Applications Engineering Program Improves Welding Operation

Tuesday, December 2, 2014

When Roll Offs USA needed to improve the safety and productivity of their frac tank manufacturing operation, they turned to the OSU Applications Engineering Program to design a system to lift and rotate their 23,000-pound frac tanks.

Prior to installing this tank rotating system, welding of the frac tanks was difficult work for the welders.  “They had to lay two hundred feet of bead over their heads,” said company president Danny Hankey. “And, they had to do it while standing on ten-foot ladders and scaffolding.”

Shea Pilgreen, the Applications Engineering Program’s engineer located in Durant, designed the tank rotating system consisting of two masts that extend and retract to engage the front and back of the tank.  The tank, which is forty-five feet long and eight-feet wide, is then lifted via hydraulics and fully rotated by a single operator.  This allows the welder to work in a safer, more comfortable position.

 “The rotator has eliminated the need for overhead welding and saved seven to eight man hours per tank as a result,” said Hankey. “Now that we can flip the tanks, we’re able to perform the work three times faster.”

Roll Offs USA is based in Durant, Oklahoma and manufactures storage units and components for the waste equipment industry. The company’s frac tanks are used for fluid storage. The oil and gas industry uses frac tanks to store fluids and sludge; farmers use them during the growing season to store materials like fertilizer and weed killer; and airports use them to store deicer and other fluids.

The demand for frac tanks was growing, but Roll Offs’ production capacity was small. When Hankey was approached with an order for a few hundred frac tanks, he realized it was time to expand production. He contacted Kay Watson, a Manufacturing Extension Agent for the Oklahoma Manufacturing Alliance, whom he had been working with for several years. Watson identifies the tools and training needs of manufacturers then works to find resources to fulfill those needs. 

One resource she uses is the OSU Applications Engineering Program with its professional engineers located throughout the state. Working in conjunction with the Oklahoma Manufacturing Alliance, the engineers assists small and medium-sized manufacturers, like Roll Offs, on short-term engineering projects to help them become more competitive and sustainable.

Not only did Pilgreen complete the design of the tank rotating system in four months, he also assisted with its assembly and testing.  The rotator has enabled Roll Offs to achieve its goals of creating a safer work environment and increasing productivity. The long-term results will be increased sales, reduced worker’s compensation insurance costs, reduced labor costs, and the creation of new manufacturing jobs in Oklahoma.

For more information visit http://www.okalliance.com/meas/applications-engineers/