Upgrade was performed without interrupting normal operations
Implico, software and consulting company has successfully completed a major modernization project for loading processes at the Gunvor refinery in Ingolstadt. The most significant factor was that the upgrade was performed with the refinery in normal operation. One loading bay after another was successfully upgraded without impacting other loading operations, because of the flexibility of the OpenTAS terminal management system.
Implico’s downstream experts decoupled each loading bay to be moved from the legacy system, on the software side. Implico integrated the platform into the new system, once the equipment had been replaced on the loading bay by the services provider Actemium. Volkmar Lindner-Billiau, Senior Consultant Oil & Gas at Implico says, “We also took the opportunity to replace the old interfaces. Gunvor now uses the latest XML format for data exchange and will benefit from smooth and seamless data communications in the long run.”
Implico also set up development and acceptance systems during the migration period, in addition to the production system.
Since 2002, OpenTAS has been used by the refinery in Ingolstadt. Calculating net refinery production, loading control for tank trucks and railcars, and processing tax calculations both with and without EMCS (Excise Movement and Control System) comprise the tasks handled by the software.
“We’ve now put together a platform that means we are very well-prepared for the future. The conversions went very well and had virtually no impact on the rest of our business. To wrap this up inside a year is really a job well done,” said Erich Kuttenreich, Head of Loading and Inventory Accounting at Gunvor. PWKD29062017