Marine Load-Out Project

Project Information

Background

To reduce costs associated with shipping and receiving products at one of its Midwest locations, this leading provider of biodiesel and renewable energy products sought to increase usage of lower-cost river-barge transportation. To do this, it needed to add an on-site barge load-out facility.

Constraint

Creating this facility required installing piping over water, which presented some logistical and safety challenges. While waterways are owned by the public, multiple local, state and federal regulations apply to their usage; the design had to be coordinated with and approved by several agencies. To access the load-out facility, workers were required to have Terminal Worker Identification Cards (TWIC).

Solution

Planning how grain and other product would be loaded and unloaded from barges began with building information modeling (BIM), which Baker Group designers and process-design engineers used to design, prefabricate and install four systems with precision accuracy:

  1. 500 GPM load-out system
  2. Process piping
  3. Pipe rack
  4. Barge load-out area piping

Additionally, Baker Group worked with marine subject matter experts, civil engineers, controls systems manufacturers and government agencies to ensure the project’s success. Baker Group construction personnel, many of whom are TWIC cardholders, coordinated construction activities onsite and installed all piping and supplemental steel within the pipe rack. Baker Group’s Safety team was heavily involved throughout the project.

Results

Since the project was completed in October 2013, shipping via barge has saved the customer significantly in transportation costs and provided an alternative to shipping via truck and railway.

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