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The ‘intelligence’ of Oriel Systems’ intelligent telemetry outstations

A natural component of any successful telemetry installation is the outstation. Also referred to as the Remote Terminal Unit (RTU), this data collection device operates for 24 hours each day, gathering from a particular remote site’s sensors all of the information that is then relayed back to the main office. Amongst the Oriel Systems (http://www.orielsystems.com) product range are video and low power outstations for various purposes, as well as its Intelligent Telemetry Outstation (ITO).

 

It is this latter product that can be attached to various different types of IO module, or even PLCs and other intelligent devices, as part of its programmed monitoring and control of a remote site’s plant equipment. This arrangement allows for the full configuration of the telemetry system for a particular site, with the option also being there for further functionality enabling the connection of the unit to the client’s own specialist hardware. Various communication transmission options exist so that the unit and master station can be connected, with a live feed being reported of site events and previously recorded values sent back as required.

 

Amongst the possible communication options are, for unlicensed frequencies, GSM / GPRS / 3G, Low Power Radio Outstation 10mW – 750mW complying with MPT1329, (now replaced by the ETSI Standard EN 300 220), while Low Power Radio Outstation 100mW – 5Watt complying with MPT 1411, (now replaced by the ETSI Standard EN 300 220, EN 300 113, MPT1411) exists for licensed frequencies. Serial protocols RS232 / RS485 are also possible, besides standard telephone provider landline, broadband or PSTN.

 

It is possible to connect Oriel Systems’ ITOs to either digital or analogue signal outputs from the likes of Ultrasonic level sensors and Guided Microwave sensing equipment, while these telemetry systems can also have counter frequency outputs brought into them, such as from pumps for the purpose of measuring product consumption or movement. Functions such as the remote opening and closing of valves can be controlled via control outputs, while the system can also alert the operator, in such a form as a text or email, in the event of any remote site parameters being exceeded.

 

The ITOs of Oriel Systems are proven for a wide range of applications, from flood alleviation schemes and land drainage to flood defence and borehole water extraction, in the water industry alone. Meanwhile, the printing, fuel, gas, chemical storage and similar industries have continually turned to these telemetry solutions as a means of remotely monitoring/gauging the chemicals, fuels, ink or other products carried by tanks or silos.

 

The supplier can, with the assistance of Remote Inventory Management and Vendor Managed Inventory solutions, remotely monitor customers’ product stock levels and therefore save costs on the transport needed to top them up, as part of a “Just in Time” delivery philosophy. Contact Oriel Systems (http://www.orielsystems.com) now about putting in place an effective tank or silo monitoring system.

 

How has Oriel Systems built such a strong industry reputation?

If a person knows anything at all about telemetry, then it is likely that they will have heard of Oriel Systems (http://www.orielsystems.com). But why? What is it about the company that has allowed it to build such a robust reputation amongst those in the print, chemical, oil and gas, pharmaceutical and water industries for which telemetry systems are required? After all, telemetry is not the kind of non-specialised field in which it is possible to be well-regarded for no apparent reason.

 

Telemetry solutions for many industries

As is mentioned above, Oriel Systems is seasoned at providing cost-effective, easy to use, scalable and innovative telemetry systems for clients across many of the most prominent industries that involve readings that need to be monitored and then transmitted by radio. Whether organisations need to monitor one remote water level or require the right level sensing equipment and galvanic isolation while working in the chemical industry, Oriel Systems can provide adaptable and tailored solutions.

 

Plenty of industry experience

Oriel Systems has been in business for more than 25 years now, which has allowed it to build its reputation as a provider of high technology industrial services, to the point where it is now regarded as one of the most successful and dynamic of all. In that time, it has continually refined the telemetry and remote tank monitoring systems that it provides for a wide range of industries, even providing groundbreaking software for Vendor Managed Inventory Systems (VMI) and establishing strategic alliances in Europe and the Far East. All of this experience has put it in the best possible position to provide solutions that are tailored to a given organisation’s exact needs.

 

In-depth expertise and innovation

Oriel Systems never rests in its continual development of telemetry software and other solutions that are designed to remove as much stress as possible from the telemetry process. Evidence of its ability to keep in step with the technical and economic needs of its customers include the option that it gives to host their systems, complete with easy online access. This arrangement relieves organisations of the need to check on the functioning of their AWAX server and is especially pertinent at a challenging economic time when more firms prefer to focus on their core business.

