There are more than a few reasons why an organisation with significant involvement in the chemical, water, oil and gas or printing industries may contact Oriel Systems about a telemetry system, with the latter firm’s more than a quarter-century of providing high technology industrial services likely to be one major factor. Another key reason may be Oriel Systems’ record for the most reliable and scalable telemetry solutions, to mention nothing of another in-depth area of expertise: Vendor Managed Inventory (VMI) software.

Those organisations looking to ensure the easy and confident monitoring and control of their remote sites, alongside openness, flexibility and the ability to expand on existing functionality, are advised to contact Oriel Systems about its Awax Vendor Managed Inventory (VMI) solution. Such a solution enables data to be remotely controlled, monitored and collected in an industrial environment. Whatever the location of the client’s customer sites, an Oriel Systems VMI system can efficiently monitor critical stocking levels.

Whichever Vendor Managed Inventory (VMI) solution is specified, the client can ensure the consistent and accurate prediction of delivery dates and times. The actual amount that has been delivered can be easily calculated, even if consumption has yet to take place, followed by the automatic sending of an invoice for every delivery. Beyond that, however, the client can also request that their Vendor Managed Inventory (VMI) system is hosted by Oriel Systems online, so that it can be accessed whenever required.

This hosting arrangement means that if the client wishes to view not only their data, but also graph trends and data history, they can do so simply by logging into the Oriel Systems site. From here, the client can download their data into a spreadsheet. Alternatively, they may not wish to need to log into the site at all, instead specifying that their required data is regularly updated and forwarded to the smartphones of the responsible individuals at their firm.

Regardless, if one chooses to have their Vendor Managed Inventory (VMI) system hosted by Oriel Systems, they no longer have to constantly check that it is functioning correctly. If a problem does occur with the client’s system, the engineers of Oriel Systems will immediately know about it, and will respond accordingly. Nor could one have a better firm to which to turn for the most suitable software than Oriel Systems, which has engineers with software development experience extending back to the earliest days of Windows.

For both the smallest and largest Vendor Managed Inventory (VMI) projects, it will therefore always be difficult to look past Oriel Systems.

For many years, telemetry has proved invaluable in the oil and gas industries, as in the case of the uphole and real time transmission of drilling mechanics and formation evaluation information, while a well is being drilled. Oriel Systems, with its more than quarter-century experience of providing high technology industrial services, has a formidable reputation of its own for oil and gas telemetry, founded not merely on the considerable scalability, power, reliability and cost-effectiveness that its solutions can offer.

That’s because, for loading and unloading tasks, Oriel Systems’ oil and gas telemetry incorporates a DCD (Driver Controlled Delivery) system that adds on-site CCTV to control, level monitoring and safety systems. This all means that instead of the two operatives that are traditionally required for this task, only one is necessary.

An Oriel Systems Video Intelligent Outstation at every remote tanker loading/unloading site enables the incorporation into the process of multiple inputs and control outputs, with the depot manager able to review the entire operation via a local PC displaying as many as four live video feeds. If there is a possibility of the bulk tank running dry, pump seals are protected from damage by the activation of low level alarms and an auto-shutoff. Similarly, in the event of the bulk tank overfilling, high level alarms and an auto-shutoff can intervene.

During normal working hours, the role of the oil and gas telemetry system is simply to capture CCTV images to be reviewed later, with the tanker loading/unloading operation being entirely controlled by the local depot. It’s only when the time comes for the depot personnel to make their overnight exit that they might wish to give their 24 hour Control Centre control of the DCD system. From this point on, the oil and gas telemetry system is used for the remote recording of CCTV video alongside control, monitoring and the giving of loading permissions.

Previously, many sites may have felt burdened by the costs of having two operatives present during the night to oversee filling operations, as was necessary in accordance with health and safety legislation. But with the right oil and gas telemetry system in place, not only can supervision, monitoring and control during these times be the responsibility of one person from the Control Centre, but in the case of Oriel Systems’ solution, the last three days’ video feeds are also stored locally on site.

