Relocating A Marine Loading Facility With Minimal Downtime
The Sudden Need To Move Its Facility With Minimal Downtime
After ten years of planning, the states of Illinois and Missouri finally settled on a location for their bridge connecting St. Louis and East St. Louis. Unfortunately, that location just happened to be right in the middle of the facility where a cement company loaded its barges.
The company needed an experienced partner who could help them navigate a total upheaval and relocation of their facility, while minimizing downtime and complying with local, state and Coast Guard requirements.
A Safety Systems Partner With A Knack For Coordination
The cement company began their search for the right partner to coordinate the project. After evaluating several vendors, they chose Carbis Solutions, a company known for its fall prevention and safety solutions.
The company selected Carbis Solutions because it guaranteed a tight project timeline and budget, and because of the success of past projects. They also chose the safety solutions provider for its ability to coordinate the project with various engineering firms, safeguard the full integration of marine and land components, provide engineering documentation for various state agencies for permitting and support safe access across all points of the barges for employees.
Taking into consideration the requirements from all involved parties, Carbis Solutions’ engineers recommended the installation of a marine gangway to provide the cement company’s employees safe access to the staging barge. This custom safety solution consists of an engineered gangway that can handle the various levels of the Mississippi River, as well as meet all local, state and Coast Guard requirements.
The engineers also recommended a barge-to-barge gangway to provide safer access from the staging barge to the shipping barge during the marine loading process.
A Successful Loading Facility Relocation With Minimal Downtime
Carbis Solutions’ project managers employed open communication to work with the various engineering firms involved in the project as well as with regulatory entities and the cement company itself.
As a result of the project, the cement company’s throughput experienced minimal downtime. The facility move was completed within the company’s time and budget constraints, while the new facility offered improved fall prevention and worker safety.
