Sofis helps with partial automation

THE KEY TO SUCCESS

AUTOMATION • VALVE OPERATIONS EXPERT SOFIS HAS COME UP WITH A CLEVER WAY TO ACHIEVE PARTIAL AUTOMATION AND REDUCE THE CHANCES OF PRODUCT CROSS-CONTAMINATION

ONE OF THE biggest problems faced by tank storage operators is product contamination and its costly repercussions. Sofis, an industry leader in valve operations, was at StocExpo in Rotterdam this year, previewing its new key management system. The system aims to help eliminate the level of human error that is common alongside manual valve operation.

Sofis’s key management system comprises three main components: valve interlocks, which are permanently mounted to and lock the valve in the fully open or fully closed position unless specifically coded keys are inserted; a key management system that can authorise the removal of the keys; and finally a control cabinet that interfaces with the key management system to only allow specific keys to be removed after authorisation has been granted.

The system works to ensure that contamination risk is reduced to zero, without the need to implement a fully automated system, which is a costly and, in most cases, unrealistic solution.

HOW IT WORKS Once it has been established that a valve needs to be operated, one of the operators in the control room can release the required open or close key from the cabinet. Once released, a field worker has to insert the key into the correct slot on the correct valve in order to operate the valve successfully. Since each key is coded specifically for a particular valve, it is

THE SOFIS SYSTEM MAKES IT IMPOSSIBLE impossible to accidentally place an open key for valve X into the open slot on valve Y and, likewise, the system makes it impossible to insert the open key for valve X into the close slot on valve X, and vice versa.

Once valve operation is complete, a separate distributed control system (DCS) monitors the valve line-up using position feedback from the key management system. Having a strictly regulated key management system ensures that all valve operations are performed correctly first time and there is very limited scope for human error.

Sofis’s move into the world of automation represents a significant step for the company. Frank Gielissen, marketing director, explains how an intermediate solution like this opens up doors that had previously not been accessible to most operators. While full automation might be a preferable choice for most tank farm operators, logistically it simply isn’t an option. In order to implement a fully automated network of valves, all the valves have to be changed out, actuators need to be fitted and the farm has to be supplied with power. The latter can pose a significant problem for some, as digging up the ground to place wires may be prohibited by environmental agencies, making full automation next to impossible. Sofis’s system can be integrated into existing third-party software which makes it compatible with the current framework that the tank farm has in place or, in the case of a new farm, means no extra budget needs to be allocated to extra, more specific software.

Most tank farms around the world are currently operating with hundreds of manual valves and no realistic option to full automate. As a result, Sofis’s key management system allows a reasonable level of automation at a fraction of the cost of a fully automated system. HCB www.sofisglobal.com