With RHI Stretch Tents commissioned by Chevron, the leading refiner and marketer of petroleum products in South Africa, the task was to create containment areas for the urgent refurbishment of the storage tanks at their Cape Town Refinery. Not afraid to take on the project, we put our riggers and company under the scrutiny of the highest safety standards in the world.
While our riggers had to pass and be certified for on-site safety training, safety manuals also had to be completed in order for RHI to become a registered Chevron Vendor – all of which had to take place before we could put foot onto the premises. Work needed to be completed in record time as Chevron requested almost unreasonable deadlines. Committing to the deadlines and having met each one, RHI became registered as an International Chevron Vendor.
Rigging stretch tents in the middle of an enormous storage tank was far more complicated than anticipated. The first major obstacle was getting our equipment into the tanks. This was achieved by the use of massive cranes hoisting our two 400 square meter tents and rigging equipment into the location. Rigging points were not readily available and the creativity of our rigging crew was tested to the max. The tents were setup in Cape Town’s windiest season and the veturi effect of the tubular structure created massive tornado-like vortices inside the tank. Not to mention that the rigging team had to be in full safety gear while on site: this included overalls, hard hats, steel-cap boots, goggles and earplugs. The rigging teams remained on constant standby to ensure the tents remained safe under the windy conditions and to move them when necessary.
As the renovation came to a close, the Chevron refinery / RHI Tents collaboration was deemed a massive success: saving on “down time” and enabling Chevron to complete the refurbishment to the allotted schedule.
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