Petron invests in Tanker Safety

By James Bittner

Petron loads and unloads almost 40 bulk tank trucks per month.  The tanker handling activities require employees to climb 12 feet to the top of the tanker and then walk across the top of the tanker to each hatch to open the tanker for unloading.  When they’ve completed unloading the tanker, employees have to climb back up the tanker to close the hatches before the tanker departs.

 Loading a tanker often requires more trips to the top of the tanker.  It is not uncommon for an employee to climb to the top of a tanker three or four times during the loading process in which they open and inspect the interior of the tanker before loading and sample, close and seal the tanker after loading.

The climb to the top of the tanker is via a vertical metal ladder.  Once on top of the ladders, employees must make a precarious transition from the ladder to a narrow walkway to get to each tanker compartment’s hatch.  Water and ice on the tanker and heavy, cold weather clothing during make the job more hazardous. 

To reduce the chances of employee injuries occurring from a fall from the tanker, Petron has invested in a Beamglide Tolley system with a self-retracting lifeline (SRL) that travels along an I-beam system suspended from roof trusses 18 feet above the ground.  Employees attach the SRL to a full body harness before starting to climb on the tank truck. The Beamglide Trolley system allows workers to move back and forth along the length of the tank truck.  The SRL extends and retracts as the employee moves away from and toward the device.  In the event of a fall, an energy-absorbing brake activates, stopping the fall while reducing fall forces and distance.  The SRL unit behaves very similarly to a seatbelt in your car if you slam on the brakes.

While we haven’t experienced an injury from a fall from a tanker, the likelihood of an injury increases as we continue to handle more bulk tank trucks.  Our safety equipment provider stated that less than 10% of bulk truck handling facilities has fall protection in place.  Most of them offer no protection to their employees when climbing and working on tank trucks.  Petron is proud to put safety at the forefront of our operations even when the rest of industry does otherwise.