s not a lot of changes, but there’s also some neat things that are coming up that manufacturers try to address or make things more efficient or better in some way, shape or form.
Jim Lenz, GEAPS :
You expressed these challenges in the grain industry and you’re there to support them. So people and labor challenges are one of the key things you’re finding in terms of challenges in the industry. Anything else you see as well.
Jake Crockford, IBT Industrial Solutions:
So with the younger guys that are coming on board, the gentlemen and ladies and such, they just don’t have the inherent knowledge that someone much older might. It’s kind of like they don’t know what they’re looking at a rotary phone until they actually pick it up. So you know, they grew up with a cell phone in their hand and everything should be automated. But really one of the bigger things that I run into or have run into is the part identification, the individual components that are critical to having your equipment run. They might know that, hey, that’s a bearing, but they don’t know how to identify that bearing. So I’ve gotten phone calls from people that say, hey, I need a bearing and that’s it, deadpan full stop. So from my perspective, it’s hard to assist them without additional information.
Jim Lenz, GEAPS :
So you kind of walk them through the process of hey, this is what I need in order to help you and you know in previous conversation you also mentioned the large spectrum of facilities that you serve and people in those facilities and some of those things may be older that’s difficult to maintain and service. Could you elaborate more on the unique challenges these facilities face and how can you help them overcome them with the needs that they have?
Jake Crockford, IBT Industrial Solutions:
How can you help them, overcome them with the needs that they have? Sure, At least here in Kansas, the bulk of our grain elevators were built prior to 1971. So 1971 is the line in the sand for when OSHA was created. So prior to that these facilities were kind of made without a lot of guidance, I guess you could say, with regards to safety and servicing of equipment. So you get into a lot of situations where the equipment is very inaccessible at times, or maybe the guarding around a piece of equipment wouldn’t be quite up to modern standards. So that’s always an issue whenever we’re dealing with particularly new employees.
Jake Crockford, IBT Industrial Solutions:
The other thing that comes up is just because of the age. These are 50 plus year old facilities. All the equipment that’s there is old, obsolete. It may be working pretty effectively, but there are times that you run into some components that they just don’t exist anymore. Their parent company has been bought out a couple different times or they’re no longer in business and the doors are shuttered. So working with my customer base to not only identify what’s there but also finding replacement components so that they can stay up and running and keep the lights on currently, Thank you for bringing that up.
Jim Lenz, GEAPS :
That also reminds me that we could use this form as a tool and a perspective of grain facility workers, not the vendor and supplier. So when a grain facility worker is in conversation with a big supplier like IBT Industrial Solutions, let’s think about what do they need to know regarding some things? So, first of all, preventative maintenance is often mentioned as a critical factor in facility efficiency. What are some key steps facilities can take, particularly regarding part identification and stocking spare parts? What kind of suggestion or offering do you have for those who work in green facilities?
Jake Crockford, IBT Industrial Solutions:
First off, what kind of facility do you have? You know your goals are going to be different whether you’re a country house or a country elevator, versus a rail terminal, a shipping facility of some sort. So if I’m a country elevator and I need to service my customer base, the local farmer, I want to have all my critical receiving equipment up to snuff. I want to go through that and identify my spare parts that I need to have on the shelf for my receiving equipment. Now, if I’m a rail terminal or a barge loading facility, I’m incentivized to make my shipment and load my train in a fixed amount of time. I don’t want to face any demerge charges.
Jake Crockford, IBT Industrial Solutions:
So I’m going to focus my efforts on my shipping equipment. What do I need to get my grain out of my bins and in that train car or on that barge, and what are those critical components to that? In addition to those things, I also want to look at my turnaround time if I were to go down. So I’m going to work with my suppliers my local guy to say, hey, what is my lead time on this component? Where could I get one of these if this one failed? Those type of things in order to not only keep components on my shelf in case I need them, if it’s cost effective to need them, but also know where to go when the worst thing was to happen.
Jim Lenz, GEAPS :
We’ll return right after this message. Ibt Industrial Solutions has been your expert and product support partner in the grain industry for over 75 years. They solve the hard problems that keep your business running as a one-stop shop for products and services ranging from motion amplification to conveying solutions. They also stock product inventory from over 1,200 suppliers available now at one of their 37 locations across the Midwest. Come visit IBT Solutions at Jeep’s Exchange booth 3110 or go to ibtinccom forward slash grain. Ibt Industrial Solutions, your trusted grain industry partner. You’ve highlighted the importance of providing suppliers with accurate information. Could you discuss why this is so critical, samur, and share tips for grain facility teams when working with vendors like IBT?