 

A high standard of advice and guidance

Thorough industry expertise would mean little if the company did not also employ friendly, responsive and professional staff members who are happy to guide clients through the exact requirements for their big or small projects. Thankfully, a client only needs to make one phone call to receive immediate help and support – and the fact that Oriel Systems develops its own software system means that they will be speaking to the developers, rather than an unhelpful third party.

 

These are just some of the key reasons to choose Oriel Systems as a telemetry installation, maintenance and support specialist. For more, simply visit http://www.orielsystems.com.

 

Telemetry Outstations

Oriel Systems have supplied two rack-mounted low power Oriel Intelligent Telemetry Outstations to act as remote data acquisition and collection devices for The European Marine Energy Centre (EMEC) Limited based in the Orkneys.

The European Marine Energy Centre (EMEC) Ltd is the first and only centre of its kind in the world which provides developers of both wave and tidal energy with purpose-built, accredited testing facilities. With 14 full-scale test berths, there have been more grid-connected marine energy converters deployed at EMEC than any other single site in the world, with developers attracted from around the globe. These developers use the facilities to prove what is achievable in some of the harshest marine environments, while in close proximity to sheltered waters and harbours. As well as device testing, they provide independently-verified performance assessments, a wide range of consultancy and research services

Oriel Systems were asked to design and build a pair of low power data acquisition and collection rack mounted outstations that are to be fitted inside 2 large offshore buoys some 2Km offshore. A special software driver or interface was developed by Oriel to allow connection to the on-board Dirius energy meters which show the amount of power generated in total and also shows the power that the buoy has used itself. The system will be collecting live data 24/7 from a series of instrumentation installed on these buoys to monitor their efficiency and performance. Along with the inputs from various sensors installed inside the buoys, EMEC needed a live video feeds from a pair of Colour CCD cameras mounted on each buoy so that if the buoys were hit by passing ships, the culprit could be identified and pursued for damages. All real-time and critical operating information along with the video feeds are transmitted back to the clients office using a NanoBridge 5Ghz WIFI link

 

Turn to Oriel Systems for telemetry installation, calibration and maintenance

There is a wide range of industries in which it is necessary for data measurements to be made at a distance, and indeed, this is what telemetry is all about, as is indicated by the Greek origins of the word, with ‘tele’ meaning remote and ‘metron’ meaning measure. It is a technology used in such fields as meteorology, oil and gas, water management and even military intelligence, with Oriel Systems (http://www.orielsystems.com) having long helped to cater for clients’ highly specialised needs.

Many industrial processes depend greatly on the maintenance of the right stock levels in silos, tanks or other critical equipment, with remote monitoring being necessary to ensure that everything takes place within safe and defined conditions. Telemetry, then, has only become more relevant as private and public sector participants in the aforementioned industries look to boost their operational efficiency, with it now being much more common, for example, for one employee to have responsibility for many different sites.

As more and more equipment accumulates at remote sites, with more potential for malfunctions, the ability to monitor it all from one central PC becomes all the more vital. However, the advancement in sophistication of telemetry systems means that they, too, can consist of an overwhelming amount of intricate equipment, including sensors and telemetry outstations.

Telemetry clients will also need to bear in mind the transmission possibilities for relaying back the collected information to the main office, which can include PSTN, broadband, GSM, radio, 3G or GPRS technology. They will also need to invest in software, so that they can interpret the information that is obtained. With various sensors located at each of the remote sites, measuring values which are gathered on a 24 hours a day basis by the Remote Terminal Unit (RTU), it’s clear that a telemetry system must be installed, calibrated and maintained correctly to deliver maximum value to an organisation.

Organisations in many different industries, then, are likely to appreciate the experience and knowhow of the service and installation engineers at Oriel Systems. Based in two UK locations, these professionals have a ‘can do’ attitude and can travel to both UK and overseas sites to install, commission, calibrate and service telemetry equipment.  Making use of their background with both old and new equipment, these experts can oversee the integration of older, out of date legacy systems with more recent technology, often significantly cutting costs in the process.

Get in touch with Oriel Systems (http://www.orielsystems.com) now to find out more about the installation, maintenance and calibration of both small and large telemetry projects.

