How to prevent tank truck operators from stealing benzene during unloading
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This post was last edited by pzhmotor on 2011-12-31 09:14. Our company needs benzene as a raw material in its production, with a monthly consumption of around 1,800 tons. Current transportation relies mainly on tank trucks, with around 60 such vehicles per month. One problem at present is that carriers engage in stealing benzene during transportation and unloading, using various methods that are difficult to detect. Some even have hidden compartments inside the tank, filled with water, which are controlled by pneumatic valves. Are there anyone with experience in this area or who has encountered similar situations? I’d appreciate it if you could share some tips on preventing theft. Although the company has strengthened its management now, there are still two situations that are difficult to prevent: 1) Collusion between warehouse staff and tank truck carriers, with the latter bribing the warehouse staff in various ways. 2. There is a hidden compartment inside the tank truck, filled with water; during the unloading process, the driver uses a pneumatic valve to release the water from this hidden compartment into the tank, where it acts as benzene. Are there any other methods? I would appreciate some guidance from experienced friends.
I was deceived only once. In such cases, immediately add them to the blacklist and share the information with relevant agencies. Such vehicles are prohibited from entering again. . .
For reference: The focus is on the “quality” of the status and the improvement of systems. Quality includes the mass (weight) of “benzene” and concentration indicators. The size of the tank truck is fixed; it can be used as a benzene unloading tank, with a size corresponding to the tank truck’s capacity. A sampling pipe is installed at the bottom or top (the density of benzene is unknown; if it is heavier than water, the pipe is placed at the top). After the material arrives, it is first unloaded into a tank, from which a sample is taken for concentration testing. Insufficient concentration means the product is watered down. Vehicle numbers that fail the check for having insufficient quantities are to be under close surveillance. Strengthen management systems and establish necessary forms. Signatures from the position holder, driver, and laboratory technician are required. Unscheduled inspections are conducted, and severe penalties are imposed on those found to be cheating. After running for a while, the situation will change.
Cameras are installed at both the pump station and the unloading area. To weigh the goods upon entering the company, a dedicated operator is required to sign for confirmation, after which samples are taken. The goods are unloaded once the test results are available; samples are also taken at the end of the unloading process for comparison purposes. Any issues identified are then marked as items under observation. Secondly, by comparing the weight of the benzene tanks upon delivery (the gross weight can be determined from the weight indicated on the driver’s license, while the net weight can be found on the list provided by the supplier), any issues can be identified quickly. Once confirmed, the supplier’s right to deliver goods can be revoked and the matter reported to the authorities
Thank you all for your valuable suggestions.
Weigh the vehicles, monitor the benzene data before and after; if any abnormalities are detected, those vehicles are considered high-risk and are subject to warnings. If such violations occur again, reports will be filed and the involved warehouses will also be seized. In short, strict measures must be taken! ! Haha
Reply to 1# dengjs0507: The following methods can be adopted: 1. Weigh the vehicle when it is full； 2. Return to the weighing station with an empty vehicle ； 3. Continuous weight monitoring
Reply to 3# pzhmotor: Thank you for your valuable suggestions. I have also just started to be involved in the management of unloading benzene tankers at the company, and there are indeed many shortcomings.
Reply to 7# swl: This is exactly the approach being adopted now. Due to the benzene production process, benzene contains a certain amount of water. Since water and benzene are immiscible, after the tank truck arrives at the company, the mixture is left to stand so that the water can separate. Once the separation is complete, the mixture is weighed, and then it is unloaded. After unloading, another weighing is done to determine the net weight. Even so, drivers still have more clever methods; to date, we have found over 10 tank trucks that have been modified to include hidden compartments. Water is stored in these compartments, and during unloading, pneumatic valves are used to open the valves of these compartments, allowing the water to be released into the benzene and then poured into the storage tank together. Therefore, we further improved the unloading procedure: after passing the scale, the vehicle stops at the designated unloading location where another moisture check is conducted; meanwhile, drivers are prohibited from approaching the vehicle during the unloading process.
Reply 3# pzhmotor Benzene is lighter than water and the two are immiscible