FEATURE
Businesses ready to assist through
hurricane season
I
t only takes one hurricane to devastate
an area. Therefore, having a strong support system ready when needed this hurricane season is key to safety and recovery.
BIC Alliance member companies’ varied
offerings can bring you sustainability and
peace of mind in hurricane preparation
and response.
Ready to assist
Adler Tank Rentals is prepared 24/7
to assist with emergency liquid and solid
storage needs. Adler Tank Rentals offers
containment solutions for storage of hazardous and nonhazardous liquids and solids for environmental and industrial applications. Its products include 21,000-gallon
multipurpose tanks and open-top weir
tanks, as well as roll-off, trash, vacuum
and dewatering boxes.
When rebuilding is necessary, look to
Adler’s sister divisions, Mobile Modular
and Mobile Modular Portable Storage, for
secure temporary buildings, offices and
storage containers.
With multiple locations in Texas,
Louisiana and Florida, Adler prides itself
on providing safe and reliable storage
solutions in urgent circumstances.
Austin Industrial Inc. is directly
impacted any time a hurricane makes
landfall. Action plans covering pre-storm,
storm and post-storm activities are in
place to ensure its employee-owners and
customers are safe and the impact is as
minimal as possible.
After a storm hits, Austin Industrial
places an immediate focus on aiding
impacted employee-owners and expediting project recovery for its customers to
return to normal operations. It also has an
assigned team of highly trained personnel
for each project and an office that is readily available for disaster relief.
When a hurricane looms or its devastation is all that’s left after a storm, time is of
the essence. You need to trust your carpenter crew is skilled in the specialized tasks a
hurricane preparedness or cleanup program
requires. And you need confidence the
workers will show up and work hard when
you need them the most. That’s where the
Central South Carpenters can help.
Central South Carpenters is ready to
staff your prep or cleanup and repairs
with plenty of safety-conscious, properly
credentialed professional carpenters. Its
contractors have a deep supply of experienced crews who understand their job is to
get the work done quickly, correctly and
safely. Take the hassle of finding skilled
manpower off your hurricane preparedness list: Let Central South Carpenters
keep you staffed with the best carpenters
60
August 2016
in the region.
Checkers Safety Group offers an
extensive line of products designed to
aid in disaster relief. TuffTrak® Ground
Protection Solutions offers mats designed
to provide vehicle access to areas with
soft, uneven or otherwise damaged
ground. Checkers also offers an extensive
line of cable and hose protection under
the Linebacker® name. These solutions are
critical to protecting the cabling of temporary power generators. Easy to set up and
transport, Linebacker Cable Management
systems offer durability and the high load
capacity necessary to protect cables from
crossing emergency vehicles. Monster™
Motion Safety wheel chocks are available in many different sizes and are ideal
for keeping emergency response vehicles
stationary.
In the event of a hurricane, Cooling
Tower Technologies LLC (CTTI) has
implemented a readiness and recovery
plan to allow its critical business functions
to be available to its customers. In severe
emergencies, many facilities are damaged
and the need for cooling tower repairs
increases dramatically.
CTTI prioritizes response based on
ongoing maintenance contracts with
facilities, the severity of the need, plans
already in place for emergency response
with owners, and availability of resources.
The best preparation for an emergency
situation is to plan for the emergency long
before it occurs. A typical plan includes:
1. An agreement between both parties in
the form of a purchase order for materials and labor that will be needed for any
repairs. 2. Emergency contact list. 3.
Dedicated personnel to specific customers. 4. Inventory of possible parts needed.
5. An emergency procedure in the event of
a hurricane.
DeHumidification Technologies LP
(DH Tech) is well equipped and ready to
go 24/7 for hurricane season or anything
that may follow. From trailer-mounted
setups for larger water damage jobs to
small jobs that require smaller equipment, DH Tech is prepared for long-term
or short-term rental/service projects. The
company will dry out electric motors,
control rooms, generators/turbines and
office buildings in refineries and chemical plants. With the help of DH Tech,
you can drastically minimize losses from
cost of replacement and business interruptions and reduce corrosion rates due
to containments. Additionally, DH Tech’s
equipment provides cooling needs for
lunchrooms, tents, containments or buildings for worker comfort.