 

More about the people who bring you Oriel Systems’ telemetry solutions

Oriel Systems (http://www.orielsystems.com) may offer telemetry systems that are cost-effective, reliable and flexible, catering for large and small projects alike in the likes of the water, pharmaceuticals, chemical, mining and oil and gas industries, but it would not be able to provide these elements without the right motivated, talented and well-trained people. These people range from service and installation engineers to software consultants.

Contact frequently begins with a discussion of the client’s needs via phone or email, with Oriel Systems having staff members on hand who are happy to give advice and guidance about the finer points of a telemetry project. At this point, the technical team tends to become more involved in pinpointing the exact requirements of a prospective client and how the right telemetry systems can meet them – indeed, there are many examples of the company’s successful partnerships in the Oriel Systems website’s press releases section.

Once the application has been discussed and an arrangement decided upon, the client will be able to benefit from the more ‘hands-on’ expertise of the likes of Oriel Systems’ service and installation engineers. Based in two locations in the UK, these engineers are able to travel to sites both in this country and abroad, making use of their experience in telemetry installation, maintenance and calibration. They can commission and service equipment and know how to integrate all manner of older and outmoded legacy systems with more modern equipment, in many cases removing the need for expensive replacements.

The experience that Oriel Systems’ professionals have accumulated down the years in the design and installation of telemetry systems leaves them perfectly placed to design any client’s control routines, while testing is also continually carried out to ensure that the resultant systems deliver the right level of performance. Once the installation has been carried out, a team of on-site engineers are available to ensure continued optimal performance.

The right telemetry software is also vital to any good system, and clients are always reassured when the company that they choose knows how to develop, test and deliver a working solution, before ensuring client satisfaction and providing a high standard of ongoing backup and support. This could certainly be said of Oriel Systems, not least given that it has been developing Windows software since the platform’s early days.

However big or small the given project, Oriel Systems has software consultants that know how to rapidly develop the right software, making use of the most recent techniques, programming languages and testing methods. From the development of simple user interfaces to more advanced measurement and analysis functions that allow for collected data to be trended and graphed, Oriel Systems’ developers have all-encompassing expertise, and can even develop software interfaces that allow for the seamless integration of the intelligent devices or remote equipment of different manufacturers.

Visit http://www.orielsystems.com to find out more about the ways in which Oriel Systems’ telemetry maintenance, installation and other professionals continually cater for clients’ needs.

 

Why do clients use Oriel Systems?

Oriel Systems (http://www.orielsystems.com) expect that by viewing this site you may well already have knowledge of the telemetry industry and are very likely either a user of remote monitoring systems already or are currently exploring their potential. However, you may be asking yourself, why use Oriel Systems in particular? Let’s start with the basics.

Industrial and commercial companies understand the value of distant monitoring. In an increasingly technical and dissipated engineering, manufacturing and production landscape, having a real time understanding of the front to back process is essential. It could be monitoring sites, silos or feedstock levels or inventory monitoring, but the ability to predict internal and external delivery times have become commercial imperatives for a vast array of applications across the supply chain. This is of particular importance in an evolving and highly technological competitor driven market. Oriel Systems’ telemetry solutions cover a variety of services to meet these needs.

Whether you’re optimising your assets or negotiating a tolling agreement with your financiers, you need to know what’s happening right now. And the devil’s in the details. Stock consumption and relative output formulae used to be a retrospective activity but now with margin’s constantly squeezed it is essential to monitor, and thereby control, the entire value chain.

That’s the basics. But it’s the delivery of the solution to the client that’s important. A global house-hold name in food production doesn’t need to monitor the same things as a chemical giant does, but Oriel Systems provides solutions to them both. Indeed a glance at its prestigious client list will show you the diversity of solutions it provides: http://www.orielsystems.com/client-list.

However Oriel Systems also services smaller companies who have telemetry needs which are just as important, and whilst they may not be global or household names like some customers, they none-the-less value the ability to monitor, control and thereby refine and optimise their internal systems.

 

Why do they use Oriel Systems? (http://www.orielsystems.com). Because its services are tailor-made to suit clients’ specific needs. After all, telemetry isn’t an optional add-on in the production chain; it’s a necessary tool in optimising processes and therefore a direct driver in maximising profit. Despite the industry or scale of the business, all of Oriel System’s clients believe it’s an essential part of the industrial matrix with a direct and calculable impact on the bottom line.