This latter functionality means that should an “event” occur, there is the option to properly review and analyse it so that efforts can be made to prevent a re-occurrence.

It’s said that much of today’s world is about choice, and the organisations that find themselves in need of telemetry solutions across the sectors of oil and gas, chemicals, water and printing certainly require choice, if the resultant system is to cater for their most specialised requirements. There are always certain constants in the right telemetry system, such as the right level of flexibility, scalability and reliability, but there are also instances in which a renowned telemetry provider like Oriel Systems will be forced to call upon the deepest expertise of its technical team.

Thankfully, Oriel Systems is one of those companies with a strong reputation for installing precisely the right telemetry system, in close collaboration with the client. Experienced service and installation engineers across two UK locations are able to travel to the given site, whether in the UK or overseas, to carry out the installation, calibration and servicing of equipment. With every customer situation being different, these engineers are able to suggest all manner of solutions for integrating modern equipment with older, out of date legacy systems, drawing on their considerable experience with both old and new equipment.

Although this process best helps to minimise the need for expensive replacements, it does mean that determining the most suitable telemetry system depends in large part on detailed discussion with each and every customer. However, even before every requirement is known, Oriel Systems can still provide vital guidance, including on the appropriate outstation and software. The customer may also wish to take advantage of the company’s hosting service for their AWAX or Vendor Managed Inventory system, and a comprehensive support service can also be provided after installation, with Oriel Systems’ remote diagnostic facilities helping to minimise costs.

There are various further options beyond those for a telemetry system, however. They include a wide range of means of communication for an outstation, from GSM/GPRS/3G to Radio or standard telephone provider landline and broadband. There are also various signal inputs – digital or analogue – that Oriel Systems’ modular Intelligent Telemetry Outstations can be connected to, including guided microwave sensing equipment, hydrostatic pressure transducers and ultrasonic level sensors. Also possible to bring into the system are Counter Frequency Inputs, for such functions as measuring the number of strokes the pump has cycled, enabling an accurate figure to be given on how much product has been pumped enabling detailed information on product consumption to be obtained.

The customer of a new telemetry system may also request Control Outputs for the performing of such control functions as the remote opening and closing of valves or penstocks or the remote starting and stopping of pumps. It’s even possible for the customer to work alongside Oriel Systems’ engineers in the development of a Control Algorithm, so that intelligent pumping solutions can be provided based on all of the inputs that the system incorporates.

With a telemetry system potentially needing to cater for any of a vast range of industry needs, Oriel Systems has become more than well-attuned to catering for those needs.

There are many urgent priorities that an organisation in such a field as oil and gas, chemicals, printing or the water industry is likely to have when the time comes to invest in a telemetry system. It will likely be important to them to choose a system that is flexible, reliable and scalable, with the ability to connect to all manner of remote plant and equipment while being effective and economical right now.

As well as hardware, software is a major factor for many of these firms, with SCADA systems often in particular demand. However, it is important to make a distinction between such systems and other telemetry. The letters SCADA stand for Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition, and refer to a software package that is positioned on top of a real-time control system, so that a process external to the SCADA system can be controlled.

The average telemetry system’s strength is in enabling remote measurement and reporting information of interest. Strictly speaking, telemetry (or tele-metering) is the data collection and transmission of this data from remote sites, while SCADA systems are mostly hard-wired and therefore local. As a long-established and renowned high technology industrial services provider, Oriel Systems takes pride in its very own Awax SCADA software that combines the best functionalities of SCADA systems and wider telemetry.

This Awax SCADA software is as cost-effective and cutting-edge as the rest of Oriel Systems’ highly rated work in telemetry. Not only is it capable of connecting with all manner of remote units, but its connection to most PLC systems and various other types of hardware – including the remote units of other vendors – is also possible. This makes the upgrading of an existing system largely stress-free for customers that might have otherwise been forced to dispose of their legacy systems.

