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Bulk loading systems are everywhere, handling a wide
variety of materials ranging from iron ore to refined chemicals and grain
shipped on a variety of air, overland and water-borne vessels. As the global
economy becomes increasingly competitive, the focus on safe and efficient
handling of bulk-shipped materials becomes more pronounced. The reason is plain:
Both safety and efficiency have serious economic consequences.
Efficiency conjures up positive images, like the
promise of improved throughput, productivity and profits. Safety is a much more
solemn issue. Anything less than a perfect safety record can dramatically affect
the bottom line. If an accident occurs, not only will a skilled employee be
injured, but the loading system design may be questioned, possibly even
involving OSHA.
Until recently, most companies constructing bulk
loading facilities tended to seek multiple contractors to design and construct
those facilities and safe access to them. In some cases in-house personnel were
used to build platforms, stairways, and some structural members used in
conjunction with loading systems.
That situation is changing rapidly. Industry
experts expect the number of ?design-build? projects - those where a single
contractor provides turnkey solutions from engineering through completion - to
multiply exponentially, with virtually all non-residential construction projects
shifting away from the multiple-contractor approach to the design-build concept
over the next 10 years.
So, it?s quite probable that sooner or later
your company is going to be looking at design-build bulk loading solutions.
Which means you?ll need to know the advantages and drawbacks of the
design-build approach, not to mention which contractors have the experience and
wherewithal to provide optimized design-build solutions. Here are some key
points you?ll need to consider.
TOTAL SOLUTION PROVIDERS
Everybody in industry has downsized or rightsized
their organizations as much as possible, so the fulltime workforce performs only
core business-related activities. ?Today?s manufacturing companies are
outsourcing non-core business functions,? said Ron Bennett, operations manager
for Carbis Inc., a bulk loading/safe access systems supplier. ?Engineers are
being asked to merely supervise work performed by specialists who can deliver
turnkey design-build projects.?
Bennett said design-build projects are more
seamless. ?Any time you fractionalize a project, you have interface problems -
?Who?s responsible for this and that.? You really have to take everything
into consideration at once,? he said. ?You?ll do a better job if you look
at all aspects of a project simultaneously. For instance, with bulk loading
stations, the need for safe access is as important as efficient loading and
unloading. Design-build makes everything cleaner.?
FAST-TRACK TURNAROUND
Clients today want projects designed and built on
fast-track schedules. The pressures for reduced project cycles sometimes results
in construction beginning while the project is still in the design process. This
can be a big mistake. Many business owners are seeing that their businesses are
changing so quickly - including outsourced functions such as building bulk
loading facilities - that early decisions now carry a greater financial risk.
Delivering the system needed on time usually entails more problems when there
are multiple contractors in play. However, when companies engage the services of
qualified design-build firms, the design/build cycle can be greatly reduced and
executed almost simultaneously.
MAXIMIZING EFFICIENCY
It is difficult to calculate the return on
investment with most bulk delivery systems. If you need one, you need one.
However, in many cases a system designed and built by experts at turnkey
solutions is more efficient than one done through multiple albeit qualified
suppliers hooking up pieces of a system.
Improved efficiencies can result in productivity
gains. For example, at some bulk loading facilities, throughput suffers because
of limited capabilities to load or unload materials. ?If you design the system
right, you can increase throughput,? Bennett said. ?That may not result in
an increase in output from your processing, but it does remove a constraint. A
bulk loading bottleneck is the last thing you need.?
Bennett cites as an example a rail car loading
rack his company installed in a team effort with client Citgo Asphalt recently.
Citgo and Carbis replaced an 18-spot rack with a smaller six-spot rack, yet more
than doubled the throughput of that facility, setting a record for the number of
rail cars loaded there last year.
IMPROVED ACCOUNTABILITY
The design/build approach simplifies liability
for the owner. Rather than get into a quandary over whether a problem results
from poor design or poor construction, the owner holds the design-builder solely
accountable. The design-build team must manage and assume the risk in making the
right business decisions for the client and the project.
Because the design-build firm is responsible for
integrating design and construction, there are no issues of omissions or errors.
Continuous communication between design-build team members and the client, plus
improved controls, continuous reality checks, performance validation and
periodic self assessments help ensure that the project will be delivered on
time.
ADDED DESIGN INSIGHT
The ability to visualize new design possibilities
for improved safety, efficiency or system delivery requires design insight.
Design insight is amplified when a supplier possesses expertise in all phases of
a project. So, many successful design-build companies are capable of offering
ideas that may work better than traditional designs. That is, they are capable
of embracing, processing and responding to changing needs, thereby using
innovation to provide better solutions to traditional needs.
For example, in the area of fall protection, a
lot of trucking companies are unaware of the fact that cinching of tarps or
tie-down straps on flatbed trucks can be somewhat dangerous, with accidents
resulting during tie-downs on flatbed being second only to those occurring on
box-type trailers. When workers fall from a flatbed, they can break a limb or
worse. So, fall protection should be incorporated into those types of trailer
loading activities.
?There are occasions when a company planning a
loading facility believes the tried-and-true ?standard? solution is the best
one,? said Jim Johnson, also an executive at Carbis. ?But the best solution
depends on what they?re trying to accomplish. There are ways get creative and
address special safety or efficiency needs, but the front end of the project is
the place to do that. That?s where the turnkey design-build company can
contribute a lot, because they can foresee circumstances the client needs to
avoid.?
VALUE-ADDED FACTORS
In addition to all the conceptual, engineering
and construction work, qualified design-build suppliers can offer important
value-added advantages to clients. For example, Carbis will train operators for
a bulk loading facility, evaluate emerging safety issues, and work proactively
with OSHA on the state and federal levels on training and compliance issues. The
company also offers inspection and maintenance programs to keep facilities
running safely and efficiently, plus leasing and other methods of financing.
DESIGN-BUILD ISSUES
Design-build is still a new concept to some
important project players, such as insurance and bonding companies. While they
will likely acclimate to the design-build concept, they may want the reassurance
of dealing with companies with successful design-build track records. Of course,
some contractors will be tempted to take the plunge and hang out a design-build
shingle while some of the roles involved are still relatively unfamiliar.
Another significant obstacle: some states require additional design work to
implement design/build projects, and there are states that require the
design/bid/build project delivery method.
BOTTOM LINE ISSUES
There are a lot of reasons why companies build
their own bulk loading facilities, or build the ?mundane? structures such as
platforms and stairs, and have contractors furnish the more specialized modules
such as handrails and enclosures. Of course, most of those reasons surface from
the bottom line.
Shipping costs can be a reason enough why some
companies elect to build some bulk loading system components locally. Plus, they
are able to find plenty of local contractors or even in-house employees who can
do part of the work. However, this can involve a certain amount of risk,
because, in some cases, components such as handrails from mixed sources don?t
match perfectly, causing ?transition? problems.
In the end, it?s not always evident when
savings are lost because the efficiency of overall system design is compromised
even slightly. But the grave reality is this: When somebody falls and gets
injured, there?s not only workman?s comp issues to contend with. You?ve
probably got somebody suing you because the workplace wasn?t safe. Plus, there
could be other nasty ramifications as well, including cautions from OSHA. And
avoiding those issues, while protecting worker safety, is the real bottom line.
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