Serving the Teesside Business Community | 19
Systems specialists are cooking on gas
Technical know-how, vast experience and the proven ability to meet tight deadlines were Applied Integration’ s keys to winning a £ 130,000 contract with natural gas supplier WINGAS Storage UK.
The Stokesley-based systems integrator has gained a national reputation as a specialist for fast installations of complex control systems, their highly skilled engineers working against the clock to design and create state-of-the-art solutions for a growing range of clients.
Their fast-growing reputation as experts in the field helped them beat off rival tenders to clinch the deal with WINGAS.
From the UK’ s largest on-shore gas field at Saltfleetby in Lincolnshire, WINGAS is engaged in the production of gas, supplying the national grid to power homes and businesses across the UK.
The Saltfleetby gas field is a naturally occurring reservoir of gas within porous rock trapped for millions of years beneath numerous layers of solid rock almost a mile and a half below ground.
With their history of and proven expertise in providing safety-critical systems and turnkey solutions to the oil and gas, petrochemical and defence industries, Applied Integration were asked to step in when the gas suppliers required a new service control system.
WINGAS required a new control system for their Lincolnshire gas field operation that would fit with an existing and recently upgraded SCADA( supervisory control and data acquisition) system the firm had
The WINGAS facility in Lincolnshire.
invested much time and money into.
Applied Integration’ s standard turnaround for delivering such a system was reduced by 40 % to just three months to meet the timescale for the gas field’ s annual site shutdown.
There was no room for error. The shutdown provided the Tees firm’ s team of professionals with an intensive twoweek window for the installation and commissioning for the complex system.
This was made all the more challenging as they were also asked to provide enhancements to a self-contained Siemens control system that interfaced with the gas plant’ s fire, gas detection and emergency shutdown functions.
Applied Integration director Garry Lofthouse said:“ We knew timescales were tight.
“ Our project management and engineering teams utilised their extensive experience in not only compressing the schedule by two months but, by working with our supply
chain, we managed to get supplier deliveries four weeks ahead of schedule, ensuring the project was delivered on time, within budget and to the client’ s satisfaction.”
WINGAS Storage UK’ s projects and maintenance manager told the Tees firm’ s directors:“ I cannot sing the praises high enough of your team for installation, commissioning and site tests.”
Lofthouse added:“ Feedback like this from our customers is brilliant, especially considering the time constraints of this particular project. The effort and commitment from project manager Phil White and our engineers was second to none.”
Now the company is looking to strengthen their new partnership with WINGAS via an annual maintenance agreement.
“ We have every confidence we can deliver whatever challenges come our way,” added Lofthouse.“ With the experience and technical know-how of our engineers, we firmly believe we’ re the UK’ s number one systems integrators.”
To develop the idea, Applied Integration has joined forces with Teesside University in a two-year, government-backed Knowledge Transfer Partnership( KTP).
KTP is Europe’ s leading programme helping businesses to improve their competitiveness by enabling them to work with higher education or research and technology organisations to obtain knowledge, technology or skills which they consider to be of strategic competitive importance.
The UK-wide programme is overseen by Innovate UK, the UK’ s innovation agency, and supported by 16 other public sector funding organisations. Innovate UK is the new name for the Technology Strategy Board. It funds, supports and connects innovative businesses through a unique mix of people and programmes to accelerate sustainable economic growth.
Applied Integration is working with academics within the university’ s School of Science and Engineering on the KTP.
Leading the university’ s team of academics on the project are Professor Huda Dawood and Dr Vladimir Vukovic.
Research associate Professor Dawood is an internationally renowned expert in mathematical modelling, while Dr Vukovic boasts extensive academic and industry research experience in areas such as cyber physical system modelling, having played a leading role in 10 international research projects.
Jonathan Siddle, who is studying for a doctorate in Computer Sciences at Teesside University, has been recruited to work as an associate on the £ 110,000 KTP, with engineer Phil White supervising the project within Applied Integration.
“ As a business, we are investing heavily in this concept design because of its enormous potential,” said Lofthouse.
“ We’ ve already proved the system works on a Teesside chemical plant, with a process that previously took months to complete now being completed accurately and consistently in just 20 minutes.
“ What we lack within Applied Integration is expertise and understanding of the construction industry’ s requirements, which is where the university’ s experts come in.
Director Garry Lofthouse says Applied Integration is investing in a project with enormous potential.
“ Professor Dawood and Dr Vukovic have extensive experience and detailed knowledge of the complexities of the construction industry, so it is a huge boost to be working in partnership with them and their university team.
” There are potentially massive rewards for Applied Integration and the entire construction industry if our KTP work with the university goes in the direction I believe it will over the next two years.”