Dynamic Air Shelters have been
rigorously tested in many extreme
weather conditions. Dynamic’s blastresistant air shelters have been tested
under Category 5 hurricane conditions
with winds up to 191 miles per hour.
Dynamic’s shelters are easy to set up
without the use of heavy equipment,
making recovery after a storm much
easier. While you work to ensure the facility is ready to restart and operate safely,
Dynamic provides a safe and comfortable
environment for a workforce of 20-1,000
or more.
Empire Scaffold has a set hurricane
plan to provide the best and most cost
efficient manner of dealing with the threat
and occurrence of hurricanes. Empire
Scaffold Corporate Support/Marketing
Manager Brandon Collins recommends
facilities acquire an on-site laydown yard
of miscellaneous scaffold material prior to
hurricane season.
“Having the material already on-site
and ready to be erected to assess any damage the storm may have caused is critical
in time management and cost,” Collins
said. “Empire Scaffold can freight in
material and stage it at the facility prior to
the season. And if a hurricane was to hit
and cause damage, laborers could be sent
to begin erecting the material.”
Excel Modular Scaffold takes a preemptive approach to hurricane preparedness. All facilities currently utilizing the
Excel product are treated with a bimonthly inspection of all long-term standing
scaffolds to ensure decking is properly
secured in the event of high winds. New
scaffolds erected during months subject
to hurricanes have all decking assembled
to avoid any flying debris should severe
weather strike.
Excel is swift to act once repair
efforts have begun following a storm.
Project management is accustomed to
the increased manpower requirements in
order to get each facility back in operating
order. Over the past five years, Marathon’s
Garyville, Louisiana, refinery has been hit
by severe weather on numerous occasions.
The culmination of severe weather efforts
required five of the main vessels in excess
of 180 feet to be completely scaffolded
and boarded out for repairs.
Gas Clip Technologies specializes
in portable gas detectors that ensure constant protection when faced with critical
emergency situations. When someone’s
life is on the line, the last thing you want
to worry about is not being able to operate safety equipment correctly. While the
Multi Gas Clip detector uses sophisticated infrared technology, it offers simple
one-button operation and displays in six
languages. Every unit is tested before it
leaves the facility to provide your workers
with protection they can count on.
With a battery life of up to two months
between charges, the Multi Gas Clip provides protection from gas hazards that
doesn’t run out when you need it most.
It is the perfect safeguard for employees in emergency situations that require
extended work hours, providing continuous operation when electrical power is
unavailable.
GP Strategies Corp. offers a full line
of disaster recovery services from public assistance management to emergency
operations staff augmentation to debris
removal monitoring. The company has
responded to every major hurricane over
the past 12 years, assisting businesses
and local governments to manage their
recovery operations and minimize loss
while maximizing federal grant funding
opportunities.
GP Strategies develops business continuity plans for industries and conducts
corresponding training at the supervisor
and upper management levels. Business
continuity planning helps ensure your
facility rebounds and is operational in the
shortest amount of time. GP Strategies is
ready to assist you with preparing, training
and testing your business continuity plans.
For businesses affected by hurricanes’
devastation, the cost can be tremendous.
Getting back on track takes a lot of time
and money. It’s good to have a “preseason” plan in place to minimize loss,
and knowing where to look for help is
key. The Iron Workers and IMPACT
provide world-class training to their growing 130,000 members and are ready to
help reinforce or rebuild in the event of
a natural disaster. Thousands of hours
of training are provided every year, and
certifications are constantly checked and
updated to ensure their labor force is
ready and able to deliver immediate manpower. With 157 training centers across
North America, 23 of which are located in
Texas and the Mid-South region, they can
provide the help you’ll need to get back in
the game and let you breathe a little easier
during a stressful time.
Layher North America maintains a
comprehensive inventory in Houston —
including an outdoor storage yard and
(Continued on page 62)
Read BIC Magazine online at BICMagazine.com
(Continued from page 60)
25,000-square-foot warehouse — and is
ready to provide scaffolding for on-site
storage during hurricane preparation. For
response efforts, Layher is equipped to
deliver on extensive jobs and can aid in handling arrangements for trucking and shipping. Furthermore, Layher SpeedyScaf®,
with its rapid and easy-to-understand boltfree assembly and built-in safety features,
addresses the need for speed and safety
during a post-hurricane rebuild.