Jake Crockford, IBT Industrial Solutions:
Sure, I want you to help me. Help you. I need accurate information of what you’re looking for. Not only that, but how quick do you need it? If you’re calling me because you want to replenish your stock, that’s great. Love those phone calls. If you’re broke down and I don’t sense some urgency in your voice, or you don’t tell me you’re broke down, it’s a different conversation. Knowing your current situation and how to effectively resolve it to help you is why I’m here. It doesn’t matter whether the phone calls after hours or first thing in the morning. I want to make sure that we get you taken care of and get you the answers that you’re looking for in a timely manner, regardless of the circumstances. But the gist of it is is I’m not a mind reader. But the the gist of it is is I’m not a mind reader. So so you got to communicate effectively in order to get that through to not only myself but any of my colleagues.
Jim Lenz, GEAPS :
Yeah, it may seem obvious, but these are things that you’re encountering and so that’s great that you’re sharing that. It’s good for people in grain facilities to consider Start off very broad and narrow that focus down so that they can help you out. Now there’s a lot of different products and services that you support in grain facilities. I would like to focus now on the anatomy of a conveyor system. So, jake, let’s dive into the main components of a conveyor system. So, jake, let’s dive into the main components of a conveyor system. Could you walk us through the key parts the tail, the head and the drive and their roles in grain handling?
Jake Crockford, IBT Industrial Solutions:
Sure, starting at the tail. This is basically where your load point is going to be for any of your grain mass. This is also usually where the tension is on that take-up. So whether it’s a bucket elevator or a horizontal belt conveyor or drag assembly, the tension is usually at the tail. There’s a couple different ways that you configure that, using take-up bearings or take-up frames Also, the bearings there are usually going to be smaller than at your head. There’s the least amount of forces on that tail at that point Moving down the conveyor.
Jake Crockford, IBT Industrial Solutions:
There may be some intermediate rollers or something along those lines, but you end up at the head. That’s where the drive is. That’s where all the force is to move that grain mass. The components of the head are, in addition to some beefier bearings, you also have the drive. So you have usually a motor gearbox, some kind of a reducer in there to not only to decrease the speed but also to increase the torque. Torque is what moves everything. So that’s a balancing act between the motor and the gearbox and then it goes on to your head pulley or your drive sprocket in order to convey that assembly move your product.
Jim Lenz, GEAPS :
Could you also add some specific advice on how they could gather the critical dimensions or details that suppliers like IBT need for accurate part replacement? What about those critical dimensions and some identification tips here?
Jake Crockford, IBT Industrial Solutions:
Sure, first off, everybody carries a cell phone these days, so take some good pictures. I constantly get texts from my customers hey, I need two of these or something along those lines. That’s great. There may or may not be tag information on some of these components. There may or may not be tag information on some of these components, so when we’re looking at them, for instance on the tail or the take-up, take a picture of that assembly Broad perspective.
Jake Crockford, IBT Industrial Solutions:
There are a number of different take-ups available Narrow slot, wide slot, ptu, heavy duty, medium duty. There’s a number of different configurations there that we can address. Also the shaft dimensions or in some case, the bore. So we need that dimension. Bolt hole centers and base to center height, for instance on a pillow block bearing. That’s a critical dimension. So that helps narrow our focus down on what we supply you. If you tell me you need a bearing, narrow our focus down on what we supply you. If you tell me you need a bearing, that’s great. If you tell me you need a bearing that’s a 2-7-16 shaft, that’s better. But then we’ve got it narrowed down to a size. Now we need some more dimensions on the actual assembly in order to make sure that it’s going to bolt in where your existing bearing goes. So with a picture of that we can really narrow down what type of bearing that is, whether it might be a ball bearing or a tapered roller bearing of some kind. Those type of things are all great.
Jake Crockford, IBT Industrial Solutions:
Another thing is particularly when you get into motors and gearboxes. Usually there’s a manufacturer’s tag on a gearbox that’ll tell us the ratio. That’s something that we’d need to know On a motor. We need to know frame size, horsepower, voltage, what type of enclosure. It is a number of different aspects there that we get into on those types of things. Most of the time motors usually have a pretty robust tag on them, but there’s an awful lot of gearboxes out in the countryside that don’t have any information on them. So at that point we’re counting input rotations and output rotations in order to physically sit down and calculate the gear ratio of that reducer.
Jim Lenz, GEAPS :
So there’s some work involved in some of those instances, but you can help them through that, so that’s great. From your experience, what spare parts should facilities prioritize stocking to minimize downtime?
