Understanding the unique challenges of tank farms, Endress+Hauser brings to the table modular solutions for inventory management at a global scale, Ali AlNahash, Application Expert, tells OGN

Today tank farm operators face various challenges in measuring different types of highly valuable products, including those stored at high process temperatures that create vapour phases, as well as high process pressures where no access is available for the operator.

These challenges add to the complexity of managing inventory and ensuring accurate level measurements in tanks.

Overfill prevention, tank cleaning, product contamination, high standards of safety and environmental compliance, inventory management, operational efficiency, security, and other environmental factors are all critical considerations for operators in tank farms.

Endress+Hauser’s tank gauging solutions seamlessly integrate with existing systems, offering a cost-effective upgrade path for tank farms

Adding to this, processes need to be flexible and expandable to adapt to new or changing conditions easily to ensure a long-term competitive advantage.

Mastering these day-to-day challenges in inventory management is important to reduce inventory costs, improve customer satisfaction, increase productivity, and optimise supply chain.

Effective decision making and real time monitoring becomes vital here, and for effective decision-making, the availability of high quality online and up-to-date information is essential.

Monitoring the content of tanks and silos covers a wide range of applications, with the information used by different groups of people.

While operators responsible for loading or unloading need to be constantly aware of changing levels, logistic managers may only need to be updated every couple of days or only when a certain low volume is reached.

To select the most suitable, cost-effective measurement and inventory management solutions, the applications are typically segmented into ‘inventory control’ and ‘tank gauging’.

Endress+Hauser’s tank gauging solutions seamlessly integrate with existing systems, offering a cost-effective upgrade path for tank farms

This is also reflected in the recommendations of the American Petroleum Institute (API), a leading organisation for good practice in the oil and gas industry.

Inventory control concerns questions like: Is the right product in the tank? Is it the right quantity? Can I reduce working capital by increasing throughput?

When it comes to tank gauging, high accuracy, volume and mass calculations, and compliance with weight and measure requirements are typically needed.

Inventory control and tank gauging solutions use various technologies such as radar, servo, or ultrasonic sensors to provide accurate and real-time data on inventory levels.

They help optimise inventory processes by ensuring that tanks are neither overfilled nor underfilled, thus minimising the risk of spills, reducing operational costs, and improving overall efficiency.

Here are some of the offerings from Endress+Hauser:

• The company’s radar technology, including the NMR81 and NMR84 models, utilises Frequency Modulated Continuous Wave (FMCW) technology, ensuring high accuracy, better than 0.5 mm.

Inventory control uses radar, servo, or ultrasonic sensors to provide accurate

The NMR81, with an 80 GHz lens antenna, is ideal for dome or fixed roof storage tanks, providing precise level measurements in confined spaces.

• The NMR84 radar, featuring a planner antenna, is designed for floating roof tanks, measuring fluid levels through the still well.

It also offers the unique ability to conduct sampling or manual dipping from the same stilling well, enhancing its versatility.

• The Servo gauge NMS81 is designed for pressurised storage tanks, featuring a maintenance-free magnetic motor and exceptional accuracy of better than 0.4 mm.

Beyond its precise continuous liquid level measurement capabilities, this gauge offers added value with the ability to measure product density or liquid level interface on-demand, providing enhanced versatility and functionality for storage tank operations.

The Servo gauge NMS81 is commonly used in LNG tanks, demonstrating its reliability and suitability for critical applications.

These transmitters undergo meticulous calibration by bodies like OIML, PTB, and NMi, ensuring unmatched accuracy and reliability, including the longest custody transfer testing range available in the market, meeting the stringent requirements of various applications with confidence.

• Complementing these field devices, Endress+Hauser offers Tankvision, a compact web-based tank gauging device with embedded software designed for control room use.

Tankvision significantly reduces the risk of cyber-attacks to nearly zero per cent by operating independently of the Windows operating system.

It provides comprehensive features, such as data polling, visualisation, archiving, alarming, inventory corrections, and volume calculations, according to W&M approvals, to all storage tanks, all at no extra cost.

It is easily connected to the company’s LAN network, allowing users to have remote access within the company’s networks.

Endress+Hauser’s tank gauging solutions seamlessly integrate with existing systems, offering a cost-effective upgrade path for tank farms.

They can be implemented without major renovations, reducing downtime and overall costs.

These solutions also address compatibility issues with old systems, ensuring reliable operations in modern tank farms.

'At Endress+Hauser, we understand the unique challenges of the industry and the process. What Endress+Hauser brings to the table are modular solutions for inventory management at a global scale, including complete inventory visibility 24/7, anywhere in the world, regardless of whether you need the data at the tankside or in the boardroom,' says Ali AlNahash, Application Expert at Endress+Hauser.