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Implico helps refinery undergo massive upgrades without interrupting operations

A major refinery in Germany has successfully replaced field equipment without interrupting operations.

Software and consulting company Implico has announced the completion of the major modernisation project at the Gunvor refinery in Ingolstadt. Field equipment for tank truck filling was replaced at all twelve loading bays at the refinery.

Implico’s OpenTAS terminal management system allowed one loading bay after another to be successfully upgraded without having an impact on the operation of the other loading bays.

Guvnor was in a situation where it had little choice but to go ahead with replacing the hardware, as its loading master – the computer that controls pumps and valves during tank truck loading – no longer met the latest technical standards. Some of the field gear on the loading bays also needed replacing.

In order to minimise disruption, Gunvor elected to have the works carried out with the refinery still in operation.

 

First steps

Implico installed a new OpenTAS system to work alongside the existing one, meaning the loading bays could switch to the new system one at a time. Implico’s downstream experts decoupled each loading bay to be moved from the legacy system.

Once the equipment had been replaced on the loading bay by the services provider Actemium, Implico then integrated the platform into the new system. “We also took the opportunity to replace the old interfaces,” says Volkmar Lindner-Billiau, senior consultant Oil & Gas at Implico. “Gunvor now uses the latest XML format for data exchange and will benefit from smooth and seamless data communications in the long run.” 

Alongside the production system, Implico also set up development and acceptance systems during the migration period. This allowed the company’s developers to test the details of the new functions before initiating the migrations, verifying the compatibility of the hardware and software.





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