LR-6 Truck Loading Rack — Loading Arm and Vapour Recovery Isolation
Loading arm seal replacement at a gasoline truck rack. Covers product header isolation under static head, vapour recovery return, the grounding and overfill interlocks that must stay in service, and hot work in a vapour zone.
How Setyr addresses Tank & Terminal andOil & Gas →
It refers to equipment that does not exist and illustrates the elements 29 CFR 1910.147(c)(4)(ii) requires a procedure to contain. It is not a document to adopt. Under (c)(4)(i) the employer must develop and document energy control procedures specific to their own machines, and under (c)(6) must inspect them at least annually.
12 points, in sequence
Bay loading pump motor disconnect.
Method: Open, lock, prove dead at the starter.
Rack terminal automation and the bay preset controller.
Method: Open and lock the bay controller supply.
Caution: Rack automation opens valves on a driver card swipe. A card swiped at the wrong bay starts a transfer into an open arm.
Product header block valve to bay six, gasoline service.
Method: Close and lock the block valve. Confirm the bay meter shows no flow.
Caution: The header stays under static head from the tank farm whether or not a pump is running. Stopping the pump does not isolate the bay.
Bleed between the block valve and the loading arm, to the slops header.
Method: Open the bleed to slops and lock open. A sustained zero proves the block; a rising pressure means it is passing.
Caution: This bleed is the proof that the block is holding against the tank farm head.
Loading arm low-point drain into the closed drain system.
Method: Drain the arm fully to the closed system and confirm flow has ceased.
Caution: A loading arm holds several litres of gasoline after the header is isolated. It drains onto the crew when the flange is broken.
Vapour recovery return line block from the bay to the vapour header.
Method: Close and lock the vapour block valve.
Caution: The vapour header runs at slight vacuum and connects every bay. An open vapour line draws vapour from bays still loading.
Nitrogen purge connection for the loading arm and vapour line before hot work.
Method: Purge the arm and vapour line with nitrogen and confirm LEL below the hot-work threshold on two consecutive readings at the flange.
Caution: Gasoline vapour sits in the arm above the upper flammable limit. Purging brings it DOWN through the flammable range on the way to safe.
Loading arm stow latch and counterweight restraint.
Method: Latch the arm in the stowed position and confirm the counterweight is restrained. Must be ENGAGED.
Caution: The arm is counterweighted and swings under its own balance once the seal is broken.
Bay grounding and bonding verification system with its interlock to the preset.
Method: Do NOT isolate. Confirm the grounding verification system is in service and bonded to the arm before any work.
Caution: Static is the ignition source at a loading rack. Bonding is the control and must stay live while the arm is opened.
Overfill detection and the bay permissive interlock.
Method: Do NOT isolate. Confirm the overfill system remains armed for the adjacent bays.
Caution: Defeating the rack overfill system to work one bay disarms protection on the bays still loading.
Rack deluge and foam system over the loading bays.
Method: Do NOT isolate. Confirm the deluge valve is open and sealed.
Caution: Hot work at a gasoline rack with deluge isolated removes the only response to ignition.
Fixed LEL detection at the bay and personal monitors on the crew.
Method: Do NOT isolate. Confirm fixed heads are in service and personal monitors are bump-tested.
Caution: Vapour is heavier than air and pools at grade under the rack where the crew works.
What your site must supply
This example is structurally complete and factually generic. The things below are the things only you can know — and they are exactly what makes a procedure yours.
- Your own asset and isolation-point tag numbers. The tags shown are illustrative and refer to equipment that does not exist.
- The actual location of every disconnect, valve and vent on your equipment.
- Measured stored-energy magnitudes and the dwell time required to dissipate them.
- Your verification method for each point, and who is authorised to perform it.
- Any additional energy sources present on your equipment and absent here.
Author this properly, once
Setyr holds procedures like this as living documents — bound to real isolation points, with lock registries, group lockout, person-in-charge custody and periodic review built in.