12.01.2015 Istanbul

Tora Periodic Maintenance and Tank Cleaning

  1. Can you tell us about the periodic maintenance and tank cleaning service you offer as Tora and the characteristics of your teams that provide this service?

Our company, which has been carried out periodically in the sector for about 16 years, fuel tank cleaning and preventive maintenance activities, from a single center and gained experience, with 10 trained mobilized teams and nearly 30 personnel throughout Turkey.

  1. Can you talk about the importance of periodic maintenance and tank cleaning and the reasons for doing it?

In the stations that are tried to be improved with legal obligations in our country; Pollution occurs in underground fuel tanks due to the structure of underground fuel tanks, seasonal temperature changes, contamination during the construction phase of installations, tankers used in fuel supply, water accumulated at the bottom and the use of tanks. When we examine it in detail, as a result of these reasons, it can cause malfunctions at 3 points. These;

  1. In Submersible Pumps:
  1. Dirt blocks the thin channel between the rotor and the stator through which the fuel passes, preventing the passage of fuel with cooling and lubricating effects. In this case, the engine bearing wears out, resulting in overheating and even combustion. It requires replacement of the motor unit, as it is not possible to repair it.
  2. Dirt particles are trapped between the rotor and the stator, preventing the rotor from rotating. If the engine is not properly maintained, it will burn out. Since it is not possible to repair it, it again requires the replacement of the engine unit.
  3. Dirt and water prevent the formation of an oil film on the bushing bearing of the rotor shaft motor made of carbon and cause the shaft to lock. The motor unit needs to be replaced, as it is not possible to repair it.
  4. Leak detectors, which are installed as standard on submersible pumps, are extremely sensitive to dirt. Dirt causes the detector piston to jam, causing the piston to remain in its current position. In this case, the detector will be disabled and cause erroneous interpretations.
  5. In siphon tanks, when the vacuum valve at the siphon inlet of the submersible pump is clogged due to dirt, it will not be able to balance the main tank and siphon tank, which will result in the siphon tank being disabled.
  6. Especially in pressurized systems, the failure of the submersible pump that feeds more than one gun causes great losses in sales. Therefore, malfunctions are vital for the station. By periodically cleaning the underground fuel storage tanks, malfunctions in submersible pumps and dispensers will be minimized
  1. In Dispensers:
  1. Water and debris accumulated from the tank collect in the pump, causing corrosion of the pump gear and shaft. The pump is forced and locked.
  2. The dirt in the tank will cause the filter elements in the dispenser to be completely clogged in a short time, the pressure will increase (the flow rate will decrease) and cause the filter to burst. In this case, the dirt will drain into the meter, deteriorating the seals of the meter, cylinder and valve. The meter will have to be completely replaced, as it is not possible to repair it on site.
  3. Water and dirt will cause the meter ball bearing to jam or strain, resulting in a decrease in flow.
  1. Vehicles:
  1. Undesirable mixtures such as free water and emulsion will damage the fuel systems of vehicles. When we look at the applications made to the stations for compensation for these damages, the dimensions of the damage expose the station owners to serious financial obligations.
  2. The equipment failures I mentioned above return to manufacturers and distributors as customer complaints. The most impressive way to prevent negativities is to take preventive measures, which we have adopted as a company motto. Because it is difficult to recover lost trust, and in the same way, the cost of correcting the equipment after it fails can be easily avoided thanks to a series of periodic activities.

In our preventive maintenance, which is another field of activity, we carry out checks and tests of the equipment that we define as critical equipment at the stations. In this way, over time, many unsafe situations that are considered natural due to material fatigue and user errors and operational blindness are detected and eliminated. The criterion to be considered here is that an outside eye, not someone from within the enterprise, looks at the event and determines what kind of unsafe situation it encounters or may encounter thanks to the knowledge it has gained. Because, as it is known, the higher the frequency of unsafe situations, the higher the risk of sad accidents.

  1. What are the reasons why stations prefer Torah? Which features distinguish you from other companies in the sector?

In our work, maintenance information is instantly processed into the database with our teams of engineers or technicians in line with customer demands. Having such technological infrastructure and well-equipped field personnel in the sector is the only factor that takes us one step ahead of other companies. Since our main goal is the idea that we have something to be constantly improved, our position compared to our competitors in terms of market share in the sector is not to be underestimated.

  1. As Tora, what are the advantages you offer to companies in this regard?

There are approximately 13000 stations registered with EMRA in our country and we have a database where we keep the card information of approximately 9000 of these stations. Any main distribution company can have data about any station from us within minutes. We have the ability to report in accordance with the desired format for a single station or for all stations. The preparation of reports with Excels or hand-written printed forms belongs to a structure that is far behind today’s technology world, and the most important change we have made is that we receive all the information sought about the station while the team is at the station and can be easily adapted to the desired formats. Designed with a flexible structure, the options of each main distribution company are easily adapted to our question bank, and it is ensured that the answer to the desired question is sought by competent field personnel. Thanks to our trained staff in the sector and our solution-oriented management policy, we are proud to be the sector leader in its field and we show the determination to work in order to progress at this point.

  1. Can you tell us about the numerical data of your work so far on maintenance and tank cleaning? What are your goals for 2015?

At the fuel stations served between 2002 and 2013; Approximately 220,000 tanks were cleaned. Approximately more than 10 million liters of waste came out of these tanks. More than 6 million liters of these wastes were recovered thanks to the Waste Separation Device. Approximately 4 million liters of waste remaining after separation was disposed of in our National Waste Transport Licensed Tankers and Licensed Waste Disposal facilities. In this way, 60% of the fuel, which is our national wealth, is recovered.

Thanks to our renewed technology, as of the end of 2014, 840000 liters of waste was removed from the tank as a result of the maintenance activities carried out at 1800 stations. 700000lt of this waste was separated and put back into the tanks. Thus, approximately 83% of our national wealth has been recovered.

Our primary goal is to provide solutions that increase the satisfaction of our existing customer portfolio. Without sacrificing the principle of zero accident, we continue our efforts to increase the number of stations where we clean and maintain tanks and to add new ones to our customers. For now, we will visit approximately 2500 stations where tank cleaning and maintenance activities are ongoing.

  1. Can you tell us about the technologies used in maintenance and tank cleaning?

All maintenance teams are equipped with new safety barriers. Site isolation with skittles has been lifted as of 2010. Thus, the work area is clearly closed.

TANK CLEANING AND WASTE SEPARATION MACHINES:

The air-driven tank cleaning machine is used to carry out pneumatic diverting valve, guide and hose tank cleaning activities circulated at the bottom of the tank. The wastes drawn into the barrels after cleaning are separated from the water and sedimentary particles with the ex-proof separation device, preventing the waste of clean fuel.

All maintenance tools are equipped with internet-enabled computers and compatible printers. More than 900 questions filled out through the database at the station are instantly sent to the central surver via internet connection and printed copies of the forms are printed at the station with the printer connection.

We have the ability to offer company-based solutions in this regard. We have a system that can get the answer to any desired question instantly from the field with easy question additions to the question list. In this way, in the transformations to be experienced in 2015, it allows the discoveries that we call surveys, which we describe as surveys, to be made quickly and effectively at the stations that companies plan to incorporate into their bodies.

  1. Finally, what do you want to add?

I hope that the year 2015, in which station transformations will be frequent, will be a good year for our sector and the Turkish economy.