When a national oil and gas company began planning to build a new refinery unit in Texas, Sunbelt Rentals' solution improved safety, morale, efficiency and flexibility.
The client needed a place for the incoming crews to break, take lunch and meet during the project, but they would waste significant time by installing a structure outside the blast zone. Instead, they wanted to prevent lost wrench time and maximize productivity during the day by having a blast-resistant lunch building right on site.
As the industry-leading provider of blast-resistant structures, Sunbelt Rentals has become the go-to partner over the years for this client’s turnarounds and capital projects. As they started prepping for their latest construction, they knew they could trust Sunbelt Rentals to install a comfortable, safe structure in a quick timeframe.
The Challenge
The client needed a temporary solution to ensure on-site safety while keeping crews content and comfortable. The fabric structure had to meet all blast criteria and receive the appropriate approvals before the client began work — a task that required Sunbelt Rentals' extensive planning and intimate knowledge of the petrochemical industry.
Sunbelt Rentals' expert project managers knew the blast-resistant structure needed the characteristic strength and the flexibility of temporary fabric structures. They also knew these temporary structures could be expanded, downsized or relocated at any time without unnecessary complications or downtime, should the need arise.
The project site posed unique challenges to the planning process. The ideal location for the lunch structure was bordered on one side by a ditch, which would make it difficult to anchor the structure in the ground. Being experienced problem-solvers, Sunbelt Rentals ensured the structure had the proper support.
The Client's Structure Needed:
The Solution
In less than a week, Sunbelt Rentals installed a 50-by-66-foot blast-resistant structure on the client’s site. The Max756 model lent itself perfectly to the client’s needs by meeting all the blast criteria of API RP 756 while allowing for easy expansion, if necessary, through a modular design. The structure was complete with two lightweight fabric doors, four LED lights, two 25-ton HVAC units, and expo deck flooring to give crews the comforts of a permanent lunch building.
In order to install the structure, the nearby ditch had to be filled in, but the new soil still wasn’t compact enough for effective anchoring. Sunbelt Rentals' crew creatively solved this problem by staking one side and using ballast blocks on the other side to eliminate the concern with loose soil. Sunbelt Rentals' Max756 is able to be secured with a variety of anchoring approaches including staking, concrete anchors, or ballasting and our team of engineers work painstakingly to ensure each solution is correct for the client’s site.
Additionally, overhead power lines riddled the site, obstructing the path of our Max756 building. Using heavy equipment and extreme caution, Sunbelt Rentals maneuvered around the power lines without losing time or momentum.
The Result
Despite site obstacles, Sunbelt Rentals provided a high-quality, blast-resistant structure in a short timeframe, allowing the client to save wrench time and unify their large crews. With several moving pieces to coordinate, Sunbelt Rentals' expert project management was vital in ensuring the installation ran smoothly.
The Takeaways
When oil and gas companies need scalable, blast-resistant solutions, they call on Sunbelt Rentals. For nearly a century, Sunbelt Rentals has been a trusted provider of industry-leading clearspan structures for break areas, command centers, meeting spaces and more.
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