Seeking Retrofittable Solutions that Enable Safer Road Transportation of Liquid Propane Gas (LPG)

Liquid Propane Gas (LPG) is a flammable product that requires a high degree of caution to extract, store, transport, and use. At SHV Energy, we ensure that our processes follow best (and often exceed) practice industry guidelines to ensure that the product is always safely handled and transported, and to safeguard the health and safety of our employees and our surrounding environments.

While we maintain the highest standards in transportation safety, high risks remain. If an incident does occur, the impact can be far-reaching and serious. We look to the latest technologies and innovative solutions to help us mitigate these risks, wherever possible.

Through a recent extensive risk assessment analysis from our Transport Safety Working Group, we identified several areas where external partners can help to improve the safety of LPG transportation. We are looking to explore technologies that reduce the Potential of Serious Injury or Fatality (PSIF) in relation to Pre-Journey and On-Route measures in the following four areas:

1. Driver skills and capabilities
2. Trucks and related equipment
3. Transportation risk management
4. Driver Management

A mix of all four areas can also be possible.

We have grouped determinants under Pre-Journey Influences and On-Route Influences (Please see the “Discarded Solutions” section for areas that we are less interested in affecting):

Pre-Journey influences:

• Driver Training
• Vehicle Maintenance
• Emergency Equipment and Tools
• Journey Assessment
• Driver Fleet Management

On-Route influences:

• Road & Environmental Conditions
• Other Drivers
• Blind Spots
• Driver Mental State (Awareness and Alertness) and Daily Habits
• Rollover detection and prevention

Inspiration and How Might We

Some example areas include:

• How Might We prevent rollovers by better equipping drivers to handle risky scenarios (which they have potentially not encountered before) with confidence.
• How Might We prevent rollovers by aiding drivers in their ability to acutely sense their environment. (i.e., improving driver awarenessof their immediate surroundings, situation, and conditions).
• How Might We prevent rollovers by better monitoring a driver’s condition (i.e., state of alertness, responsiveness, or health) while on the road.

Requirements/Considerations

• We use the following vehicles globally: Mini bulk road tanker, road tanker, cylinder delivery truck, tipper truck, crane truck and van.
• The solution should be retrofittable to our existing vehicles or adapted to systems.
• The solution should be ideally ATEX approved, or it should have the potential (and willingness of parties) to go through the ATEX Approval Process. For a proof-of-concept stage, a simulated environment can be created. Risk mitigation, working methods and instructions can also be defined for non-ATEX approved solutions so they should not be excluded.

Potential Collaborators/Partners

We are open to different types of partners. However, we are more likely to favour:

• Technology suppliers with the ability to customize to our needs.
• Joint collaborators that can combine several technologies to suit our use case.

Benefits

• Work with a global player in the energy industry.
• Gain access to our SHV Energy expertise and facilities to deep dive into the challenge.
• Local support for initial testing with European Business Units, followed by global support for the wider business.
• Support costs for a proof of concept.
• The potential to enter a supply agreement.

Discarded Solutions

• GPS
• Vehicle risk management attachments
• Emergency Equipment and Tools
• Journey Assessment
• Driver Fleet Management