Jul 28, 2022 | Access Mats, News
Oil rig mats or access mats are crucial for many heavy-duty industries, especially in the oil and gas sector. If you’re on the search for oil rig matting that protects your equipment and workers from unstable soil, dirt, rocky surfaces, bogs or even swamps and is within your budget, then GFI Solutions’ oil rig mats are the ideal solution for your project.
GFI solutions are proud to offer clients across Western Canada access to leading oil rig mats that are durable and dependable for your heavy-duty jobs. Learn more about our oil rig mats on job sites below!
Traditional Bolted Mats Vs. Cross Laminated Timber (CLT)
Stronger
Traditional bolted mats are often incorrectly perceived to be more robust than CLT mats; however, CLT mats are actually 30% stronger than traditional bolted mats. Many project managers are unaware that CLT mats are manufactured from Southern Yellow Pine Wood Fibre instead of Douglas Fir, which is found in traditional bolted mats. Southern Yellow Pine Wood is not only stronger than Douglas Fir, but it is also more sustainable to grow and harvest.
Safer
For those looking to protect the environment and minimize the disturbance to the land during their project, CLT oil rig mats are a valuable asset. Traditional rig mats are essentially used to reduce the damage caused to the earth by trucks and machinery and reduce your footprint to stay within the recommended guidelines, but CLT rig mats are more environmentally friendly. Unlike Douglas Fir fibre, Southern Yellow Pine wood is harvested with sustainable forest practices and ecologically friendly adhesive to bond the planks together.
Longer Lifespan
The glue lamination used in CLT mats also increases the longevity of our oil rig mats. The adhesion bonds the planks together and are then sealed with wax on all four edges to repel moisture and rot. Unlike traditional bolted mats, CLT mats leave very little space between the wooden planks for water or fluids to seep through.
More Secure
Bonding the mats together instead of bolting them allows our CLT mats to have a solid top, which significantly reduces hazards throughout the worksite. The solid top ensures that your workers can easily walk around without tripping over the gaps and ensures that your vehicles won’t be damaged due to a loose bolt.
Partner With The Best
GFI Solutions is proud to offer our partners exceptional customer service in addition to our extensive matting inventory. The following matting solutions are designed to keep your project on schedule and maintain the safety of your crew and workers:
- Inventory Management
- Manufacturing
- Mat Washing
- Delivery & Installation
- Turn-Key Services
- Planning and Consultation
GFI Solutions for All Your Matting Needs
Request a quote today for your upcoming projects and ask about our mat rental program!
Jul 21, 2022 | Access Mats, News
Projects in the drilling, oil and gas and refinery industries require more caution to protect the environment and reduce the damage caused by the equipment and the process. Site access solutions make safe transportation of fluids possible on your worksite as it ensures little to no damage to the landscape.
GFI Solutions is proud to introduce safe-site access mats that protect both your equipment and the landscape during your project. Read on to learn more about the benefits our mats have to offer you.
Prevent Contamination
Transporting fluids on a worksite can cause significant damage to the landscape. Heavy construction equipment as well can sometimes damage the environment due to its weight. Tire tracks, rust and chemicals from the worksite are left behind as you drive the equipment, contaminating the soft ground. The heavy equipment carrying heavier loads alters the landscape’s natural appearance as unstable soil can sink into the ground. Installing access mats at your worksite will help support the weight of your equipment, creating a wooden shield between the chemicals used and the ground protecting the environment from possible damage.
Prevent Delays
Uneven terrain can cause your equipment to sink when the soil is pitted, wet or muddy. Access mats prevent you from having to go through the long process of digging or pulling out your heavy equipment. You can rest assured that your equipment and crew have a safe road/bridge to cross over without risking lengthy delays with access mats.
Prevent Damage
Access mats not only prevent damage to the landscape it also prevents damage to your equipment. The tires on heavy equipment require solid, smooth grounds that can withstand the heavyweight in order to avoid fast wear and tear or tripping hazards. Access mats provide your equipment and crew with the rigid foundation needed to support the weight and protect the tires from any possible damage.
Why GFI Solutions?
GFI Solutions is Canada’s exclusive source for Sterling Solutions’ range of TerraLam products. Our CLT products include:
We also provide a variety of sizes of bolted access mats for rent and sale. As a manufacturer, our team of experts can provide you with customized matting solutions for your upcoming project. GFI Solutions is your all-in-one matting expertise as we provide several services such as inventory management, delivery & installation, mat washing and more!
Contact our team today to learn more about the perfect matting solution for your needs and request a quote for your upcoming project.
Jul 21, 2022 | Access Mats, News
With summer just around the corner, much of Canada faces rainfall and irregular weather patterns, making it difficult for trucks and machinery to reach remote job sites. Temporary access solutions like bridges and mats are an essential resource that allows you to overcome the obstacles presented by the changing weather while also protecting the environment from harm during your project.
While purchasing mats was the preferred option of choice, renting access mats has become the go-to solution by project managers in some of the biggest companies in construction, oil & gas, petrochemical, mining, power and renewable energy industries. GFI Solutions is proud to be Canada’s leading supplier of temporary access solutions, including access mats, rig mats and access bridges for rent and sale. Learn more about our temporary access solutions below!
Access Mats
When purchasing access mats to build makeshift roads in and out of a job site, clients tend to underestimate the amount of time and effort that is required to transport, install, remove and clean the mats. Renting temporary access mats will save you time and money since you won’t have to worry about professionally cleaning the mats or finding space to store your mats for the next project. GFI Solutions offers several matting services, including:
- Mat Washing
- Turn-Key Services
- Inventory Management
- Delivery and Installation
- Manufacturing
- Planning and Consultation
Rig Mats
Projects with heavy equipment such as dump trucks, loaders, excavators, drilling rigs, or similar heavy machinery require more robust access mats that can withstand extremely heavy loads or applications. Rig mats are primarily used to support heavier machinery and have steel frames to withstand heavy loads safely. Renting temporary rig mats will usually cost significantly less than buying brand new ones and offer you the same reliable quality.
