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.