Mahaffey Fabric Structures has over
25 years’ experience working in disaster
relief. Adequate shelter is key to survival
in emergency situations. Mahaffey offers
temporary shelters, portable warehousing and storage space, business continuity
facilities, and food service and dining
facilities to help put your organization
back in business as fast as possible. These
products are immediately available for
rent or lease for any purpose ranging from
temporary storage to interim manufacturing plants, or for any shelter need after
If you’re in need of services
or would like assistance
preparing for emergencies,
refer to the “BIC Alliance
Member Listings.”
a hurricane. Mahaffey crews travel fully
self-sufficient, with enough fuel, water,
food and shelter to live and work comfortably for seven days without resupply.
Mahaffey emergency tents provide effective and reliable shelter solutions anywhere, anytime.
To prepare your industrial rack-andpinion elevator for hurricane conditions,
one should take into account several factors. Is the elevator located within the
expected flood plain or subject to expected flooding conditions? McDonough
Elevators suggests the elevator be positioned above flood levels. In most cases,
this would be at the second level but no
higher than necessary to mitigate loads
in high-wind conditions. After the parking location is determined, power should
be disconnected from the elevator. This
ensures the elevator will not be used in
adverse conditions nor returned to operation until a full inspection is conducted.
MSA products are designed to help
protect in devastating circumstances:
• GME-P100 Half Mask Respirator
adsorbs offensive odors and can help
block odors such as bleach, ammonia
or water. GME-P100 Full Facepiece
Respirator provides integral eye protection and respiratory protection.
• V-Gard® Protective Helmets with FasTrac® III Suspensions and 100-plus MSA
accessories, including face and hearing protection, provide protection to first responders, cleanup crews and homeowners.
• Flexi-Chem™ IV Goggles protect
against impact from flying debris and
62
August 2016
splashes. Acetate lenses resist splashes
and chemicals, while the pliable frame
enhances comfort and fit.
• ALTAIR® 5X Multigas Detector tests
levels of combustible gases in LEL (lower
explosive limits) and/or volume percentage
range, oxygen, carbon monoxide, hydrogen
sulfide and many other gases.
PERI Industrial Scaffolding has
seven yards in locations across the U.S.
— including Dallas, Texas, and Miami
and Orlando, Florida — where its scaffolding inventory is stored and ready to
be sent out for hurricane preparation or
damage control. PERI UP Flex Modular
Scaffolding is easy to install and has a
high load-bearing capacity, and its decking features a nonslip perforated surface
that provides a high level of safety. The
system is quickly and safely mounted with
a “gravity lock” and self-locking decks.
PetroVAC absorbent, containment
socks and portable spill response kits
are some of the most effective tools for
cleaning up oil, fuel and chemical spills in
response to a hurricane. Under extremely
wet conditions, PetroVAC has the unique
advantage of being water-repellent to provide unmatched spill cleanup directly
on water and wet/dry surfaces. It is fastacting, nonleaching, and quickly encapsulates and retains toxic substances. Do
you need to protect drains and inlets?
PetroVAC containment socks instantly
arrest spills and protect these areas from
contamination. As with any emergency,
time is of the essence. PetroVAC excels
under these conditions with instant spill
cleanup. This allows emergency response
teams to quickly and effectively contain,
control and clean up spills due to hurricane impact.
Red-D-Arc Welderentals offers generators and power equipment accessories
to utility users for emergency situations
on both short-term rental and standbybasis arrangements. Each year, numerous
customers sign agreements with generator
rental suppliers to mitigate their risks of
being without power in times of emergencies due to hurricanes, black/brownouts, snow/ice storms, etc. Red-D-Arc
can provide diesel, natural gas (NG)/LPG,
and diesel/NG bi-fuel generators as well
as generator-paralleling systems across
North America.
As previously reported in 2015, with
offices along the Gulf Coast, hurricanes
are nothing new for Repcon. Past experiences have helped Repcon develop an
effective system that provides its employees and clients with support, supplies,
shelter and equipment before, during and
after a big storm. Efficiency in response
and utilizing company resources is how
Repcon maintains functionality and
quickly recovers operations in a natural
disaster.
Repcon’s relief efforts extend to affected communities. Following Hurricane Ike
in 2008, Repcon sent trucks with essential
supplies and charitable donations to relief
distribution centers and provided over
$5,500 collected by its employees. “After
a natural disaster, our priority is our company and our clients, but it is also our duty
to assist in the relief efforts for the communities we live and work in,” said Bob
Parker, president of Repcon.
