Standardised Flexitank Rail Impact Test Report Proposed
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BINTERNATIONALULK NEWS ● PEOPLE ●D PRODUCTS ISTRIBUTORMay/June 2010 Standardised flexitank rail impact test report proposed s part of its project to develop a globally container being used for the test, including the Importantly, this part also gives details of the number of layers together with the thickness and Arecognised recommended Code of Practice supplier, the manufacturer and information about fl exitank itself: the serial/model/number, the material of each layer. It also gives details of the for fl exitanks, the Container Owners Association is the container wall thickness. volume (nominal and when being tested), the valve confi guration and the bulkhead. The report proposing to introduce a “COA Flexitank/ will include a photo of the bulkhead that is being Container Combination Standard Rail Impact Test tested. Report.” The third part of the report gives the results of The Rail Impact test is a key part of the COA the tests when undertaken at the different speeds Code of Practice, designed to refl ect the severe defi ned in the Code. These include the defl ections handling of fl exitanks at sea, when being of the side-walls, end wall and door, together handled, and when being transported by road reports of any leakage. and rail. The current Code of Practice calls for fl exitanks to be tested at one of two rail testing Clarifi cation to the Code of Practice facilities: the TÜV Süd Rail facility at Görlitz, In addition to the Test Report, a number of Germany; or the TTCI facility, in Pueblo, USA clarifi cations to the COA Code of Practice will be The aim of this proposed new Standard Rail proposed at the London Meeting. Impact Test Report is to enable shipping lines, These clarifi cations relate to the speeds at which intermodal operators, shippers, cargo owners and the fl exitank/container combination need to be fl exitank operators to have access to a single tested; the permitted defl ections of the container document which will indicate clearly the key side walls, end-walls and doors; and the information relevant to the rail test. The Report witnessing and reporting process that is will not be a “pass/fail” report, says the COA, but recommended. There is also clarifi cation with simply a record of the equipment that was tested regard to the testing of top and bottom discharge and the results of these tests. systems. The Report, which comprises three Parts, will be The role of the COA will also be defi ned more launched at the forthcoming COA Flexitank clearly, with regard to the management and meeting on 20 May, in London. storage of test data, fl exitank samples, Part 1 will give details of the Test Location and photographs and other relevant information. The Conditions, including the name of the test facility, COA confi rms that while it can act as a recorder the date of the test and the weather. of information, it is not a certifi cation or Part 2 of the test report gives details of the The TÜV Süd Rail facility at Görlitz accreditation organisation. IN THIS ISSUE Intermodal needs a new Tank Containers 3 Components 5 business model Flexitanks 12 ntermodal transport solutions can work but not implement new sustainable business models to Ieverywhere. This creates a big challenge to integrate the different modes, and foster Rail Tanks 15 industry looking to increase the share of cooperation rather than competition between intermodal freight solutions. That was among the modes. Wouter van Dijk, managing director FIBCs 16 the conclusions drawn from a panel discussion of Optimodal (from the Kombivekehr group), organised by the European Shippers’ Council at and Schaafstal agreed that there were good Dry Bulk Logistics 19 the SITL Europe exhibition in Paris debating examples of best practice which others should whether signifi cant intermodal freight transport follow; both also indicated that industry could Logistics 21 growth was illusionary or could realistically be not wait for EU policy to be developed before Terminals & Storage 22 achieved. making further progress. In the panel discussion, shippers, policy makers Wouter van Dijk pointed towards the need for and operators vented their frustrations at the far more effective marketing and promotion of number of obstacles and barriers to increased intermodal services that were already successfully Managing Editor Neil Madden use of intermodal logistics solutions. The was doing what it could to facilitate intermodal being deployed and used for the benefi t of their [email protected] European Commission’s representative, Roberto freight logistics but it could not do more than it customers. Tel: +33 (0)3 88 60 30 68 Ferravante (DG MOVE), expressed particular was mandated. Jeroen Bozuwa, from Ecorys, pointed to the frustration over the slow pace of progress among Henk Schaafstal, a shipper member of ESC’s development of tools that helped companies, Dry Bulk Editor Richard Miller member states, infrastructure