Electronic scanning helps fuel distributor cut costs, increase efficiency
Problem - Mitten Inc., a bulk fuel storage and fuel distributor in Kansas, relies on its own bulk fuel for its Mitten Travel Plaza gas station located in Oakley, Kan. Like most storage and fuel tanks, Mitten’s tank levels were monitored manually, taking up to a half hour each. “We knew we needed a way to streamline our delivery process,” says Jerry Chaput, fuel manager with Mitten Inc. “With its reliable system and full-service support, TankScan was the ideal choice.”
Solution - In March 2013, Mitten turned to ATEK Access Technologies for its TankScan wireless tank monitoring system, which allows Mitten to monitor the liquid levels of its tanks remotely. TankScan uses a battery-powered radar sensor that sits on top of each tank and takes measurements several times daily to determine fluid depth. The monitor collects data about the tank’s fluid level and sends it to an Internet portal, which Chaput is able to log into with a PC, laptop, tablet or mobile phone to monitor all of Mitten’s customer’s tanks from anywhere a connection is available.
Result - Through remote asset visibility, Mitten optimized its distribution process. It can schedule delivery and collection of liquid products ahead of time, eliminating emergency trips and reducing excess inventory. TankScan enhances safety by eliminating the need to climb and crawl on top of tanks for manual tank measurement. “TankScan takes the guess work out of our delivery process,” says Chaput. “We can schedule on-time deliveries easily, providing our customers with the peace of mind that they’ll never run out of fuel.” 800/523-6996; www.tankscan.com.
Digital document sets increase communication speed and accuracy
Problem - Plant Integrity Management, a United Kingdom-based provider of consultancy and strategic management support for oil, gas and chemical plants and offshore rigs, was looking for a way to go paperless and update their process communication. They were marking up drawings on paper, but the penned markups got smudged and maintaining drawing sets was difficult in harsh conditions. Plus, their information was not reaching global project team members in a timely manner.
Solution - They adopted Bluebeam Revu, a digital markup and collaboration solution for easy condition assessment markup, comparisons and information sharing in real time with project stakeholders. Communication is not only clearer, reducing the risk of costly errors and rework, but much faster. All edits and communication take place on a digital, centralized set of drawings, and changes and comments are automatically tracked and shared using Bluebeam Studio.
Result - Plant Integrity Management now trusts digital communication throughout all the phases of their workflow, from creating offshore inspection work packs to marking anomalies on piping and instrumentation diagrams. 866/496-2140; www.bluebeam.com.
Cloud-based oilfield services program streamlines operations and accounting
Problem - J&L Oilfield Services, a fluid transport and oilfield equipment rental company in Shattuck, Okla., sought a unified system to minimize data entry, provide transparency and alleviate paperwork headaches associated with accounts payable and receivable.
Solution - They chose Fieldbook ERP oilfield services software. The cloud-based software provides an easy-to-use, all-in-one accounting and operations solution to track when a need is identified through the receipt of payment. Its wireless ticketing app gives drivers field access to all the information needed to complete their jobs, saving time and ensuring tickets are accurate and never get lost. By using the mobile app, drivers spend less time on the phone and more time on tasks, equating to cost savings and increased safety.
Result - J&L Oilfield Services achieved a cost savings of $12 million in 2013 by becoming more operationally efficient, moving unnecessary dispatchers and management into revenue-generating positions and eliminating lost revenue due to misplaced or inaccurate field tickets. 855/377-4645; www.fieldbookerp.com.
Tracking technology used to extend equipment life
Problem - Without insight into how long customers were running equipment, Purity Oilfield Services of Williston, N.D., had difficulty knowing when proper maintenance was needed and challenges with accurate billing. The company was wasting time each week by manually estimating maintenance and sending out service techs for unnecessary trips.
Solution - Purity decided on the OneView platform from Pedigree Technologies to track equipment location and runtime, schedule usage-based maintenance and coordinate service calls. Using OneView, Purity has been able to increase efficiencies and decrease costs by eliminating manual processes and unnecessary miles and improving maintenance.
Result - OneView allows Purity to know exactly how long equipment has been in use and schedule maintenance accordingly. By knowing exactly when equipment needs maintenance and where it’s located, field techs save 30 hours a week plus $300 to $400 on fuel costs. When equipment is misplaced, Purity saves up to two days of work with location data. “The system absolutely helps extend equipment life because you can ensure equipment is serviced on time and not allow things to fall through the cracks,” says Jesse Atwell, equipment manager at Purity. 800/470-6581; www.pedigreetechnologies.com.
Fleet tracking system helps regulatory reporting company decrease paperwork
Problem - With the energy industry constantly growing and changing, regulatory issues are certain to slow down a business owner’s company. WaterTrac, a Pennsylvania company focusing on regulatory reporting for the oil and gas industry, sought to decrease the amount of paperwork they must produce and remain compliant among regulatory agencies.
Solution - The company combined its data with US Fleet Tracking’s live vehicle tracking system. WaterTrac’s president and general manager, Charles Keith, says that the speed of the updates and its weather feature are crucial components of US Fleet Tracking’s system to his business. “Ten-second updates are the best feature we’ve seen at no huge additional cost,” says Keith. “And the Weather Overlay feature lets us know the current weather conditions of the immediate areas employees are located.”
Result - The time completing compliancy paperwork is roughly decreased 40 to 50 hours per client’s well site. Additionally, the no-contract policy allows clients to start up without the cost of locking into contracts when not sure how GPS tracking will impact the business. “They don’t want to be tied to something that they may want to change six months down the road,” says Keith. 405/726-9900; www.usfleettracking.com.
Purchase-to-pay automation controls costs for company
Problem - Energen Corporation of Birmingham, Ala., sought to better understand its spending and streamline processes like material transfers to enable more strategic decision-making. It needed to replace its homegrown purchasing system with a faster, more reliable paperless solution.
Solution - Energen chose the Verian Oil & Gas Suite purchase-to-pay system, specifically tailored for the oil and gas industry, to transform their purchasing and material transfer process through automation. The system streamlines the processing of purchase order invoices by accounts payable, automates a three-way match between PO, receipt and invoice to either trigger “ok to pay” or a discrepancy for review, rolls out a mobile system that allows remote users to get what they need wherever they are, develops a material transfer and management process to track and value high-dollar commodities, and delivers rich reporting and analytics.
Result - The system supported the needs of this decentralized organization and its field offices, allowing them to maintain profitability, greatly improve productivity, and prepare for anticipated growth. “We chose Verian because of their deep understanding of our industry,” says David Malone, manager - joint interest accounting at Energen. “Their ability to streamline our material transfer process and integrate with our industry-specific systems made this an easy decision for us.” 800/672-8776; www.verian.com.
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