Project report: Development of an analysis system for machine data (digital twin) of a medium-sized energy supplier
The initial situation
- Use of liquefied natural gas (LNG) as a fuel for heavy goods vehicles
- No existing pipeline network in Germany / Europe
- No existing distribution network in Germany / Europe
The task
- Development of a distribution network for liquefied natural gas
- Integration of modal transport – ship, rail, road – into a distribution strategy
- Central, preventive and predictive analysis of the demand for liquid natural gas at the distributed stations
- Demand-oriented and cost-optimized supply of liquid natural gas to filling stations with constant, unrestricted availability
The challenge
- Proprietary systems without integrated interfaces in the systems
- Use data almost in real time
- Develop your own algorithms for preventive analyses
The solution
- Cyclical readout of the proprietary log files of the programmable logic controllers (PLC) and data loggers
- Harmonization of data
- Analysis of the processed data
- Use of statistical methods and stochastic forecasts, also known as AI artificial intelligence
- Provision of the processed data in a dashboard
The result
- Constant availability of liquid natural gas at the filling stations
My position as interim manager
- Mentor for the management on technical and content-related issues
- Project owner / project manager
- Strategist
- Converters / programmers / parameterizers
Duration of use
- approx. 6 months / part-time
About the company
- Medium-sized filling station operator / energy supplier
- approx. 60 diesel filling stations
- Supplies one of the largest tank networks in Europe with liquefied natural gas
The key success factors I have introduced
- Understanding of the logistics processes
- Understanding the control of the tank systems
- Detailed process knowledge
- Sound knowledge of statistical methods and stochastic forecasts
- Programming skills