Safety and Maintenance Design Considerations at Terminals

Bulk material terminal design requires a breadth of disciplines and depth of experience that makes this a unique and challenging field. In the complexity of facility design and layout, designers may overlook important aspects related to safety and maintenance or treat them as secondary concerns. For the long-term profitability and longevity of a facility, however, these may be among the most critical design features. A difficult-to-maintain facility will not be upkept as well as it should be. This can lead to premature failures of equipment, increased operations and maintenance costs, dissatisfied owner/operator, and potential safety hazards. Additionally, unique product characteristics, local climate, or operating conditions can pose less obvious yet serious safety hazards. Unsafe working conditions can result in citations, fines, downtime, and injury or death. Corrections for these hazards may require costly and/or lengthy facility modifications that far exceed the cost or time required to install them initially. This paper is not intended to be an exhaustive review of all safety and maintenance aspects of bulk material terminals. Various points will be discussed to highlight key safety and maintenance features for consideration.