Goodson Service Company, headquartered in Midland, Texas, recently installed three large underground storage tanks as part of the construction of a new diesel gas pump island at an Alon Truck Stop in Harrold, Texas. Two of the tanks were 40,000 gal. (151,416 L) diesel gas tanks; while the third was an 8,000 gal. (30,283 L) DEF Tank.
The new diesel island is part of an overall project for Southwest Convenience Stores that included the removal of an old truck diesel island as part of an overall upgrade of the Alon Truck Stop.
The May through August 2014 project was certainly not the first time Goodson has installed gas tanks at a truck stop. However, this was the first time that Goodson encountered ground conditions that gave them pause as to the safety of the excavation and the potential for cave-in.
The mix of red clay and gray sandstone was very dry and would continually shear off the sides of the excavation into the working pit. For the first time in its 19 years of business, Goodson needed to consider a shoring system to keep its workers safe in the excavation.
To that end, Goodson’s Project Foreman Buck Dempsey began searching for a nearby shoring rental company who could help them choose the best shoring system for their specific project and deliver the equipment on time and within budget.
At the recommendation of another excavation company, Goodson contacted Efficiency Shoring & Supply’s North Texas Branch in Ft. Worth.
“After careful consideration of the proposed excavation site, including site-specific engineering, it was clear that our Efficiency Production manufactured Slide Rail System would be the best solution to shore Goodson’s tank install,” said Cory Hachmeister, Efficiency Shoring & Supply’s North Texas branch manager. “Efficiency’s Slide Rail is the best in the industry, and we are fortunate to have the country’s most experienced Slide Rail experts and installers at our disposal.”
Efficiency’s Universal Slide Rail is a component shoring system comprised of steel panels (similar to trench shield sidewalls) and vertical steel posts. The versatile system can be used in a variety of configurations. Efficiency’s Slide Rail System can be configured into small four-sided pits; an obstruction-free ClearSpan configuration; or in a Multi-Bay configuration to install large tanks and structures, or lengths of pipe more than 40 ft. (12 m).
Slide Rail is considered “positive shoring.” It is installed by sliding the panels into integrated rails on the posts, and then pushing the panels and posts incrementally down to grade as the pit is dug; a process commonly referred to as a “dig and push” shoring system.
“That’s another advantage of our Slide Rail; there’s no over-excavation,” added Hachmeister. “The system keeps constant pressure against the surrounding dirt, which was critical for the hard sandstone Goodson was digging in,” Hachmeister said.
With equipment rented from Efficiency Shoring and Supply, and with the help of Efficiency Production’s Senior Slide Rail Installer Rod Austin; Goodson installed a six-bay, 4-sided Multi-Bay configured Slide Rail System. The total dimensions of the system was 30 ft. (9 m) wide, 87 ft. (26 m) long, and 15 ft. (4.6 m) deep.
Multi-Bay utilizes Efficiency’s exclusive Parallel Beams that roll up and down the slotted rail on the inside face of the linear posts and have spreader collars — like trench shield sidewalls — which pin standard trench box spreaders.
“Once Rod came out and showed us how to get it started, [the Slide Rail] was fairly simple to install,” said Goodson’s Dempsey. “And Chris [Puckett] and Vann [Tidwell] from Efficiency Shoring came out several times just to make sure the equipment was okay and if there was anything they could do to help.”
For the Goodson project, tie-back waler I-beams were added at the top of the Slide Rail System on both of the long sides, attach into integrated waler brackets that connect into a slotted rail on the outside face of the linear posts. Paired with a “sacrificial member” such as a spreader pipe or timber beam braced cross-trench against the bottom of the linear posts; the entire parallel beam spreader assembly can be completely removed which provided Goodson a full 87 ft. (26 m) of open space to install the two 10 ft. (3 m) diameter, 71 ft. (21 m) long 40,000 gal. (151,416 L) diesel tanks; plus the 8 ft. diameter, 20 ft. (6 m) long 8,000 gal. (30,283 L) tank perpendicular to the others in the south end of the excavation.
Goodson’s heavy equipment on the job was two Cat excavators, a 230 and 236; plus a Cat 938 front loader.
“Working with Efficiency Shoring on our first Slide Rail project was very educational for both me and my team,” added Goodson Company Owner, George Goodson. “Despite its learning curve, I would definitely use the Slide Rail System again, and recommend other contractors give it a shot if they have need for shoring.”
Goodson Service Co. is a small family-owned business specializing in the installation and services of gasoline and diesel equipment. The 19- year-old company is headquartered in Midland, Texas.
For more information, call 432/520-2128.
With offices in Houston and Dallas/Ft. Worth, Texas; Chicago; and Orlando and Tampa, Fla., Efficiency Shoring and Supply is an official Efficiency Production Inc. trench shielding and shoring equipment distributor.
For more information, call 877/452-6859 or visit www.efficiencyshoring.com.
Efficiency Production, “America’s Trench Box Builder,” provides a wide selection of standard and custom trench shielding and shoring systems. Efficiency’s versatile products are designed specifically for safe and cost effective installation of utility systems and infrastructure improvements. All products are P.E. certified to meet OSHA standards. For more information, visit www.efficiencyproduction.com.
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