Oriel Systems is always exploring the full possibilities of SCADA systems from its south west England research, manufacturing and development facility. The most recent technological advances are continually incorporated into the Awax SCADA software, which also keeps adding to the list of devices to which it can be connected.

Internet integration has taken on a greater role in SCADA systems like those of Oriel Systems, as have web hosting and live video streaming from remote sites. But whatever the exact requirements of the customer, the company’s technical team remains happy to meet them, and capable of devising a wide range of intelligent telemetry hardware and software solutions.

When  an organisation in any of a wide range of sectors – from oil and gas and chemicals to printing and water – requires a telemetry system, it will judge any potential provider and its solutions on such parameters as reputation, reliability, scalability, ease and speed of installation and customer support. It will expect the providing company to have a longstanding record of offering telemetry in the UK, with a substantial installed user base, and the software that it provides for Vendor Managed Inventory (VMI) systems will be expected to be industry-leading, if not truly groundbreaking.

Certainly, the products that the given provider offers should cater cost-effectively to every possible telemetry and remote monitoring requirement that an organisation in any of the above industries could have. A video telemetry unit may be available, for example, for the transmission of live video feeds of a customer’s remote sites, also affording control over digital and analogue signals. Alternatively, the customer may specifically request an intelligent telemetry unit that it is possible to program for the management and control of a site, without any input needing to be provided by the user. The customer is also likely to appreciate hardware and software that can be incorporated alongside existing telemetry equipment, which ensures no need to throw out an earlier investment.

As well as products, it’s likely that associated services will be provided to a high standard by any leading specialist in telemetry in the UK. The firm’s technical team should be comfortable with large as well as small projects, with any long-honed expertise in the development of Windows applications especially useful. A good telemetry provider should give access to experts on a consultancy basis, and may also offer a telemetry hosting service that can ensure the accuracy of the customer’s telemetry data.

Another distinguishing feature of a respected provider of telemetry in the UK will always be an extensive range of well-regarded past and present customers. The UK company Oriel Systems, for example, can count Virgin, BP, Unilever, Roche, Chick Master and Aviagen Group among its prestigious past customers. Indeed, the company has built a formidable reputation in high technology industrial services over a quarter of a century, and also has the considerable premises and connections that any premier telemetry provider should have.

The company has a manufacturing, research and development facility in the south west of England, there are two further sites – in Manchester and north of London – from which its installation engineers work, and it also has European and Far Eastern strategic alliances and agents. But above all, it has a track record for telemetry in the UK that has been affirmed time and time again, against the most stringent and demanding requirements from customers spanning the full breadth of the water, oil and gas, chemical and printing industries.

Telemetry and tank monitoring solutions have long played an integral role in industries relating to printing, water, chemicals and oil and gas, often fulfilling the most specialised of requirements. Much could certainly be said of oil telemetry, which has been used for the real time transmission of drilling mechanics and formation evaluation information uphole, during the drilling of a well. But there are many other specific functionalities that can be incorporated into telemetry systems by a provider that bears cost-effectiveness, reliability and flexibility closely in mind.

Some providers of oil telemetry systems, for example, may offer a DCD (Driver Controlled Delivery) system for the integration of on-site CCTV with on-site control, level monitoring and safety systems. What this means is that instead of the two man operation that loading and unloading has traditionally been, the task can be accomplished with aplomb by a single operative. Such an efficient process is made possible by a video intelligent outstation at each remote loading/unloading site, with the system able to have multiple inputs and control outputs incorporated into it.

Such an oil telemetry system may also feature various live video feeds that are displayed on a local PC, meaning that an unrestricted overview of the entire operation can be given to the depot manager. In the event that the bulk tank is close to running dry, there may be low level alarms as well as an auto-shutoff that can be activated, which would ensure that no damage occurs to the pump seals. There may also be such an auto-shutoff, together with high level alarms, that can be activated if the bulk tank is overfilled.