 

Visit the Oriel Systems website at http://www.orielsystems.com to find out more about how telemetry systems allow you to control both your industrial and commercial processes and, ultimately, your balance sheet.

 

Contact Oriel Systems about the most suitable telemetry hosting system

Oriel Systems (http://www.orielsystems.com) has built a strong industry reputation for its provision of flexible, reliable and cost-effective telemetry and tank monitoring systems for the water, printing, chemical and oil and gas industries. However, although the suitability of such telemetry systems is partly assured by such factors as their scalability and ease of installation, another key benefit is the hosting service that can accompany them.

Facilitating the easy and confident monitoring and control of remote sites is Oriel Systems’ Awax Vendor Managed Inventory Solution (VMI) Telemetry Software, which is an open, expandable and flexible solution that has been designed with industry environments firmly in mind. It allows for customer sites across the world to have their critical stocking levels efficiently monitored, complete with the accurate prediction of delivery dates and times. The system can also carry out calculations of the actual delivered amount – even if consumption is yet to occur – before an invoice is automatically sent out for each delivery.

However, one feature that may attract particular notice is the option for the system to be hosted by Oriel Systems itself, which allows for online access. At a time when businesses and organisations of all sizes are seeing the benefits of outsourcing certain responsibilities to dependable specialist firms so that more time and energy can be focused on their core businesses, Oriel Systems can take on a firm’s Awax server and with it, the responsibility to periodically check on the system’s function.

Irrespective of the number of sites that the customer has, the hosting service that is offered by Oriel Systems can make contact with all of them, before uploading the data to a secure Internet server. Customers with telemetry systems can use any computer with Internet access, in any location and at any time, to log into the site and view their data, graph trends and data history, with just one touch of a button making possible the downloading of the data into a spreadsheet. There’s also the option for data to be frequently updated and forwarded to the customer’s smartphone.

Such hosting services are just one key part of Oriel Systems’ (http://www.orielsystems.com) wider offering relating to all things telemetry, for a wide range of applications. The company offers the complete range of reputable and effective telemetry solutions for firms with the most specialised needs, encompassing design, installation and hosting alike.

 

The value of Oriel Systems telemetry in the oil and gas industry

When one considers the role of telemetry systems in the remote monitoring of oil and gas levels, it may be the oil light of a car that comes to mind, with software under a car’s bonnet helping to alert drivers to low oil levels in a form that they can understand. However, there are also rather more sophisticated systems that exist in industry and which are provided by Oriel Systems (http://www.orielsystems.com) to a wide range of organisations in a reliable, flexible and cost-effective form.

The tanker loading and unloading operation for many firms in the LPG industry has traditionally required two operatives. Oriel Systems’ telemetry solutions, however, include a Driver Controlled Delivery, or DCD system that integrates safety, on-site control and level monitoring systems with CCTV so that only one man, the driver, is needed for the task. This arrangement makes possible the real-time supervision, monitoring and control of all tanker loading and unloading operations, which means that you no longer require two people at each site.

With tanker loading and unloading taking place on a 24 hours a day basis, a telemetry installation from Oriel Systems can therefore significantly reduce operational costs. It allows just one person to be present in the Control Centre for each operation, with the local depot having complete control in normal working hours over the process of unloading and loading the tanker. Each of the remote sites is equipped with an Oriel Video Intelligent Telemetry Outstation, which allows real-time viewing at the Control Centre and captures the CCTV images for later review.

The Video Intelligent Telemetry Outstation’s functions include the ability to bring multiple inputs and control outputs into the system. The depot manager also benefits from an unrestricted view of the entire operation from a local PC, with up to four live video feeds. The local on-site storage of all video feeds for the last three days allows them to be downloaded and saved on a computer for future review, should any “event” occur, with the analysis of procedures helping to prevent such an “event” happening in the future.

Alarms and an auto-shutoff are activated if the bulk tank is in danger of either running dry or overfilling, with the former possibility otherwise often leading to damaged pump seals. At night, meanwhile, the depot staff can simply exit, leaving control over the DCD system with the 24 hour Control Centre so that all CCTV video, monitoring, control and loading permissions can continue to take place remotely.