Temporary Access Bridges
In order to safely cross muddy paths, waterways or swamps, project managers are required to install temporary access bridges to maintain the safety of the equipment, the crew and the environment. Temporary bridges are easy to install and remove, and some can even be delivered to the job site on a single truck. Depending on the equipment you have and the weight of the loads, TerraCross bridges can handle up to 100 tons of weight. The specs include:
TERRACROSS 40:
- Maximum Weight Limit: 100 tons
- Spanning Distance: 35′
- Total Length: 40′
- Matting: TerraLam® 500 bearing mats and TerraLam® 700 decking
TERRACROSS 56:
- Maximum Weight Limit: 65 tons
- Spanning Distance: 50′
- Total Length: 56′
- Matting: TerraLam® 500 bearing mats and TerraLam® 700 decking
Temporary Access Solutions Throughout Western Canada
Looking for temporary access solutions for an upcoming project? Request a quote today!
Jul 15, 2022 | News, TerraCross Bridges
Canada’s unpredictable weather can heavily affect the terrain causing you to pause your workflow every time the weather changes. If you’re tired of putting your project on hold every time the ground becomes softer, icer, or muddier, GFI Solutions have engineered the perfect matting product for you. Our team of experts understands that time is money when it comes to working on a project on open ground, which is why we are proud to introduce the TerraCross temporary portable bridge that will solve all your access problems. Read on to learn more about the benefits of the TerraCross temporary mobile bridge!
Why Use Temporary Portable Bridges
Struggling with the fluctuation of the weather during a project is frustrating for everyone. Crossing water, ditches or any uneven terrain can cause several hazardous risks for workers and machinery. Project managers in the oil and gas, power, chemical and mining industries install temporary portable bridges to provide safe and secure paths across all troublesome land. Access movable bridges are designed to offer your workers and equipment a safe worksite while saving you time and money.
TerraCross Bridge Benefits
The TerraCross temporary bridge is engineered to maintain workflow efficiency and ensure that your worksite is safe for workers, machines and the environment. With fluids being transported from one location to the other, cross-contamination and accidental spillage could heavily impact the land. TerraCross bridges are designed using Cross Laminated Timber (CLT) mats and a geotextile surface to avoid contamination of the grounds or spillage to waterways. They are also bonded together using an eco-friendly adhesive that allows the mats to be more flexible and distribute the weight evenly throughout, rather than concentrate the weight only on the bolted areas.
Using glue to adhere the planks together instead of bolts ensures that the bridge’s surface is solid and smooth, eliminating the risk of tripping or tire punctures. TerraCross bridges are not only safe for your worksite, but they are also significantly robust and can handle weight up to 100 tons. Specs include:
TERRACROSS 40:
- Weight: 100 tons
- Maximum Spanning Distance: 35′
- Total Length: 40′
- Matting: TerraLam® 500 bearing mats and TerraLam® 700 decking
TERRACROSS 56:
- Weight: 65 tons
- Maximum Spanning Distance: 50′
- Total Length: 56′
- Matting: TerraLam® 500 bearing mats and TerraLam® 700 decking
Install the TerraCross Bridge for a Safer Worksite
Contact our team today to learn more about our TerraCross bridge and our different matting services.
Jul 15, 2022 | Access Mats, News
One of the most common questions project managers ask when considering used rig mats is whether or not they are safe to use at a worksite. A popular misconception about used access mats is that they are unreliable, easily damaged and hazardous to install; however, GFI Solutions implements strict inspection with all used mats to ensure optimal quality before delivering used access mats to the client. Our quality control checklist includes:
- Mat Washing
Cross-contamination can cause harm to the surrounding terrain or create a hazardous working environment that could put your project at risk. Cross-contamination is your number one concern if you’re working in an industry that involves the transport or use of fuel, chemicals or other toxic materials. At GFI Solutions, we understand that the risk of cross-contamination and how it can cause conflict on both Provincial and Federal levels, which is why our team dedicated an entire service to mat washing. All our used mats are rigorously washed and bleached to ensure that proper sterilization is met before delivery.
- Inspection for Repairs or Damages
Even though GFI’s Cross Laminated Timber (CLT) mats are significantly more robust than traditional bolted mats and offer better support, some mats will naturally experience regular wear and tear. Our thorough inspection at GFI ensures that any mats that require repairs are professionally addressed, and if some mats are heavily damaged, we will instantly get rid of them. Since our TerraLam products are made of solid blocks of wood, repairs can be done much easier than repairs on bolted access mats. At GFI, we pride ourselves on offering our clients the best quality possible, and by ensuring that all our used mats are thoroughly inspected and repaired, we can consistently provide our customers with high-quality used mats.
- Delivery and Installation
We advise all our clients, whether they are purchasing new or used mats, to take advantage of our delivery and installation service as it increases the longevity of your access mats. Our experts will properly deliver and install your mats, ensuring that no damage is inflicted on the mats due to transport and that the mats are carefully installed for optimal performance.
- 24/7 Support
GFI Solutions is proud to provide customers throughout Western Canada with a 24/7 support line where customers can easily request help, inquire about our services or products and access our extensive matting inventory. No matter the location or the problem, you can quickly and easily reach GFI Solutions’ customer support.
Reliable Matting Solutions
Safety is our primary concern at GFI Solutions, which is why players in some of theH biggest industries, such as oil and gas, mining and construction, have entrusted us to be their sole supplier of used and brand new matting solutions. For more information about used worksite mats and used access mats, contact us today!
