Remote tank cleaning equipment
Specially trained workers cleaning bulk storage tanks for oil, chemical or radioactive waste are exposed to several serious health risks, including potentially fatal exposure to hazardous substances. Therefore, to continue working in such confined spaces, extra health and safety measures must be implemented to protect staff. One of the most successful is to use specially manufactured remotely operated machines. These are a viable cost-effective alternative that reduces the need for humans to carry out the most dangerous work.
RSK company Non Entry Systems Ltd (NESL) has been designing, manufacturing and supplying automated equipment for cleaning bulk storage tanks and lagoons and re-suspending and treating sludge for over 40 years. Its clientele is based around the globe and the company has a well-earned reputation for innovation and reliability.
Four decades of expertise
NESL began as a small unit in the 1980s in Maesteg, South Wales. After the manufacture of its first product, the company quickly gained a reputation for its innovative and niche cleaning machines and technology. NESL equipment is deployed in North America, Europe, the Middle East, Asia and Eurasia and it counts both the US government and Veolia among its clientele.
Owing to its research-led ethos and innovative manufacturing department, NESL uses cutting-edge technology to design, manufacture and supply its products. Employing 15 specialists, it carries out welding fabrication, machining, electrical design, installation and quality assurance in-house. The companyโs workshop acts as an experimental landscape to produce the machines and equipment.
Repeat clients have consistently praised the companyโs efficient work rate and in-house manufacturing facilities and NESL has an impressive history that includes projects on every major continent.
Designing and manufacturing modern solutions
Clients requiring tank cleaning are diverse and come from various sectors and industries, including oil refineries, government agencies, large and small contracting firms and tank farm operators. They all want to achieve immediate and essential goals: to clean tanks in compliance with regulations and to modernise and safeguard their working practices and locations.
The benefit of using NESL is that the company was founded by tank cleaners that build equipment for tank cleaners. As such, they know the business from both a manufacturer and a cleanerโs perspective and are excellently placed to provide what clients need. This includes an understanding of the necessity of meeting strict deadlines and the need to study the latest data to prepare for changes to regulations.
At the forefront of innovation
NESLโs first product was a crawler, or bulldozer, for cleaning the inside of a crude oil tank. It quickly proved successful and effective, which has enabled the company to grow and expand its operations to become a market leader. The company can not only offer tank cleaning equipment but also lagoon and catch pit equipment, treatment plans, pumps and ancillary equipment. When a client needs a one-off item for a specific situation, NESL can provide custom designed-and-built equipment to handle the problem.
An excellent example of this is when a client approached the company needing the ability to clean pipes with diameters from 26โ to 36โ. Designed with this particular pipeline in mind, NESL created the TLM (Three-Legged Monster): a three-tracked vehicle capable of advancing up to 500 ft of pipe before having to return or be removed from the other end. Further attachments enable it to be used for the cleaning, coating and inspection of pipes.
Connecting with our group-wide services
RSKโs philosophy involves providing clients with linked services under one organisation to mitigate complications arising from outsourcing and to reduce the margin of error. A service does not have to be stand-alone, it can be reinforced and multiplied by the groupโs collective power.
Our tank cleaning capabilities are complemented by our other related services in the oil and gas, nuclear and chemical sectors. Our multifaceted group of over 100 companies with offices all over the world means that we have the scope to offer this service to whoever needs it across the globe. By providing this service, we are reducing the health and safety risk to human operators while also driving innovation across the tank cleaning industry.