The best oil telemetry system is likely to be one where, during the normal working day, the operation of unloading and loading the tanks is entirely controlled by the local depot, with the video intelligent telemetry outstation capturing CCTV images to be viewed later. On the exit of the depot staff for the night, however, they should have a 24 hour control centre to which control of the DCD system can be given. From this point on, load permissions, control and monitoring could all be performed remotely.

Such a system would mean that in real time, one person at the control centre can supervise, monitor and control the unloading and unloading operations at all sites, in addition to fire protection systems. This brings a significant decrease in running costs, given that otherwise, filling operations would need to be attended by two people at each site for health and safety reasons. The fact that tanker loading and unloading takes place on a 24 hours a day basis has long made such staffing a significant expense.

Furthermore, even if an unwanted event occurs, industry-leading oil telemetry systems customarily store video feeds on site, allowing the event to be reviewed and analysed on a computer to prevent repeat occurrences. Such components are all increasingly standard elements of a truly complete telemetry system for the oil and gas industry.

Oriel Systems (http://www.orielsystems.com) will always take great pride in the suitability of its remote monitoring systems to a wide range of applications, which owes much to their scalability and ability to connect to all manner of remote plant and equipment – even the telemetry equipment of other suppliers. Such telemetry systems are designed from the ground up to be powerful, flexible and reliable in the context of the client’s industry, whether that is the water industry, oil and gas, printing or even chemical industry.

Certainly, Oriel Systems’ chemical industry clients appreciate the firm’s supply, installation and commissioning of level sensing equipment from all of the most sought-after manufacturers, as well as its installation of any required galvanic isolation and the bringing of tank level information back to a single central location. Another option for the telemetry system of a chemical industry client is the information being hosted on Oriel Systems’ own web server, with it being made available to the client via a password protected web page.

A tank level monitor or VMI system also needs to have the right sensor chosen for it, in accordance with the given application. This is another area in which Oriel Systems offers considerable help to clients, with an extensive range of sensors including Radar, Ultrasonic, Guided Microwave or pressure transducer. Clients contemplating the correct sensor may wish to discuss it with the Oriel Systems technical team, keeping the product data sheet close to hand, given the wide range of important factors to consider – such as the vessel’s size and shape, what internal structures may interfere with the sensor, the need or otherwise for ATEX approval and the product characteristics.

As is the case with clients in other fields, those turning to Oriel Systems for chemical industry telemetry can also choose from a strong assortment of hardware and software products. They may opt for a video outstation that can transmit as many as eight live feeds, or an intelligent outstation that can be programmed for the monitoring and control of plant equipment at a remote site. Oriel Systems’ VMI software, meanwhile, also better enables the fuss-free monitoring and control of remote sites, being an open, flexible and expandable means of efficiently monitoring critical stocking levels at sites across the world.

With the Vendor Managed Inventory (VMI) solution of Oriel Systems, chemical industry clients can ensure the accurate prediction of delivery dates and times, with the actual amount delivered able to be calculated – even if it has yet to be consumed – before an invoice is automatically sent out for each delivery. It is just one more reason to contact Oriel Systems’ (http://www.orielsystems.com) technical team about a big or small chemical industry telemetry installation.

There’s no room for doubt with regard to the effectiveness of remote monitoring systems around the world, in such industries as oil and gas, chemistry, motor racing, agriculture and energy. Certainly, whatever industry a given organisation is in, it can frequently turn to Oriel Systems (http://www.orielsystems.com) with the expectation that it will benefit from the most suitably tailored telemetry solutions. For all of the advice that its engineers can provide, however, it is routinely their ability to install a telemetry system that wins particular plaudits.

That’s because the Oriel Systems technical team is always carefully considering all of the vital elements of a telemetry installation so that the client can obtain the exact results that it needs, not just time after time, but cost-effectively. The effective installation of a telemetry system depends on so many factors, from an appreciation of the most specialised requirements of a wide range of industries and organisations, to investing in hardware and software that is powerful, flexible and reliable.

