Forge Bonding™ On A Manlift in Houston

Forge Bonding™ is an effective solution for getting facilities out of tight spots when it comes to not being able to, or not wanting to invest in, a hot work welded repair.

As Forge Bonding™ gains traction, we hope to see less of getting people out of tight spots, and more of clients calling us first so that they tight spots are avoided altogether.

In this post, I have a story to share with you about a particularly tough weld that could not get inspector approval, and how Forge Bonding™ was really able to help this client solve their problem while bringing safety to the job.

A Windy Day In Houston

There was an incident in Houston recently where seven or eight tanks caught on fire at a terminal and created over a billion dollars worth of damage.

They wanted to install proper fire suppression systems on their tanks, and more particularly they had some gasoline tanks they wanted to work on.

Of course, they didn’t want to take the tanks out of service because of the lost production, so they decided they were going to weld on those tanks.

Now, there is a method of welding on tanks where you can increase the liquid level above where you’re welding so that there are no vapors and you’re just welding against a liquid. 

But firstly, you can damage the liner on the tanks doing this, and second, you have to pay someone to sit there and watch the tank levels so that they don’t fall below where they’re welding.

In this situation, the workers were actually working out of a manlift. They were trying to perform a quality weld on a windy day that had the manlift moving back and forth.

So they would complete the weld, but the weld inspector failed it again and again, causing the welder to start over.

We also had a conversation with one of the welders where he said “I’m doing this, but I don’t really like welding on gasoline tanks. I sometimes wonder if I’m going to be going home to my family.”

So it was a very serious concern and even the welder felt uneasy about it.

With all these issues in mind, we came in with the Forge Bonding™ process, and installed the fire suppression brackets on these tanks.

There was virtually zero risk. It was faster than welding. No inspector was required. The tank level watch was not required.

And because the process is automated and the machine was attached to the tank shell instead of the manlift, the windy day had no effect on the bonds.

So you got improved safety, improved quality, no painting had to be redone because no damaged was caused, and no extra work was required.

All with the help of a lightweight machine that performs consistent, high quality bonds at the press of a button.

Conclusion

This client really struggled to get these welds done, and the worker performing the weld did not feel safe in doing so.

You can sort of imagine how uneasy the workers must have felt, swaying back and forth on a manlift while welding on a tank that contained gasoline.

This is an example where Forge Bonding™ can bring safety to a facility. These types of high risk situations can be eliminated while still saving you a lot of money.

If you’re ever in a tight spot where you can’t perform a weld in a safe manner, give us a call and we will be happy to help.

Better yet, call us first if you see the possibility of this happening, and save money and time getting the job done correctly in a matter of days or with big projects, weeks at most.