Fit for the Future: Digitalising a Tank Terminal
Published on : Friday 06-05-2022
At the digital heart of the tank terminal lies the terminal management system, OpenTAS 6.0, says Constanze Schmitz.
The tank terminal site in Duisburg, Germany, holds a special position in the network of the operator TanQuid. The headquarter site is defined by the complexity of its facilities and processes to offer a diversity of the services, to meet the demands its clientele from different industries. A total of 118 tanks hold a wide variety of chemical, petrochemical, alcohol, and mineral oil products as well as biogenic substances and liquefied gases. These are delivered and distributed by truck, ship, rail, container or pipeline. Every month, around 3,500 shipments pass through the site – including direct turnovers, with a main focus on the storage and movement of chemicals, accounting for around 80 percent of the site’s product volume.
After intensive planning and implementation work, all processes at the Duisburg tank terminal are now running with the process-oriented terminal management system, OpenTAS 6.0, by Implico. In addition, the team uses specialised cloud services from their "Supply Chain United" portfolio. The IT landscape offers a wide range of benefits, like automated workflows, expanded service offerings, comprehensive data collection and evaluation, paperless processes, as well as increased flexibility, transparency, and security. A further major effect is the ability to drive the ongoing energy transition both proactively and sustainably, for example there is now a sound basis to further build upon and focus even more on the storage and handling of e-fuels.
Digitalising a tank terminal
At the digital heart of the tank terminal lies the terminal management system, OpenTAS 6.0, which controls all central steps and processes: from planning, loading and warehouse management to administration, quality control, and customs documentation via EMCS. Even processes that previously took place in sub-systems are now fully integrated in the software solution. TanQuid can now record, analyse, and optimise all tank storage movements and developments directly and holistically on a data basis.
In process: Digitised check-for trucks
Delivering and collecting products by truck is the most frequently used mode of transport in Duisburg. On site, it is now handled via a web service with a user-friendly check-in dialog, enabling drivers to conveniently check in and out at the gate using a touchscreen. This accelerates the process on the one hand and reduces the risk of errors on the other. At a later point, the introduction of the innovative Truck Online Check-in from Implico's "Supply Chain United" portfolio is planned. It will allow truck drivers to check in on their way to the tank terminal with a mobile device.
Downstream innovations in the cloud
In addition to the go-live of the new terminal management system in Duisburg, TanQuid and Implico have taken another important step to upgrade the company's IT landscape: At all sites managed with OpenTAS, the terminal processes are now running in the cloud. This gives TanQuid a fully virtualised, hardware-independent infrastructure. The advantages: Unified technology. Fast scalability. Centralised support. Looking forward, the company wants to build on this further. There are already plans to implement additional “Supply Chain United” services in Duisburg, such as the Truck Online Check-in for incoming trucks or the processing of rail cars, tank ships and direct turnovers via handhelds.
Article courtesy: ARC Advisory Group
https://www.arcweb.com/blog/fit-future-digitalizing-tank-terminal
Constanze Schmitz, Senior Editor, ARC Advisory Group, Europe, is part of the European team and works from ARC's Belgium office. Constanze's focus areas cover a wide array of industrial topics with an emphasis on the processing industries. Her expertise includes field devices, instrumentation, and process automation with a special interest in communication and new technologies. She has been working in technical publishing for over 15 years. As the editor of the pan-European, industrial magazines Processing & Control News Europe, Power in Motion, and Energy Efficiency she acquired insight in a multitude of industry-linked topics.
