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Making Blast Resistance the Easiest Part of Your Job

January 31st, 2014   |  4 min. read
Making Blast Resistance the Easiest Part of Your Job Blog Feature

Let’s face it. Petrochemical management comes with more than its share of headaches. From coordinating subcontractor work schedules to jumping through compliance BRB_easy_process.jpghoops, it can feel like you’re running through quicksand. But with proper planning and the right vendors, there are ways to make it easier. At RedGuard, we’re doing everything we can to streamline the process of buying and leasing blast-resistant buildings (BRBs). We want to make blast resistance easy.

In previous articles, we’ve talked about the importance of choosing a truly safe BRB, but just as important is the ease with which it is delivered and set up, its ability to perform a specific function in your operation, and the quality of service you receive once on site. You have to be able to depend on our piece of the operation falling into place at the right time or it will snowball into other parts of your job, so we spend a lot of time making sure what we do meshes with what you do.

Delivery and setup should be virtually invisible

You’ve probably experienced having to put the brakes on some part of your operation because contractors or vendors showed up without giving proper forethought to how their work would need to integrate with what’s already happening at the jobsite. These kinds of delays are usually expensive, and the fact is they’re usually unnecessary.

Blast-resistant-Fleet.jpgWe do our best to gain a clear understanding of not just what a BRB needs to do and where it will be placed but exactly how we’ll put it there. We can often deliver a unit without using cranes by simply deploying one of our self-unloading semis. In cases where you need a building dropped into a space between two other buildings, we have developed comprehensive lifting strategies that make it simple. If the BRB door needs to face a certain direction, we’ll take that into consideration — before we’re on site — and load it onto the truck accordingly, so we can be in and out as quickly as possible.

If you’re purchasing a SafetySuite (custom BRB), it sometimes makes sense for your other specialized contractors to install their components in our units before delivery, so we invite them to our facility to get their piece out of the way early, reducing on-site construction time.

We make sure our drivers — and anyone else who will assist with delivery and setup — have Transportation Worker Identification Credentials, or TWICs, so there’s no delay in getting them through the gate. If your facility requires safety classes for visitors, we’ll get that out of the way beforehand as well. These small things can turn into big delays when a BRB needs to be delivered at a precise time in your operational schedule.

Once the BRB is in place, our early planning assures you’ll have all the right hook ups, functional capabilities and other features to hit the ground running.

Early planning is part of the job

Our job begins by working closely with your team to utilize site study data and make sure we’re providing a unit that will drop into your operation with the smoothest transition possible. Our inventory management strategies are equally scientific, utilizing planning tools that assure availability in your region at the right time. Our logistics department tracks everything from regional inventory allocations to deployment utilization projections as well as fleet modifications that make sure everyone receives a safe BRB that incorporates all the newest features.

Ongoing service is crucial

After we place a BRB on site, our service department takes over, and these guys don’t RedGuard_Service_Team.jpgjust sit around waiting for the phone to ring. RedGuard’s service manager takes responsibility for following up with customers to make sure everything is working smoothly. If a problem arises, we can usually have a technician on site within 24 hours to resolve it.

Our philosophy is our customers are too busy keeping everything else on schedule to worry about our end of the deal. We work hard to make the very best BRBs in the world, but a product is only as good as the service behind it. With everything else you have to deal with, we want to make sure blast protection is the easiest part of your job.

Darren Hillman

Darren Hillman

Darren Hillman joined RedGuard in February 2009 and is president of the corporation. In his role leading the RedGuard team, he directs the day-to-day operations of the company and is involved in providing strategic direction, leading upper-level management, as well as coaching and counseling teammates. He's also a front-line leader with direct involvement with customers, regulatory bodies, community organizations, and employees.

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