Transloading is loosely defined as transferring a product for shipment from one form of transportation to another. The reason this may be necessary is if geographically a terrain cannot sustain a certain type of transportation or if certain transportation is cost prohibitive for the company.
There are products available to help with the transloading process. The one we will discuss today is the transloading cart, which provides portable access and fall prevention for rail and truck transloading. It’s like having two products in one. The transloading cart is made of durable steel with hand rails on both sides and a non-skid surface on the stairs for added safety. It’s easy for one person to move the cart because it sits on swivel casters. Once you reach the desired location, the casters are lockable to keep the cart stable. Then a foldout ramp creates safe access to the truck or rail car hatch.
These OSHA compliant carts can be configured to specific requirements needed by your company depending on the type of product you’re transloading. Options can include loading arms, hose handlers and/or pump and metering systems for accurate records of the amount of product transferred. Accurate readings are beneficial to your company as well as the client to whom you offload the product. Another useful feature is that most transloading carts can be designed with optional power drive systems. No matter where you work, safety on the job is key and a portable transloading cart can be designed and built to provide your workers with safe access to trucks and rail cars.
Transloading Carts in a Real World Example
A Natural Gas Liquids market leader was producing product from wellheads in several locations throughout the United States. The challenge they encountered was how to get their product onto rail cars. Easy, right? Not when the wells are located far away from any railways. The company also needed to ensure they transferred every drop of product in order to maximize their revenue.
The requirements got even trickier. The NGL company needed a mobile transloading cart with a mounted skid capable of loading 250# and 400# rail cars. The company wanted to ensure the transloading process would maintain a maximized flow rate even with all the necessary safety equipment on the cart. Since custody transfer was involved that meant metering and ticketing were needed, too.
Here’s how the issue was resolved. A compressor, meter and ticket printer were added to a transfer skid. Then the skid was mounted to a cart frame that had non-slip stairs leading up to a platform. At the top of the platform there was a gangway with safety cage that allowed a worker to access the top of a rail car safely and easily. Finally a bottom unloading arm, bullhorn LPG arm and vapor recovery arm were added so the NGL company could safely transload their product from wellheads to tank trucks to rail cars while minimizing product waste and maximizing throughput.
Carbis Fluid Handling, LLC., is a leader in the fall prevention and chemical loading industry. Our products leverage our years of experience and knowledge to create complete safety equipment packages featuring pumping systems and control integration. All our fall prevention systems comply with OSHA standards. Contact us today to see how we can help your business thrive.
