Turnaround Logistics

API 756 suggests updated guidelines for tent siting evaluations: Blast, toxin, and weather-resistant

April 28, 2014 by Turnaround Logistics Leave a Comment

There had been speculation that the American Petroleum Institute (API) was evaluating existing practices for tent siting evaluations, and this was confirmed when the API Process Safety Committee released a draft report titled, “Management of Hazards Associated with Location of Process Plant Tents,” at the end of 2013. This recommended practice (RP 756) provides guidance for managing risk from explosions, fires, and toxic material releases to on-site personnel located in tents.

The API Committee’s draft report evaluates recommended practices concerning five different types of tents utilized, including air-inflated structures.

Tents included in the tent siting evaluation study are intended for occupancy and may be used for breaks or meals, weather shelters, change houses, orientation, training, meetings, tool stations, offices, laboratories, or equipment assembly, just to name a few. API 756 suggests tents for these uses and others will be required to meet the owner/operator’s tent siting evaluation criteria, and mitigate consequences or risk where required. [i] Air-inflated structures, or Dynamic Air Shelters (DAS), are considered to be the solution to minimize these risks and comply with API’s newly recommended practices.

It is unknown as to the exact date that API 756 will be approved and begin to be recommended, but industrial plants are already beginning to purchase DAS ahead of the recommendation of these practices and ahead of the rush. As the leading distributor of DAS and a turnkey logistics services provider, Turnaround Logistics, Inc. is currently helping turnaround managers and logistical planners comply with API 756 through supplying DAS, while increasing wrench time in the process.

Turnaround Logistics’ unique product pairing of premier blast-resistant, DAS and diverse logistical planning services is catching the attention of turnaround management and executives responsible for maximizing wrench time, transportation of personnel during turnarounds, workforce accommodations, and safety compliance.

Customer, Don Francis, Material Planning and Logistics Lead at BP, says, “Turnaround Logistics provided us shelters and support that enabled us to work inside the blast zones during the 2013 FCC turnaround event. This brought personnel closer to the event, and minimized delays in travel time with each trip to the shelter.”

Turnaround Logistics is one of just a few providers for DAS, but the only provider with innovative logistical solutions both in and outside of DAS, and where you might least suspect it. The company creates logistical efficiencies where others do not through complementary custom services and products, including on-site catering, all types of lunch and break tents, specialty rentals, parking lot management and transportation, premium hygienic facilities, utility vehicles, generators, ice makers, cool down huts, and alternatives to troublesome busses.

Turnaround Logistics’ experienced team prides themselves on being able to use their extensive industrial experience and premier workforce accommodation products to work with customers to not only comply with the approaching API 756 recommended practices, but to create innovative logistics solutions that help the customer maximize their resources as their “turnkey solution partner.”

Shawn McGee, CEO and General Manager of Turnaround Logistics, says, “It is very rewarding having a team that recognizes the needs of the petrochemical industry. We value our long-term relationships with our customers and enjoy being with them in the field learning first-hand what their daily challenges are. Our goal is not to just sell a product, but to solve problems for our customers and create the best solutions for them, some of which may not have even been done before.”

View this article published in BIC Magazine (March 2014).

More information regarding API 756 can be found at www.api.org.

[i] Management of Hazards Associated with Location of Process Plant Tents. Rep. American Petroleum Institute, n.d. Web. 06 Feb. 2014. http://ballots.api.org/ProcessSafety/RP756Draft11.pdf.

Exxon Mobilizes the Texas Chemical Industry

July 12, 2013 by Turnaround Logistics Leave a Comment

As natural gas came booming onto the energy scene, it suddenly became much more affordable to fuel large plants and factories. Texas’ Barnett and Eagle Ford shale formations have played a considerable role in the energy boom, especially within Texas itself. Bountiful shale oil and natural gas deposits sit underneath the Lone Star state and are now being tapped with new technologies and techniques. Companies in the area have recently announced close to 100 new chemical projects thanks to the low cost of natural gas. One of these companies is Exxon Mobil, planning a multi-billion dollar expansion of its Baytown chemical production complex.

