What Are Your Bins Not Showing You?

Grain facilities are built to run hard. During harvest, many operate at full speed with little room for downtime, unexpected repairs or unanswered questions about the condition of critical structures.

That is exactly why Hayes Guillot believes inspections cannot wait until something goes wrong.

“Facilities are running full speed at all times,” said Guillot, inspection and technology specialist with CCS Group, LLC. “A lot of times I hear, ‘We don’t know the last time we’ve been able to take a look inside of that bin and see what’s going on.’” 

Guillot discussed these issues during a recent episode of GEAPS’ Whole Grain Podcast, where he explained how CCS is using modern inspection technology to help grain facilities better understand the condition of their assets.

Now, Guillot will take a deeper look at that work during Grain Journal’s free webinar, “Inside the Bin, Without the Risk,” at 11 a.m. CDT July 28. The webinar, presented with CCS Group, will focus on how modern inspection tools are helping grain facilities identify hidden risks, reduce safety exposure and make better maintenance decisions. 

For facility managers, maintenance teams, safety professionals and company leaders, the question is not just whether a bin or silo looks fine from the outside. It is whether the operation has enough information to know what is happening inside.

Concrete silos, bins, tunnels and pits accumulate years of abrasion, vibration, moisture cycling and structural stress. Small cracks, spalling, exposed reinforcing steel or moisture-related damage can develop in areas that are difficult to access or easy to overlook. By the time damage becomes visible, the repair may already be more complicated, more expensive and more disruptive.

That is the shift Guillot wants facilities to make: from reactive repairs to proactive inspection.

“Part of my role here is educating customers on what we do so that it can be more of a proactive inspection as opposed to reactive,” he said.

At CCS, Guillot works directly with customers to assess facilities, identify repair needs and use technology to support better decision-making. His background in precision agriculture and drone technology gives him a practical understanding of how data can help operators see what they could not see before.

CCS Group provides structural assessments, preventive maintenance and repairs for terminal and country grain elevators. Guillot describes the company’s role simply:

“We do everything to a grain bin but build them new.”

The upcoming webinar will give attendees a closer look at how tools such as interior and exterior drones, ground-penetrating radar, thermal imaging and lidar are being used in real grain facility settings. Instead of getting buried in the technical details, Guillot will explain what these tools can help reveal, why that information matters and how it can support stronger maintenance planning.

One of the biggest benefits is safety. Traditional inspections can require workers to enter confined spaces, climb structures or access areas that are difficult to reach. Sending technology in first can reduce some of that exposure.

“At a very basic level, you’re not putting a person in there and exposing them to harmful gases or fall risk,” Guillot said.

The information collected also can help facilities make decisions with more confidence. Instead of relying on assumptions, teams can review photos, video, reports and other inspection data to better understand where issues exist and what steps may be needed next.

“Our goal with using all this technology is to give all of this information to the customer to help them make decisions based on actual hard evidence,” Guillot said.

That evidence can be especially valuable when site managers need to explain repair needs to executives, boards or ownership groups. A hidden issue is easier to understand when decision-makers can see it clearly.

“When you can show them exactly what’s going on and where it’s at, it definitely shifts that conversation to, ‘OK, what is the repair?’” Guillot said.

For grain facilities, the value of inspection technology comes down to timing. The earlier a concern is identified, the more options a facility has to plan, budget and respond before the problem grows.

“If you can catch something earlier when it’s a smaller issue versus down the road when it becomes a larger problem, then you’re saving the facility downtime,” he said.

During the free webinar, Guillot will walk through how these technologies fit into facility maintenance planning and how better visibility can help grain operations protect safety, reduce risk and plan repairs with more confidence.

Hidden risks do not stay hidden forever. The question is whether they are discovered during a planned inspection or during an unexpected disruption.

Register for the free Grain Journal and CCS Group webinar, “Inside the Bin, Without the Risk,” at 11 a.m. CDT July 28: Register Here