Logistics management system for a petrochemical plant

Customer

Large methanol company with over 850 thousand tons production per year.

Problem

There are two primary challenges in the railway transportation of liquid cargo: 

• Mistakes in shipping documents lead to shipment delays, storage fees, and problems with customs.
• Incorrect filling of railway tank cars can result in goods losses or emergency situations, for example, tank car spills. 

Additionally, tank damage or aging might lead to leaks, accidents, or environmental pollution. Addressing these problems comes with significant costs. Downtime can bring even bigger profit losses.

The state and shipment of the ready products are controlled by 10 departments. However, there was not a unified communication system and this caused mistakes in customs documentation. It was also difficult to check the level of substance in the tank. Four operators managed to control the production, filling, and shipment of only 4 tanks during a working day.

Solution

Rubius developed a logistics management system. It controls the loading and shipment of petrochemical products. The system has 10 types of automated workplaces employed by over 100 plant employees: engineers, process engineers, chemists, sales managers, repair crews, logistics, and shipping specialists.

The logistics management system helps to:

• Plan shipments and create shipment sheets
• Generate shipping documents: quality certificates, consignment notes, route sheets
• Monitor the tank fleet for availability, breakdowns, and repair schedules
• Keep online statistics on shipments and stock 
• Analyze performance 

For managers, the system offers a separate workplace and mobile app to display the key performance and shipment indicators.

Results

Rubius specialists developed a service to automate the work of over 100 employees at a petrochemical plant. The service reduces the risk of mistakes in shipping documents. It also monitors tank condition and informs operators about problems and breakages. The service accurately measures tank levels. Four operators used to manage only 4 tanks per day, but with the service, two operators can now handle 36 tanks within the same period of time.