How would I find out an industries requirments?

[Anonymous]

I am not absolutly sure of this but if you go to OSHA web site search for the perticular type of industry you all trying to find out about there should be a list of Material Data Safety Sheet .they will give you the general type of materials used haz mat warnings safety percautions from this you may be able to figure the type of rail/ truck traffic that it would need to transport said materials safely.Also A general idea of the equipment used in the production process.From all the warnings and percautions listed for working in that type of enviroment.It may be a long shot but as a former contractor I worked in many different factories witch produced many differnt thing the MSDC as they are called is the first thing I would look at to determine what if any types of hazourdous material I may be exposed to.You can also go to the office and ask to see the msdc's they are public record and by federal law must be presented to anyone who asks to see them. Although like was said before I would just go and ask them they might offer alot of information to help you.Good Luck Terry

[Wdlgln005]

You could take the opportunity to see what people do there. Then they can tell you what kinds of products they make there & different steps in production. This could be your tack in getting to talk to a HR person that could tell you in general what items come in for what goes out. by talking jobs/careers, you're seen as an interrested person.

[tstage]

Gary,

Did you ever think about calling 3M up and asking them directly. I realize that they may be a bit reluctant to disseminate certain information over the phone. Explain to them who you are, where you live, ahd what you are trying to accomplish. You might be surprised. You may find out that they are fairly cooperative about tell you general information.

Worth a try...

Tom

[Favrefan04]

Thanks for the advice. I was hoping for some suggestions on a book or two that might have that kind of information, or even a website. I guess that was too much to hope for. That would make things so much easier. Thanks anyway guys. I will just have to make a couple of trips out there and check things outand keep notes.

Thanks again for the suggestions.

[dinwitty]

wathc the cars being delivered there.

just do some guess work, they may need chemicals, like tank cars, perhaps some solid material in box cars, maybe occasional flat cars.
Sometimies covered hoppers delivered powdered chemicals.

[Anonymous]

Gary,

For what ever industries you are thinking of, think of what products they make. What does it take to make these products? ie 3M makes post-notes (boxcars OUT), which require paper (boxcar IN) and glue (tanker or gondola IN). This will help you determine what materials need to come in and go out. Also are there any other facilities requirements? For instance, will this factory have steam -fired boiler that means coal (hopper IN)? In fact, I seem to recall that 3M makes almost anything (www.3m.com has a very big list).

When I planned my railroad I found it helpful to try to imagine as many things as possible for industries and then pared them down to those that were neat to model, those with neat payloads and then those that I did need for a given industry. For instance, if you need glue for 3M, does that mean you need a glue factory? Or perhaps a chemical factory?

Neal

[Anonymous]

Perhaps you can drop by the plant and see what they take in or ship out. Kinds of freight cars. I dont know too much about modern stuff but imagine that they might want plastic pellets and some kind of "glue" (lack of a better word) to make those little postit notes we all know and love. They also probably need printed material to create boxes for products like stationary. Maybe even rubber latex in a tank car to create pickup truck beds or something.

Type industries in the search bar on the forums and you will find tons and tons of industry. Perhaps not exactly what you look for off the bat but searching for information is the fun part of the journey.

[Favrefan04]

I am wondering how I could find out what certain industries would receive by rail. I am specifically curious about what a industry like 3M would need. I have a 3M in my area, and I was wanting to put at least part of it on my layout, and it would help if I knew what they had coming in. I am sure that I can figure out what they have going out.

It would really help so I would know what kind of rolling stock I need for it. I could spend a lot of time going there and seeing for myself what they have around, but that migt take quite a while, and it wouldn't help me when it came time for my Car Card and Waybills.

Does anybody out there have any ideas that might help me?