The sudden skyrocket in chemical production has been great for the local and national economies. However, there is one big problem with the massive growth. The Houston area has thousands of new jobs to fill and not enough skilled workers to do so. Taking matters into its own hands, Exxon decided to help recruit and train these new workers to employ at the newly flourishing chemical plants. The energy giant will be coordinating and helping to fund programs at nine Texas community colleges and organizations to get people trained for these new positions. This is good news for the Texas chemical industry, which could have as many as 46,000 permanent jobs to fill if all new projects are completed. Some experts predict as many as 1.2 million jobs could be added by 2020 as an indirect result of chemical industry expansion. The average salary for a trained and skilled employee of the chemical industry is $86,000.

The Whirlwind U.S. Energy Boom

June 19, 2013 by Turnaround Logistics Leave a Comment

The United States may soon be able to say goodbye to foreign oil. According to the International Energy Agency, U.S. shale oil will meet most of the new oil demand from all around the globe within the next five years, even if world economies pick up more steam. Where did all of this new fossil fuel come from and how do American energy companies plan to handle the influx?

Oil shale can be refined and used for the same purposes as products derived from crude oil, which is what makes the shale oil boom globally significant. Natural gas can be processed into ethane, propane, butane, and other forms of fuel, and can also be found in shale reserves. Thanks to new and advanced technologies, the United States has located new reserves of these fuels or can now attain reserves previously believed unreachable. Hydraulic fracturing (or “fracking”) and horizontal drilling are new technology applications that have made reaching shale oil and gas possible.

The Marcellus Shale bed, a geological formation located across West Virginia, Pennsylvania, and New York, was once thought to be exhausted, but it is now known to hold an estimated 160-500 trillion cubic feet of untapped resources. Similarly, a recent United States Geological Survey revealed an estimated 7.4 billion barrels of oil in the Bakken and Three Forks shale in North Dakota, South Dakota, and Montana. Texas’ Barnett shale consists of sedimentary rocks well over 300 million years old and has launched Texas into the forefront of shale oil and gas production. It has been estimated to contain the largest producible reserves of any natural gas field in the U.S. Texas is also home to the Eagle Ford shale play, which is one of the most actively drilled formations in the entire country due to the ease of hydraulic fracturing in the area. Eagle Ford is considered to be a huge economic development for the state of Texas, ranking as the largest oil and gas development in the world based on invested capital.

These new found fuel reserves have helped the U.S. import much less foreign oil as refineries increase production and new refineries are opened to process the influx of new resources. The U.S. is also exporting more oil and gas to other nations. Many energy companies looking to get in on the boom scrambled to get a bid in on the new reserves found in North Dakota. Refineries all over the country are in high gear and North America is soon expected to be number one in oil production out of the 12 members of OPEC.

Never Underestimate the Importance of Safety

May 23, 2013 by Turnaround Logistics Leave a Comment

The tragic explosion at the West Fertilizer plant in Texas has raised many questions about chemical safety. While a fertilizer plant would not normally fall under our typical clientele, it is important to take this opportunity to discuss the need for caution and protection in the petrochemical industry.

Any time that combustible or explosive materials are present, safety must be priority number one. For example, some of the most dangerous situations can occur when a unit is being drained or taken down for maintenance. Planning ahead and taking the appropriate amount of time to prepare carefully can ensure the well-being of your employees and your business. Planning ahead can also help avoid any miscommunications or gaps in the turnaround process. If everyone knows their roll in the procedure then there is less risk that a problem will go unnoticed or an important step will be neglected.

Proper ventilation is also an important aspect of the turnaround process. When a plant is undergoing repairs, cars and trucks may be parked where they normally would not be. Exhaust fumes from a running truck can cause serious complications if they are accidentally taken in with the air supply. A simple way to avoid this is to plan safe parking places for vehicles that are far enough away from workers, equipment, trailers, and plant traffic.

