Implico finds where the trains are

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DIGITISATION • IMPLEMENTATION OF IMPLICO’S SYSTEMS NOW PROVIDES EVOS HAMBURG WITH A DIRECT LINK TO THE PORT AUTHORITY AND BETTER DATA ON RAIL MOVEMENTS

EVOS HAS IMPLEMENTED a digital connection with the Hamburg Port Authority (HPA), using a software solution developed and implemented by Implico, a specialist in tank terminal software systems. The Evos tank terminal and HPA now exchange rail movement data completely automatically, with no need for manual entry and transfer by employees.

Every year, thousands of railcars are handled at the Evos terminal in the port of Hamburg. These ensure the rail-based supply of various hydrocarbon products from different refineries and terminals. Until now, an incoming freight train meant a lot of manual work for the Evos team: employees had to record each arriving railcar by hand, including the associated master data. Based on this information, they generated the required unloading order. This process was both time-consuming and error-prone.

Now that HPA and the terminal management system OpenTAS ‘Blue Edition’ used by Evos are connected, terminal operators receive all information about incoming freight trains in advance. The data is imported into the system via an interface and the unloading order is generated automatically.

To further digitalise the remaining safety check of the railcars, Evos is planning to introduce additional mobile devices. These handhelds will be integrated into the terminal management system and will allow the terminal crew to check the railcars directly and digitally – from the master data to the sequence of the wagons to the visual security inspection via checklist. This increases safety as the employees cannot overlook anything. In addition, the use of handhelds eliminates redundant tasks and supports the field staff optimally with state-of-the-art technology. Consequently, it makes the process much more efficient. KNOW THE FUTURE “With the new interface and the planned handhelds, we take a big step towards the further digitalisation of our processes,” says Sebastian Palandt, IT and OT manager at Evos Hamburg. “For the deliveries that reach us by rail, we now receive all relevant information in advance – be it the actual wagon data, the order data or the details of the products loaded. Furthermore, the usage of mobile devices directly on site at the train significantly increases the level of transparency and security.”

The data exchange between HPA’s TransPORTRail system and the OpenTAS terminal management system used by Evos is carried out via the innovative web service iGOS Data Exchange, provided by Implico. In the implementation of the project, the experts used many innovations, such as the state-of-the-art cloud technologies Docker and Kubernetes.

“Implico develops cloud-based solutions that find usage along the entire oil and gas supply chain,” observes Thomas Roller, head of sales, marketing and business development at Implico. “Since these web services are extremely flexible, companies can implement them quickly and use them easily. The rail interface used by Evos is part of a broad portfolio and marks an important step in the digitalisation of tank terminals.”

Evos Hamburg is a big site: it has 149 storage tanks ranging in size from 1,000 m³ up to 26,000 m³, with a combined storage capacity of more than 670,000 m³. It handles various petroleum products, biofuels, gases, sulphuric acid, base oils and paraffins and, in addition to storage, offers a range of services including blending, additivation, heating and dedicated system.

Hamburg is one of four terminals in the Evos network, the others being located in Algeciras, Amsterdam and Rotterdam. All four sites have been acquired over the past year by First State Investments, which also owns Navigator Terminals in the UK and ANZ Terminals in Australia and New Zealand. www.implico.com evos.eu