Contact Oriel Systems (http://www.orielsystems.com) for more information about the telemetry software that can be provided for both large and small oil and gas projects.

 

Oriel Systems can come to the rescue of your print business

Out of all the industries that Oriel Systems (http://www.orielsystems.com) serves with its telemetry solutions, few remain as ubiquitous as print. In a printing industry that has become besieged with worry about the economic impact of many erstwhile paper publications’ move to digital, newspapers have never been more anxious to make the most of routinely costly printing ink.

Indeed, both the newspaper itself and its supplier have reason to be thankful for a telemetry system that keeps the latter aware of the levels of product on the former’s site. This ensures that the customer never runs out of ink and is never let down by the supplier, while also keeping the supplier in business. Telemetry systems for the printing industry from Oriel Systems allow suppliers to monitor their customers’ consumption of ink so that they can better plan production, cutting costs in the process.

With Oriel Systems, VMI or Vendor Managed Inventory remote tank monitoring systems keep suppliers notified of customer tank levels. This means that an ink delivery can be planned by the supplier that allows for the tanker to be fully emptied, which is certainly preferable to having to bring back a partial load. The Awax VMI telemetry software allows for such easy and convenient monitoring of remote sites that it can even be hosted by Oriel Systems itself and therefore made accessible over the Internet.

An Intelligent Telemetry Outstation at the customer site is included as part of the inventory monitoring solution. It constantly monitors ink levels in each of the tanks, and if unexpectedly high usage occurs overnight that leads to the tank level falling below a pre-defined limit, then the system overrides everything and alerts the supplier to the need for a fresh delivery.

Oriel Systems has served a range of print ink suppliers with distinction, including Flint Ink, which requested the supply and installation of a telemetry system for a major customer in Spain. Oriel Systems provided an Intelligent Telemetry Outstation on broadband that closed the gap between the purpose-built facility near Madrid and the Netherlands headquarters of Flint Ink and the ink manufacturing facility in Wolverhampton UK. The resulting system provided vital information on historical ink consumption, current tank levels and delivery estimates, allowing the supplier to put in place the most cost-effective practices.

Contact Oriel Systems today at http://www.orielsystems.com for more information about its complete range of telemetry maintenance solutions.

 

The many applications of telemetry in the chemical industry

Where a need exists for liquid and other substances to be measured to assist the planning of all manner of organisations, so telemetry has a key role to play – and a specialist such as Oriel Systems (http://www.orielsystems.com) can be instrumental in providing the right solution for the water, oil, gas or other industry. The situation is no different in the chemical industry, where there is a requirement for the professional supply and installation of the best quality level sensing equipment.

Although telemetry solutions have always been broad and applicable to areas ranging from nuclear plant safety monitoring to endangered species’ migration habits, they were not always used in chemical plants given the tendency for some wireless signals to be interfered with by concrete and stainless steel. Today, however, such issues have been overcome, with telemetry proving truly invaluable in situations that demand the measuring of physical and chemical parameters in tanks.

There are many priorities that one must consider when investing in telemetry installation, in order to decide on the best configuration. The hardware and sensors will need to be suitably optimised, for example, taking into account the exact substance in the tank, while the best position to place the sensor depends on what the sensor is intended to measure, as well as whether the system is to be used for a single tank or multiple ones.

One will also need to pay attention to the power configuration to ensure that the associated communication devices have the energy to operate, while other key priorities include the communication frequency, and storage and management of information as well as, of course, budget. The right telemetry specialist will have considered all of these elements and will be able to give their clients advice based on their exact business requirements.

Oriel Systems recognises the importance of choosing the correct sensor for a given application, when the client is considering any VMI or tank monitoring system. That’s why the company offers an extensive range of sensors encompassing Radar, Guided Microwave, Ultrasonic and pressure transducers, and has a technical team on hand to guide clients in their choice. There are, after all, many factors that determine the best choice of sensor, including the vessel’s size and shape and whether there is a need for ATEX approval.

Visit the online home of Oriel Systems at http://www.orielsystems.com to find out more about the company’s telemetry software and associated services, such as its ability to install galvanic isolation or return the tank level information to one central location. The firm is able to set up perfectly tailored telemetry systems for large and small projects alike.