Besides the obvious chemical dangers and blast risks, the warmer weather can also put your employees in danger. Surprisingly, spring weather has a high potential for causing heat stroke due to quick escalations in temperature. The human body generally needs a few days to adjust to hot weather, but in the springtime the thermometer can jump 20 degrees within a day. Providing shade and/or shelter is an easy way to protect your workers. Everyone should be alerted of the warning signs of heat stroke and how to prevent it.

Top 3 Tips for Industrial Operations Planning a Turnaround

April 10, 2013 by Turnaround Logistics Leave a Comment

Experience is the best teacher of all, and if you do something long enough, you’ll eventually get good at it. So we’ve learned a thing or two over the years from working with our customers.

We have a policy that our customers are always right, and there’s nothing we won’t try to do to satisfy their requests — within reason, of course. But sometimes, we’ve found, a customer will get a little confused about how to best proceed with a company offering logistics services. So here are a few tips to help guide you in meeting the logistical needs of your plant turnaround.

Whoever you use as a supplier, make sure they are basically capable of whatever product or service you are looking for. Check out the supplier’s website and follow up on the phone with a customer service rep.
Plan ahead for whatever services or equipment you need. Don’t wait till the last day to place an order. Typically, it will take a supplier a day to round up the people and equipment you need for a function and another day to set everything up.
You should always take into consideration the placement of temporary facilities, whether they are tents or office trailers or sanitation units. If you situate temporary equipment in a place where it will interfere with another business activity in the interim, you’ll have to add an additional cost to your invoice by asking the supplier to come back and move the temporary equipment. Try to know exactly where things should go beforehand.

The best piece of advice we can give you when it comes to your turnaround needs is: Think things through and plan ahead. (That holds true for a lot of problems.) And please feel free to contact us for any other questions you have when you’re doing your planning. That’s what we’re here for.

New Year, New Website…Same Great Service

March 21, 2013 by Turnaround Logistics Leave a Comment

If you’ve visited our website recently, you may have noticed something different about it: a complete makeover. We’re a modern company offering some of the most highly respected clients in the country complete, state-of-the-art workforce accommodations, and we decided our website should better reflect that. We officially launched it in October, and so far, it’s gotten a wonderful response.

One of the first things you’ll notice on the home page is that it’s sleeker and more visually appealing. Beyond that, though, are many changes that are built to make your experience on our site better. It’s much more user-friendly than our old website, and includes a lot more valuable information on our services. Click on any of the links and you’ll find full descriptions and informative areas of information, all of it as easy to navigate as it is useful.

You’ll also notice we’ve added a “Request a Quote” function that allows you to easily receive a quote through our website. This added feature has not only proven helpful to our site visitors, but to us as well; we’ve gained many new contacts through this link. And did you know we are very active on social media? Now you can reach our Facebook, Twitter, Google+, and LinkedIn pages, as well as our blog, directly through our website. Want to check out examples of our past work? They’re right there on our home page.

We’re very excited about our new and improved website, and encourage you to check it out. We think it better represents who we are, what we do, and how we’re constantly evolving and moving forward. Check it out and let us know what you think!

Case Study: Turnaround Logistics for the BP Refinery

February 18, 2013 by Turnaround Logistics Leave a Comment

As you probably know all too well, planning for and operating a large turnaround project can be overwhelming. There are so many details and logistics to work out, and not a single one can be overlooked. That is why Turnaround Solutions has become such a trusted source of logistical planning for so many petrochemical and power generation clients. They realize that it’s too much to plan on their own, and that we have the experience and know-how to get it done for them, and get it done right.

One example of a current client for whom we are presently offering turnaround solutions is the BP Refinery in Carson, California. We first began the conversation with them back in the summer of 2012, and they were very impressed with what we had to offer. We started shipping equipment to them in October, by January we were in full swing, and it’s been going great.

Currently, the BP refinery has 95 of our lunch/break/permitting tents, a Dynamic Air Shelter provided by us (complete with heating and AC), 200 picnic tables, 10 personnel, and a variety of our equipment serving all of their logistical needs. We’re so pleased with how it’s going, and happy to know they can get through their quick turnaround without having to worry about all the details that we are experts at.

