MechChem Africa November-December 2023

EnviroServ annual plant shutdowns As the leading waste management company in South Africa, EnviroServ assists many companies in completing their annual maintenance shutdown projects on time and on budget.

C arrying out essential preventative maintenance activities is a vital part of a plant’s lifespan. These planned shutdowns, to repair issues such as broken pipes, pumps and tanks, prevent catastrophic and very costly unplanned shutdowns. Hugh Khumalo, EnviroServ’s Regional Commercial Manager for Inland South said EnviroServ is experienced at managing tight shutdown schedules to ensure no delays in plant start-ups, “which we understand have a knock-on effect and can cause loss of revenue for our customers.” “A shutdown is all about safety protocols, as avoiding injury and accidents is rule num ber one. We employ safety officers on site to ensure the shut is being run according to SHEQ standards, and to avoid any lost time injuries – because people’s lives come first,” Khumalo says. “Sometimes workers are required to enter

With sustainability increasingly important to EnviroServ’s customers, the amount of recy cling gets recorded for reporting purposes. “We always conduct a post mortem to see what positives were achieved, such as if we saved a customer money by completing our clean-up early, and look at what could have been done better,” Khumalo says, adding that EnviroServ is only as good as its last project. “We have to ensure that we improve each time we conduct a shutdown to give clients peace of mind, which further contributes to our competitive advantage.” Hazardous clean-up services EnviroServ offers industry leading knowledge of pollution preventative products, contain ment concepts and clean-up solutions. “Our focus is on reducing environmental risk. We walk our customers through the applicable waste legislations to ensure total legal com pliance. The result of extensive research and development is a complete product range matching international standards of spill containment and clean-up solutions,” says Henco Swart, EnviroServ’s Industrial Services manager. “We assist with planned project clean ups for chemical and hydrocarbon spills, and we sell spill kits for containment from our absorbent range, which allow customers to manage and clean-up smaller spills on their own,” he adds. The company provides basic training on how to use the products. Booms of two to four metres in length are deployed for spill containment and clean-up to contain and control the waste body. An absorbent fibre is then applied to the surface to absorb the spill. EnviroServ also offers a range of environ mentally friendly degreasers, which are used after the waste has been absorbed and the absorbent products have been removed to clean-up and rehabilitate the contaminated area. The company can also conduct rehabilita tion and remediation projects, removing con taminated soil and formulating remediation plans, either in-situ or ex-situ . “And the reme diation process is tracked over time through laboratory analysis to ensure the end goal is being achieved,” Swart adds. “Our heritage as an industry leader in sustainable waste management makes us able to offer agile and innovative solutions that lift local communities and create a cleaner living environment for all,” he concludes. www.enviroserv.co.za

a tank to manually remove the sludge, for ex ample. During tank entry, the team manages risks to ensure there is sufficient oxygen and no poisonous gases, and whether additional equipment such as air lines must be utilised for tank entry and safe execution of the planned work,” he says. “We engage with our customers during the planning phase because they know their plants better than we do, such as the potential for fires and what hazardous materials are in their plants. We determine the correct PPE that should be worn – including hard hats, goggles, specialised suits and safety shoes,” he adds. The second step after a safety analysis is to cost a shutdown. “We establish what waste can be recovered or recycled and what has to be sent to landfill. We also list our methods as part of our costing, and determine the staff complement needed for day and or night shifts,” he continues.

EnviroServ is experienced at managing tight shutdown schedules to ensure no delays in plant start-ups.

EnviroServ offers industry leading knowledge of pollution preventative products, containment concepts and clean-up solutions.

36 ¦ MechChem Africa • November-December 2023