Improve the Efficiency of Loading Operations
FuelsManager supports loading racks at crude, refined product, LPG, chemical, fertilizer and asphalt facilities. If you operate a single, manually-operated rack or multiple facilities with advanced electronic control equipment, FuelsManager Oil & Gas Terminal Automation edition will improve the efficiency of your loading operations. By utilizing the Varec Driver Entry Terminal, we are able to interface to control equipment at entry and exit gates, pre-load stations, weigh scales, load racks and BOL stations to collect and verify data and control operations.
Presets
FuelsManager interfaces to various third-party electronic presets, such as the Smith Accuload® III, Microload®, Toptech Multiload II (FDS 7.4.1), Danload 6000 and Contrec 1010, to control product loading and real-time additive injection. It provides flexible use of card readers at the loading rack to restrict access to authorized users, control loading operations and the driver prompt sequence. For example, FuelsManager verifies card data to only allow authorized drivers in specific vehicles to load against authorized customer and product allocations. FuelsManager utilizes OPC servers to communicate to each supported preset. This allows for greater flexibility when useing and sharing information. For example, meter information can be captured as part of the BOL and during the loading process, all pump, valve and meter indicators can be updated in real-time and loading rack status can be displayed clearly to your operators in custom graphics.
Stations
FuelsManager supports various station types, including entry and exit gates, loading racks, unloading racks and weigh stations. All station types may be configured with Driver Entry Terminals (DETs), card readers and BOL printers to meet individual requirements. Weigh stations may additionally be configured with scale interfaces necessary to capture entry and exit truck weight. Loading and unloading stations may also be configured with presets to control valves, grounding and additive systems required for the loading and unloading process.
Load Arms
FuelsManager allows configuration of one or more load arms for each station. The preset is configured for each load arm. The load arm is also configured with available product components and associated source tank for each load arm. Associating the tank with the load arm allows FuelsManager to store tank information as part of the BOL data. All permissives for the load arms and stations are via OPC, allowing flexible communications with a preset, card reader, PLC or an RTU.
Create Custom Operations
Operate to your business rules by individually configuring transactions, orders, field definitions, screen layouts, BOL information and reports. You are able to control and allocate product loads for every customer for a particular period (day, week and month). From a single display, your operators are able to search, review, edit preview, print and manually produce Bill of Lading (BOL) and transaction reports for inventory reconciliation, accounting and financial processing to SAP Oil & Gas or interface to data exchanges, such as PetroEX and TABS.
Load Rack Automation is fully integrated with other FuelsManager systems. For example when integrated with the order management system, operators are able to verify the order matches the product load request or allowable inventory. If it does not, then the product loading can be stopped. When integrated with external systems, such as quality control systems, operators are able to automatically verify product inventory against customer specifications and print the required documentation, including Certificates of Analysis.
Loading Against Orders and Customer IDs
FuelsManager supports loading against orders or against customer numbers (Load ID) and allocations. For orders, drivers select which order they want to load against and are then allowed to load products up to the amount specified on the order. When loading against Load ID, drivers identify the customer they are loading for by customer number, then the amount of product that can be loaded is controlled by the allocation for that particular customer. In both modes of operation, FuelsManager enforces your specific business rules, such as which carriers are allowed to load for a particular customer or tests and inspections necessary for equipment and drivers.
Meters (Product & Additive)
FuelsManager supports active tank assignment, meter discrepancy and meter creep. The system records the non-resettable meter values during the EOD process. A meter reconciliation report is provided that compares the total calculated throughput from the meter values in the transaction records to the closeout records and gives a visual notification if a discrepancy is found. The report also highlights any “gaps” that show meter creep between transactions in the system that might indicate “meter creep” or “unauthorized flow”. The report will show data for product and additive meters. The number of gallons to ignore will be hardcoded in the report as a business rule. Alternatively, the number of gallons to ignore can be made a parameter that is entered when the report is run.
Bill of Lading (BOL)
FuesManager allows complete customization of BOL reports to meet specific business formats by using Microsoft Reporting Services. For example, BOLs can be generated based on the specific product with text and layout formatting as required. Additional form data can be hard coded in the BOL, including DOT and other forms and notifications. FuelsManager stores all dates and times in Universal Coordinated Time (UCT) formats with configurable localization settings. This allows transactions to be recorded in local time at the terminal and then viewed in the time zone of the headquarters at the host. FuelsManager also supports unique sequence/document numbers for transactions, including Automatic and Manual BOL Numbering, Non Rack Transaction Numbering, Order Transaction Numbering and Invoice Transaction Numbering.