Oriel Systems is in a position to carry out the right telemetry installation for all manner of companies, due to a combination of the right people, equipment and accumulated knowhow and experience. Certainly, the company’s track record in wireless telemetry systems is formidable, helped by more than 25 years in the business, but it also helps that it has a south west England based manufacturing and development facility of the highest calibre. Its installation engineers, meanwhile, work out of two further sites in Manchester and north of London.

The result is that a dependable, professional and cost-effective installation service can be provided for organisations across the country – and beyond – for which a new remote telemetry arrangement may be necessary. Whatever the nature of the client organisation and irrespective of the size of the project, Oriel Systems’ seasoned engineers can devise a suitably cost-effective, flexible and scalable system, before the arrival at the client site of its experienced service and installation engineers to install, commission, service and calibrate the equipment.

When organisations choose Oriel Systems to devise and install their new wireless telemetry system, they won’t necessarily need to entirely throw out any existing system that it is intended to replace, given the expertise of Oriel Systems’ engineers in combining old and new. Clients receive the most informed advice on how they may best integrate older, out of date legacy systems with more modern telemetry equipment, which has been conceived from the start to connect to a wide range of other remote plant and equipment.

Quite simply, when one requires the complete installation, maintenance and calibration service for their new telemetry system – for whatever purpose – there can still be no better option than Oriel Systems (http://www.orielsystems.com), with its many years of business in high technology services and a vast range of areas of expertise – not to mention, many satisfied prestigious clients.

Central to the telemetry systems of so many past and present customers of Oriel Systems (http://www.orielsystems.com) is truly industry-leading Awax VMI software. However, it does help to begin by explaining the principles of VMI, or vendor managed inventory, which is a family of business models in which certain information is provided by the buyer of a product (business) to the vendor (supply chain) that supplied that product. Full responsibility for maintenance of an agreed inventory of the material is taken by the supplier, usually at the consumption location of the buyer – such as a store.

Also potentially involved in a vendor managed inventory arrangement is a third party logistics provider, which adjusts the demand and supply gaps to ensure that the buyer is in possession of the necessary level of inventory. VMI is a symbiotic relationship minimising the likelihood of a business unintentionally running out of stock of a particular product, while inventory in the supply chain is also reduced. In the case of a telemetry installation, the Awax VMI software of Oriel Systems enables the easy and confident monitoring and control of remote sites.

Customers choosing the Vendor Managed Inventory (VMI) solution of Oriel Systems for their remote monitoring, data collection and control benefit from an open, flexible and expandable solution, perfectly suited to the efficient monitoring of critical stocking levels at industrial sites across the world. Not only can delivery dates and times be accurately predicted by the VMI system, but the actual amount delivered can also be calculated, with an invoice for each delivery automatically being sent out. This is the case even if consumption of the delivered amount is yet to occur.

Past customers with an appreciation for the VMI telemetry system of Oriel Systems include leading ink manufacturer Sun Chemicals, which, having inherited various different systems from recently acquired firms and new customer contracts, needed a means of integrating and replacing them. The customer recognised the flexibility and cost-effectiveness of Oriel Systems’ VMI telemetry system in the monitoring of customer usage of a product or number of products. They realised that such a solution brought together all of the information from customer sites in various parts of the world that was necessary if they were to kept informed in good time on potential stock-out situations.

This is the reputation that Oriel Systems’ VMI software has attracted far beyond printing industry telemetry, with so many organisations and sectors seeing increased productivity, profits and customer loyalty as a result of their embracing of a system that provides them with both current and historical product usage and consumption information. Such data enables the more efficient scheduling of production batches and deliveries, not only of the optimum amount, but also made at the optimum time. Interested parties overseeing both small and large projects are invited to contact Oriel Systems’ (http://www.orielsystems.com) technical team for more information.