At Turnaround Solutions, we can accommodate everything from those aforementioned picnic tables and tents, to services such as on-site catering and hygienic facilities. To learn more about what we can do for you, visit our website.

New Year, New Offerings

February 11, 2013 by Turnaround Logistics Leave a Comment

As many of our clients and readers may know by now, we at Turnaround Logistics have been providing turnkey services, including logistical planning, tents, Dynamic Air Shelters, personnel, and equipment, for years. While it could seem that our success in those areas would be enough to keep us content, we have recently decided to offer additional services.

After some time having our satisfied customers ask if we could provide them with bus rentals, we’ve decided to go for it, and we’ve begun 2013 by adding that to our list of capabilities. We are now running transportation buses for turnaround projects, ensuring yet another aspect of logistical services is taken care of. Offering bus service that is manned and maintained, we officially launched the new offering in December 2012, and so far it is off to a great start.

Many old and new petrochemical clients are eager to take advantage of our new bus service, including the Shell Refinery in Deer Park, Texas. We are beyond pleased to know that our loyal customers—as well as plenty of new ones—are trusting us with all of their needs, and are highly satisfied with the bus transportation services we are now providing. As a company that is on the cutting edge of the industry, with our finger on the pulse of what companies need and want for their workforce and logistical solutions, we’re delighted to keep adding to our company and growing as the need arises.

We look forward to 2013 and what it brings, and especially to building and maintaining our relationships with our customers.

The Importance of Blast Resistant Shelters:

November 5, 2012 by Turnaround Logistics Leave a Comment

After an event occurred in 2005 at the Texas City Refinery, Dynamic Air Shelters was asked if their shelters would perform in an event similar to this explosion. Dynamic was proud to answer that question with a resounding “Yes!”

Our light weight, versatile blast resistant shelters have become an industry standard on petrochemical and power generation sites. They are able to protect workers and equipment by dissipating blast forces up to a 6 PSI threat, .50 milliseconds. We can add additional protection by providing a geo textile wall that can resist debris equal to 155 mm artillery or 50 caliber direct fire.

The recent events this year in California and Oklahoma in which petrochemical plants had explosions, demonstrates the importance of blast resistant shelters. While events like these do not happen often, they do occur. Our shelters can keep you and your employees safe and mitigate the health and safety regulations within the confined space.

We provide installation services and any shelter can be installed with just a forklift. Please visit our website to browse all of the options available for your custom inflatable blast resistant shelter. All shelters come with a comprehensive 2 year warranty. Extended warranties are also available.

Turnaround Logistics: Recent Work

October 11, 2012 by Turnaround Logistics Leave a Comment

By now, you know that we offer a wide variety of logistical services to our clients and recently, we have offered a few more.

When Bayer Aspirin Chemical scheduled their outages (which normally happens in the forth quarter of the year), they turned to us to provide temporary shelter and workspace. During the scheduled outages, the plant is shut down and maintenance is done, to make sure that things continue to run smoothly. Many times, contract personnel is brought in and they will come to the plant to perform work during the turnaround. We provided an 80 by 120 pole tent to provide shelter from the elements, so that everyone would have a place to go for lunch or during a much needed quick break.

Another recent job was for Shell Refinery in Deerpark, Texas. We provided them with 3 tents (40 by 60, 40 by 80 & 40 by 100) for their scheduled turnaround that began in September. We were sure to have these tents sent up well in advanced so that things were set up perfectly when the work began.

Lastly, we supplied a 40 by 40 tent for Turner Industries at TPC that will be used for 10 to 12 months during a construction job. Within that tent, we also provided the picnic tables and the lighting. We will continue to go to their job site every month to check that that the anchoring has not loosened and to provide any necessary maintenance.

As you can see, we take pride in our work, here at Turnaround Logistics and we will take every action to make sure that our products and services are up to top standards. Visit our site for more information.