C.H. Robinson Overcomes Challenges to Move Compressors from Calgary to Colorado
7th March 2019
When it comes to moving large industrial equipment, what’s required? Both careful planning and the ability to improvise.
A customer enlisted C.H. Robinson’s project logistics team to help coordinate and move eight oil and gas compressors from Alberta, Canada to Colorado, United States.
The compressors measured 13.23 x 7.32 x 7.06 meters, with the heaviest weighing 91.2 metric tons.
Moving this over dimensional freight presented some challenges, but C.H. Robinson’s project logistics experts worked with many parties to develop creative solutions in real time that kept the project on track.
The move began in June 2018 when C.H. Robinson helped mobilize a series of truck convoys through a contract carrier to provide direct and efficient end to end service.
Due to the size of the compressors, many power lines along the convoys’ route needed to be permanently moved, raised, or buried so that the trucks could get through without delay.
C.H. Robinson facilitated calls between various utility companies to develop strategies that would minimize the impact on local residents.
However, at an interim stop in remote Montana, local utility authorities unexpectedly notified C.H. Robinson that the initial compressor convoy could not proceed: moving the equipment through the area would require deactivating a line, which could result in flooding to local farmers’ fields.
After extensive consultation, both C.H. Robinson and the customer agreed that the best solution would be to store the compressors until autumn, when they could safely proceed.
C.H. Robinson then mobilized specialized equipment to Montana to offload and stow the cargo, hiring around the clock security to monitor the delayed compressors.
Ultimately though, C.H. Robinson and the customer developed a new solution to eliminate downtime and reduce cost: moving several compressor sets out of Alberta simultaneously, saving both time and money.
With this new plan, the project logistics team at C.H. Robinson worked quickly to change the project’s scope, prioritizing and expediting contracted carriers and state, municipal, and local authorities.
Here, C.H. Robinson proactively organized weekly calls between the customer and contracted carriers to ensure clear and open communication about status updates and challenges.
In January 2019, after months of complex logistics coordination between the customer; many state, municipal, and local authorities; and multiple contract carriers, the enormous compressors arrived in Colorado secure and ready to work.
