FOMAS, a South African company focusing on the corporate supply chain management of liquid assets, has launched the FOMAS solution, a highly competitive and cost-effective level measurement system, developed locally over the past five years.
Aimed initially at the supply chain management of petrol forecourts, the FOMAS system can benefit a wide range of applications requiring the management of liquid assets, eg, fuel, chemicals, food, etc.
Philip Lourens, FOMAS CEO, explains: "The current fuel distribution infrastructure in South Africa is not operating at optimum efficiency, resulting in intermittent supply. Coupled with the high level of theft in this country, we identified a definite need in the market to better manage fuel procurement and management through an electronic fuel stock measurement system.
"We needed to develop a system that would be cost-effective for the local market and able to operate at any petrol supply depot, even in remote agricultural areas. We researched the possibilities, and chose to use high-quality imported sensors for measuring fuel tank levels. Fortunately, we were able to find local solutions for the controller and solar panels, to ensure an independent power supply. We outsourced the development of the controller to Chipware, who used a Wavecom wireless GSM/GPRS modem, supplied by Trinity Telecomms, to communicate the readings."
FOMAS is a realtime sensing, monitoring, planning, control and reporting system for managing liquid assets. It continuously monitors liquid asset levels, like petrol, for example, which are then communicated through the GSM/GPRS network to a centralised server where it is monitored in realtime, as well as collated into reports and distributed to various stakeholders in the supply chain.
The system comprises the physical controller, which is housed in a rugged metal casing, and can be installed against any wall near the tanks. Attached to the housing are cables leading to its own solar panels. The intrinsically safe power management unit is designed to run off mains or solar power.
The system applies a submersed hydrostatic pressure measurement transmitter in each tank to determine the level and volume of fuel or any other liquid in a container. This technique has been patented in South Africa. FOMAS has opted for the high accuracy configuration of the sensors for full scale operation, and the sensors also carry a certification, which ensures that the device is intrinsically safe, and can therefore be introduced into a hazardous environment.
Apart from taking continuous readings, spot readings can also be triggered by means of a small remote control held by the stock controller. This is used for taking pre-delivery and post-delivery readings to ensure that the amount of stock deposited into the tank correlates with the paperwork for any particular delivery. The sensor outputs can be read on the LCD of the controller unit on site, output to other systems by means of the RS232 port, as well as communicated to the server via the GSM/GPPS network.
The software management system, which is hosted on the remote server at head office, receives, evaluates and generates screens and reports providing valuable information on the stock levels, re-order requirements and safety of the fuel stock, based on temperature and pressure readings.
The FOMAS system can also be integrated with other systems making use of the same level of technology, such as forecourt management systems and accounting systems.
"Exceptional care was taken in evaluating primary, secondary and tertiary markets, and industry requirements. This contributed to our success in developing an affordable but high quality system for the market, as well as offering the necessary levels of local backup and support. The only other solutions on the market are international products that cost three to four times the price, and who do not offer much in the way of local support. This makes our solution highly competitive in the local market, from a cost, technology and support perspective."
For more information contact FOMAS, +27 (0)12 663 4806, Trinity Telecomms, +27 (0)11 465 7377, [email protected], www.trintel.co.za
| Tel: | +27 11 465 7377 |
| Email: | [email protected] |
| www: | www.trinity.co.za |
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