Monitoring challenges met with automation
The logistics of monitoring biomass storage can be challenging for ports. Pete Griffiths, managing director of UK-based Monitor & Manage, scopes the challenges by saying that with all stakeholders singing off the same hymn-sheet, sentry internet services ensure focus is retained on operational excellence rather than, literally, time spent fire-fighting.
“A typical 20,000 wood pellet store benefits from 157,000 calibrated temperature and gas readings per year at depths of up to 12 metres. This quality, quantity and ease of sentry sampling … delivers certain SMS text and email alerts directly to those with responsibility, well before the problem becomes critical.
“Weekly reporting duties are automated to keep port operating costs and unintentional reporting errors low.”
Mr Griffiths says monitoring is important in countries like the UK because the market for both port-side logistics and biomass storage facilities is growing exponentially.
This is due to a combination of both the contracted increases in wood pellet imports but probably more significantly due to the need for complaint, safe automation.
“Legislation is a great economic catalyst, as it forces companies to be innovative and think out of the box – as does the ongoing reports of avoidable fires in ports handling wood pellets,” he says.
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