When you add Satellite Shelters Inc.
to your business continuity and disaster
recovery plans under modular buildings
and temporary space, you get a trusted
partner. In the unfortunate event of damage or a total loss, Satellite Shelters
provides refineries and plants with the
space they need to continue their everyday business operations. The company’s
products include blast-resistant modules,
administrative offices, conference rooms,
cafeterias, training rooms, mobile offices
and storage containers.
Satellite Shelters’ buildings are easily deployable, set up quickly and can
stay on-site temporarily until you rebuild
or permanently to replace your stickbuilt structures. The company can even
supply office equipment, furniture and
other products and services, which get
your business back up and running that
much sooner.
To avoid delays after a hurricane,
have a rebuilding plan in place. Secure
your facility prior to the storm’s arrival
to reduce time offline. Having the right
amount of skilled manpower to tackle
extra work is crucial. Southern States
Millwright Regional Council (SSMRC)
can provide a roster of contractors each
with access to thousands of millwrights
across the 11-state southern U.S. A call
to SSMRC can double or triple your
job’s manpower. This virtually unlimited pool of trained and experienced
millwrights can travel to the affected
area. SSMRC contractors are ready to
act, with fast deployment of millwrights
with the right certifications, qualifications and credentials. Solidifying your
rebuilding plan with an SSMRC contractor gives you peace of mind full crews
will tend to your damage and get you
back up and running.
Severe weather and hurricanes account
for 25 percent of all refinery accidents,
mainly due to inadequate shutdown and
start-up procedures. TDS Inc. will keep
you from becoming a statistic by making
your emergency shutdowns and subsequent start-ups safe and efficient. Its subject matter experts provide skilled review
and upgrading of procedures with regard to
short lead times, partial or complete power
failure, loss of instruments, boiler feed
water or cooling water, voluminous storm
and waste waters, and other storm-related
challenges. TDS provides documentation
and training to instill a heightened awareness of safety and process hazards. Let
TDS develop the protocols to properly
deal with cascading emergency events
while minimizing health hazards, equipment damage and environmental releases.
WorkSite Lighting in Prairieville,
Louisiana, offers a number of products
and services that can help a worksite
recover faster from loss of power due
to a hurricane impact. It specializes in
explosion-proof and hazardous location
lighting as well as portable power solutions for both sale and rental, maintains
a 24-hour on-call team for emergencies
365 days a year, and will respond to needs
both on and offshore.
Many of WorkSite Lighting’s products
are generator-powered, such as its portable hazardous location light towers and
offshore skid-mounted light towers. The
company also features diesel-powered air
compressors and power distribution units,
which can help keep companies working
in a damaged or blacked-out area.
WTMC has an extensive hurricane
preparedness plan so its team can provide uninterrupted services. During such
events, customers rely on WTMC to provide experienced personnel to assist in all
phases of repair and start-up. Prior to a
disaster, WTMC engages its customers in
extensive preplanning to identify special
services and equipment needs. It assists in
the development of action plans to initiate
the purchase and on-boarding of required
support services.
After the storm, WTMC helps assess
damages and identify the scope of work
required to complete the repairs and bring
the plant back on line in a time- and
cost-efficient manner. WTMC provides
resources to develop planning packages,
procurement, work schedules, materials
management, execution coordination, cost
management, and commissioning plans
and schedules. WTMC works with customers to manage changes and adjust the
plan and schedule as required.
If you’re in need of services or would
like assistance preparing for emergencies,
please refer to the “BIC Alliance Member
Listings” located in this and every issue
of BIC.
•
2016 Hurricane Outlook
The National
Oceanic
and
Atmospheric
Administration’s
outlook
calls
for a 45-percent
chance of a nearnormal season, a
30-percent chance
of an abovenormal season
and a 25-percent
chance of a below-normal season. For the
six-month hurricane season, which began
June 1, NOAA predicts a 70-percent likelihood of 10-16 named storms (winds of 39
mph or higher), of which four to eight could
become hurricanes (winds of 74 mph or
higher) — including up to four major hurricanes (Category 3, 4 or 5 with winds of 111
mph or higher).
For more information, visit www.
noaa.gov.
Read BIC Magazine online at BICMagazine.com