Jake Crockford, IBT Industrial Solutions:
So the most common component that you should have on your shelf for your conveying assemblies is going to be V-belts or drive belts. That is an engineered weak link that is designed if you plug your conveyor. If you plug a leg, it’s the belt that fails, or the drive belt that fails, not the other more expensive components harder to replace components that fail. That’s why those V-belts and those drive belts are put in. That assembly is to give you that failure mode.
Jim Lenz, GEAPS :
That’s a good point. Now I know in a previous conversation with some of your colleagues IBT has done a lot of preparation in advance. You know surrounding the pandemic, but I would love for you to take an opportunity and to describe how IBT has adapted to ensure timely delivery of parts and solutions for customers, because when customers want a product, they hope they have it. What is IBT doing on their end?
Jake Crockford, IBT Industrial Solutions:
IBT did go through a process of increasing our inventory across the board the parts and components that we’re holding just because of delays from not only manufacturers, but also shipments and raw materials that those manufacturers needed. We also have 39 stocking locations across the Midwest in order to service our customer base.
Jim Lenz, GEAPS :
Another thing I want to add, Jake, because you kind of have the vibe or the beat of grain facilities, because you are just connecting with so many across a broad sector. I’m curious maybe you’ve already mentioned this but, as someone so deeply involved in the industry, what do you see as the greatest challenges or greatest challenge and opportunities for grain facilities today? Are there any trends shaping the future of grain operations?
Jake Crockford, IBT Industrial Solutions:
Over the last several years at least here in Kansas we have had some drought conditions smaller than average crops. We’ve kind of turned a corner this last year so we hope that’s coming to an end. I’ve been out of the grain marketing world for some time but the carries that did exist in the market several years back. Those really did a tremendous job of keeping our facilities full as we captured some of those carries and rolled those positions forward. But this last year we had a lot of empty facilities and there were some repairs, some much needed repairs being done.
Jim Lenz, GEAPS :
Jake, as we wrap up, what’s the one piece of advice you’d give to grain facility teams looking to improve their conveyor operations and maintenance practices?
Jake Crockford, IBT Industrial Solutions:
I’m going to stress the importance of developing a relationship with your suppliers, with the guys that you depend on when the rubber meets the road, so to speak. Absolutely, I want to be supportive of you guys, but it’s also a bad way of phrasing that but it’s a good idea to support those that support you and communicating with them and developing those relationships so that you can get the immediate response and the service that you need in order to do your job effectively. Great, response.
Jim Lenz, GEAPS :
Great response, Jake. If listeners want to learn more about the services and solutions offered by IBT Industrial Solutions, what’s the best way to reach out to you and to IBT? Yeah, you can go to our website, ibt Inc, or you can visit our online presence at www. shopibt. com. Wonderful. Thank you so much, Jake. On behalf of the Whole Grain team, the GEAPS team, we thank you for sharing your expertise. We’ll include links in the show notes for anyone interested in learning more. Appreciate it. Thank you, Jake.
Jake Crockford, IBT Industrial Solutions:
Thank you for having me.
Jim Lenz, GEAPS :
Thanks for joining us on this episode of the Whole Grain Podcast. A big thank you to Jake Crawford for sharing his expertise in IBT Industrial Solutions. Jay Crawford for sharing his expertise in IBT Industrial Solutions. Don’t forget to check out the show notes for more resources and ways to connect with IBT Industrial Solutions. If you’ve not already done so, this is a reminder to subscribe to the Whole Grain Podcast and your favorite podcast app, such as Apple Podcasts, amazon Music, Pandora, Spotify and more. By doing so, every episode will be downloaded to your device as soon as it is released. Plus, you can catch up on all the past episodes. If you are on the GEAPS website, you can listen to all Whole Grain Podcast episodes from there, read the show notes and view the important links and access the transcript of the show. The URL is www. GEAPS. com/ wholegrain.
Jim Lenz, GEAPS :
We thank the entire grain handling and processing industry for doing your part to feed and fuel the world, as well as facilitate thousands of other products that stem from grain. Your work is important. Stay tuned, stay informed and connected by visiting www. GEAPS. com. The Whole Grain Podcast offers a custom commercial to support your business. Please reach out to me, jim Lenz, director of Global Education and Training at GEAPS, the grain elevator and processing society. My email is james@geaps. com. J-a-m-e-s at G-E-A-P-S dot com. We look forward to connecting with you. Have yourself a great day and thanks for listening to Whole Grain.
