GuardDog succeeds in eliminating fuel spills at Travis Air Force Base
Released on = July 24, 2007, 3:23 pm
Press Release Author = Ramin Ekhtiar
Industry = Environment
Press Release Summary = Breakthrough fuel movement monitoring system passes the test at largest air mobility command facility in the U.S. Air Force
Press Release Body = Benicia, California - July 24, 2007 - SpillGuard Technologies, Inc. (SGT, Inc.) (www.sgtinc.com), the leading provider of innovative end-to-end spill prevention solutions for the fuel movement and petrochemical industry, today announced that its GuardDogT Independent Secondary Shutoff Control System ® has successfully eliminated fuel spills at Travis Air Force Base (AFB), the largest Air Mobility Command facility in the United States Air Force. First installed in August 2006, GuardDog has allowed safe delivery of more than five million gallons of fuel during the more than 1,500 fuel loading operations at Travis-without a single spill or overfill incident.
"This installation has been a complete success. Prior to GuardDog, we experienced five fuel spill incidents at Travis and GuardDog has effectively brought this number down to zero," said Joseph Mangum, Chief Master Sergeant at Travis Air Force Base. "Throughout my career, I've worked with numerous construction projects and built many different fuel systems, and this installation is hands-down the best I've seen. Part of our goal in this trial was to stress the system to the point of failure. We tried, but simply could not break the GuardDog."
GuardDog offers around-the-clock protection against human error and equipment failure at the fuel transfer operation. The system's breakthrough technology dynamically monitors and analyzes the entire fuel transfer operation, including overfill detection, static ground connections, and utilizes Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology to positively identify each vehicle loaded to prevent fuel cross-contamination. "I\'ve just been very pleased with the GuardDog system and I would recommend it to anyone. When the GuardDog is on duty, the rest of us can relax," said Chief Mangum.
"From a manager's point of view, I love the GuardDog," said Jeffery Carlton, Master Sergeant at Travis AFB. "I can go home at night knowing that a truck won't overfill at the fuel stand. The response to GuardDog has been positive from supervisors and operators alike."
Increased visibility into fuel system performance GuardDog's companion GuardDog DataLogger System gives the AFB POL (Petroleum, Oils and Lubricants) management team unprecedented visibility into the real-time performance of both fuel handing equipment and the personnel responsible for fuel loading operations. The system's powerful analytics include full accounting of overfill signals, ground connections and disconnects, flow control valve performance, attempted product theft, vehicles attempting to load, product requested to load, and more. These metrics proactively reveal weaknesses to help management improve their facilities' performance and increase efficiencies.
"Before GuardDog, we had no way of assessing how a control valve was performing, until there was a failure," explained Master Sergeant Carlton. "GuardDog gives us visibility into the fuel handling equipment far beyond a visual inspection. We can see when a valve is starting to slow down and take action before an incident occurs."
Chief Mangum recalls, "I was really excited about the GuardDog since day one. We featured GuardDog in the environmental safety and occupational health (ESOH) 2006 inspection. The GuardDog was a big part of our proactive approach to preventing spills. The result was that for the first time in my career had a whole flight been recognized as an outstanding performer in environmental record. We owe a big part of this recognition to the GuardDog and the SpillGuard management team."
SpillGuard Management Named Honorary Air Force POL Members Critical to the success of the GuardDog field trial was the unwavering product support delivered by SpillGuard Technologies-from onsite installation and provisioning to hands-on training, and around-the-clock technical support. To recognize the unique partnership forged between the two organizations, the Air Force named Peter Mantas, President and CEO of SpillGuard Technologies, and Lee Sherwood, SpillGuard's Executive Vice President and CTO, honorary POL members.
"We wanted to honor Peter and Lee for their dedicated support to the men and women of the 60th AMW/Fuels Management Flight," said Chief Master Sergeant Mangum. "The SpillGuard team offered unparalleled support during the field trial, as well as helped us prepare for the HQ AMC API & Daedalian Team visit. They\'ve provided great briefs and are always willing to answer questions concerning GuardDog technology."
"Lee and Peter are probably the best contractors I've worked with," said Master Sergeant Carlton. "Beyond this their focus on customer service is the best I've seen."
About Travis Air Force Base The 60th Air Mobility Wing is the largest air mobility organization in the Air Force with a versatile all-jet fleet of C-5 Galaxy cargo, C-17 Globemaster III cargo and 27 KC-10 Extender refueling aircraft. As the host unit of Travis Air Force Base, Calif., the wing controls more than $11 billion in total resources, including 6,383 acres, 1,790 buildings and about 2,720 military family housing units. It handles more cargo and passengers than any other military air terminal in the United States. Travis is the West Coast terminal for aero medical evacuation aircraft returning sick or injured patients from the Pacific area. The 60th Air Mobility Wing crews fly support missions all over the world and fulfills its motto of being \"America\'s First Choice\" for providing true Global Reach. The Travis AFB POL team is the most recent recipient of the American Petroleum Institute\'s award for \"Best In Performance\" in the entire United States Air Force.
About The GuardDogT The GuardDog has quickly become the industry\'s de facto standard for spill prevention. Developed from the ground up to protect lives, the environment, and security, the GuardDog\'s patented design continuously monitors from 1 to 8 loading or transfer streams per unit. Built with the future in mind, its innovative design is compliant with the American Petroleum Institute\'s (API) RP1004 requirements, streamlines operations, dramatically reduces the risks of spills, detects leaks, and even detects attempted product theft.
Under normal conditions, The GuardDog is silent until it detects a catastrophic valve failure. Springing to action, the GuardDog pre-empts spills by automatically shutting down pumps; closing storage tank base valves and locking out the loading operation while alerting management personnel of the problem and providing an opportunity for investigation. The GuardDog empowers management with complete control -- not allowing loading to continue or resume until management determines it is safe to load again by initiating a keyed system reset switch.
Impressively flexible, the GuardDog is easily integrated into the Terminal Management System at tank truck, rail car, commercial and military aviation refueling and marine ship and barge loading operation facilities. A typical configuration requires only one \"GuardDog\" unit per load lane. The unit works in concert with SpillGuard\'s Pump & Valve Controller and other existing safety components and emergency shutdown circuits to provide a fail-safe mechanism for stopping flow when a valve failure is detected. Call 1-925-363-5140 for more information.
About SpillGuard Technologies, Inc. SpillGuard Technologies, Inc., the leader in spill prevention technologies, is dedicated to providing spill prevention solutions to the petroleum and petrochemical industries. The company develops unique solutions that overcome human error and equipment failures. Designed to protect lives, the environment and assets, SpillGuard\'s core product the GuardDog is quickly becoming the de facto standard in spill prevention technology. The GuardDog was built from the ground up to meet future industry specifications like the American Petroleum Institute\'s (API) RP 1004, Section 5, titled Independent Secondary Shutoff Control Systems (SSC) associated with bottom loading tanker vehicles.
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