Reputation saving cross-fill prevention system wins the day for Malta-based fuel distribution leaders
Global supplier of systems and solutions for safe and efficient fuel distribution, Secu-Tech, has successfully completed the installation of its cross-fill prevention system with Enemed, Malta's leading fuel distribution company.
With the contract started in March 2020, at the start of the Covid pandemic and completed last June, Secu- Tech's award-winning Multi-Tank cross-fill prevention technology has been installed across Enemed's tanker fleet and forecourt portfolio.
Dagmar explains: “Enemed is Malta's leading fuel distributor and is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Maltese state owned Petromal Company Ltd. Having met us at an industry exhibition in Poland in 2019, they quickly committed to install our SECU MultiTank system across their network of 70 fuel forecourts and on 12 of their tankers.”
Operating a fuel distribution terminal delivering automotive fuels to petrol stations across the Mediterranean island, Enemed road tankers are loaded with different types of products for each trip. In spite of the trucks being equipped with visual aids to indicate which product had been loaded in each compartment, mistakes were unfortunately being made during the discharge operation at petrol stations and storage tanks, resulting in petrol station fuel chambers being cross-contaminated.
Ing Philip Borg, chief officer operations at Enemed says: “In view of the recurrence of these incidents we went in search of a technical solution. Whilst all the systems we considered could prevent the discharge of gasoline into diesel tanks and vice versa, all the systems except SECU MultiTank, depended on the density of the fuel for identification, meaning it could not prevent the discharge of different grades of the same type of fuel from being contaminated, i.e. normal RON95 gasoline could be discharged into a storage tank of high-octane gasoline.”
The SECU MultiTank system, however, uses a digital means of identification of the fuel type and so no two products, irrespective of how similar their physical characteristics are, can be blended with each other. This was the game- changing benefit that prompted our decision to install the SECU MultiTank system.
Whilst cross-fill prevention isn't a legal mandate, the majority of incidents happen due to human error. Philip Borg explains: “When a cross-fill happens it then becomes a major problem. The fuel mixture has to be pumped out of the tank and replaced with fresh fuel. Dealing with the fuel mixture is also an issue as it has to be blended, downgraded or disposed of. If no one was aware of the cross-fill after delivery, the fuel would then be dispensed to vehicles and the situation becomes much worse, as vehicle owners then need to be compensated for any repairs.”
Recovery incidents cost us around €500 in man-hours. Other expenses are more difficult to cost and vary from one incident to another depending on how many motorists, if any, are involved. The other issue to factor in is reputational damage, which is potentially the most harmful, and cannot be costed.
With the installation of SECU MultiTank system across most (some small stations with direct drop fill system could not accommodate the equipment on the tank fill line as this rises above the ground level) of Enemeds Maltese network now complete, the fuel company is reaping the numerous benefits of the innovative technology. Dagmar continues: “Our system also records any unauthorised opening of the valves before unloading, records data such as when the truck was loaded, the route taken on its journey to make the delivery and the times of these activities.
With installation of Secu-Techs system on both the road tankers and the forecourts, storage tanks quite an easy operation, an installer from Secu-Tech's head office in Austria visited Malta to undertake the first truck installation, with the rest of the project undertaken by Enemed's staff. Philip Borg continues: “It's also really important to mention that the support of Secu-Tech was of the highest level, prompt and continuous. The installation of the first trucks and petrol stations were monitored on site by one of their technicians, enabling any early day snags to be easily and efficiently ironed out. Back-end support is also of the highest level.”
Looking at the advantages the system provides, Philip says: “Completely eliminating the waste of time cross fill incidents take to deal with, we are delighted to report there's been no contaminated product to recover since the systems installation, which also means our reputation stays intact. And our truck drivers are saying they now feel more comfortable when delivering the fuel because they know that the chance of making a mistake is mitigated before they start discharging.”
Secu-Techs managing director, Dagmar Höckner-Schallmeiner, concludes: “It's great to know that Enemed is now benefiting from the peace of mind and potential cost-savings our cross-fill prevention system provides. With other major SECU MultiTank projects having been recently completed for OMV in Romania, Bulgaria, and Serbia.”
For full details of Secu-Tech's range of products visit: www.secu-tech.at
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