managers and Rail Freight Council, said he believed that new especially SMEs, to identify intermodal solutions sectoral interests such as the rail freight industry, supply chain models were required to make – whether road-rail or shipping (inland, coastal [email protected] co-operating with each other in order to road-rail solutions work: it would require a or short-sea) available. He referred to the BE Tel: +44 (0)1424 446003 establish international, interoperable transport willingness among the rail freight undertakings LOGIC project currently in progress that was networks. He remarked that the Commission and their customers to work together to fi nd and developing such a tool. In his opinion, the major Advertisement Director Anne Williams improvement potential in logistics performance is [email protected] among SMEs, including shippers with relatively Tel: +44 (0)1932 225632 small transport volumes. A benchmark would give them insight into the potential gains of Associate Editor Katarzyna Marszalek Successful AdBlue reconsidering their logistics choices in terms of [email protected] costs, performance and sustainability. Nevertheless, the biggest frustrations and Overseas representative concerns arose from the declining number of Russia, CIS, Baltic States: Dars Consulting audit for Hoyer single wagon-load rail freight services. All agreed that it was detrimental to the development of Tel: +7 (495) 775 07 35 oyer has become the fi rst produced in the exhaust of diesel- intermodal options, reducing the likely number Email: [email protected] Hcompany in the world to engined vehicles. This modern of access points and facilities to the rail network, complete the audit programme for exhaust technology allows effectively cutting many shippers off from using © Oakhill Media Ltd AdBlue distributors by the commercial vehicles to meet the this form of transport. ESC’s Rail Freight Council Bulk Distributor is published by association of the German Euro-5 emissions standards. AdBlue chairman, Georges Di Lallo warned of the dire automotive industry (VDA). is increasingly available at service consequences for businesses especially in France. Oakhill Media Ltd, Oakhill House, 22 Williams Grove, Although the fuel consumption of stations which have special pumps to Knowledge of the options and performance of Surbiton, KT6 5RN, United Kingdom. vehicles is decreasing in many fi ll it into the additional tanks carried intermodal solutions would be key to their short www.oakhillmedia.com industrialised countries, the by commercial vehicles. and medium term uptake, suggested the Panel’s Tel: +44 (0)20 8398 9048 consumption of AdBlue is increasing During the fi rst weeks of 2010, the moderator and ESC policy director, Dr Andrew at the same time – in Germany alone Hamburg logistics company not only Traill. In the meantime, he argued, it would be Fax: +44 (0)870 762 0434 it rose by some 10 percent in the became the fi rst logistics provider in foolish to penalise road freight options: “We Published 6 times a year. past year. AdBlue is a 32.5 percent the world but the fi rst company ever have no choice but to accept that road freight Reproduction in whole or in part without written aqueous urea solution which is used to successfully complete this audit will remain for the foreseeable future industry’s permission is strictly prohibited. in special SCR catalytic converters to for distributors. fi rst choice and perhaps only choice, whether we reduce the toxic nitrogen oxides Full story p21 like it or not.” WORLD CLASS PRODUCTS, WORLD WIDE SERVICE UÊ->viÌÞÊ,iivÊ6iÌà UÊÀiÊ >Ê6>Ûià UÊ>`ÃÊEÊVViÃÃÀià UÊ ÌÌÊ"ÕÌiÌÊ6>Ûià UÊ >«Ã]Ê>}iÃÊEÊVViÃÃÀià UÊ/«Ê ÃV >À}iÊ µÕ«iÌ Girard Equipment, Inc. +1-908-862-6300 • www.girardequip.com • [email protected] EUROPE ■ CHINA ■ USA May/June 2010 Tank Containers BULKDISTRIBUTOR 3 Safety InterBulk GROUP Intermodal logistics for hazardous chemicals www.InterBulkGroup.com Fall prevention Protocol updated An updated version of the “Prevention of Falls from Tank Containers” Protocol has been published by ITCO. he International Tank Container as the responsibility for access were not • Tank operators, and hauliers, must TOrganisation (ITCO) has published fully addressed. It was also not clear on co-operate with site operators to an updated Protocol, agreed with UK practical access and the policy on single provide safe access to suit the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), handrails and tank ladders. In 2009, the requirements at each site. aimed at preventing falls from tank UK HSE stated that it “is unacceptable The Guidance Standard refers to all containers. … to continue to rely on access via the tank container operators who operate Falls from tank containers cause tank ladder and a single handrail”. The throughout Europe and those global serious, sometimes fatal injuries. All UK HSE policy will stop sites relying on operators who may from time to time parties involved in the loading, inadequate systems - including tank also bring tank containers into the UK.