"Information System Strategy and Development – Assignment 1 – TRANSGAS Case StudyTask 1: Review of the Information Strategy of TransGas1. IntroductionTransGas is a UK based company that supplies gas to 21 million sites. It operates the TransGasPipeline which is a natural gas pipeline system. It has been the core responsibility of TransGas toprovide safe, economical and reliable gas transportation and storage. In order to achieve thebusiness goals and objectives, TransGas has made effective use of information systems and haveincorporated them in their network infrastructure and the main operations to increase theproductivity and efficiency. Keeping in view the importance of information technology inbusiness operations, it is necessary to review the information strategy of the company regularly.The review will help highlight the problems that are being faced in the current system and willinclude the recommendations for future operations. There are many areas that need to beconsidered when reviewing the information strategy. We will discuss the areas that needs to bereviewed and the problems and risks associated with the implementation of such informationsystems. 2. Pipeline MonitoringTransGas has numerous control, metering and storage facilities in different areas. For effectiveoperations, the quality and quantity of gas has to be measured and the data has to be transferredin real-time. Therefore, the pipeline monitoring system is one that needs to be reviewedextensively for improvements and further enhancements. Real-time data measurement is a challenge for many industries including gas supply companiesand electricity supply companies. Accurate and reliable real-time data transfer is essential forimproving the quality of gas supply. Many technological solutions are available and some ofthem are being used by TransGas to cater to this issue. Sierra Wireless Airlink is in use for morethan 10 years in TransGas for real-time data transfer. In highly populated areas, automated valves must be installed to automatically cut off the flow ofgas in case of pipeline rupture. The design of the valve should be such as to dissipate thepressure of the gas in minutes. This can be done by spacing the actuated vales (Uraikul, et al,2000, pp. 271-282).2 | P a g e Information System Strategy and Development – Assignment 1 – TRANSGAS Case Study3. Life of Equipments and SafetyThe technological equipments that support the core business functionality need to be reviewedwith regard to the life of these equipments. The aging of these equipments is a great concern forthe operations of the business. The safety of equipment and human is essential and is placedabove all concerns of the organization. The Computational Pipeline Monitoring system in practice is the system that measures thepressure, temperature and flow of gas in the pipeline. This technology is implemented to detectany leaks in the pipelines that may occur occasionally. The hydraulic behavior of the gas ismeasured by this system and is then compared to the standard values to identify any anomalies.The leakage of gas in hazardous areas can be very dangerous in some instances. Leakage is alsodetected through the SCADA (supervisory control and data acquisition) technology but SCADAcannot detect small leakages. Such small leakages can great problems in highly hazardouslocations where only a small quantity of gas in the surrounding can cause a fire. Generally smallleaks should be detected within 14 days. 4. Gas Metering SystemThe gas metering system needs special consideration since it is the main equipment for financialcollections. TransGas should look to focus on the latest technologies in metering systems so as toincrease the efficiency of collection units of the company. Orifice meters are purely mechanical meters that measure the amount of gas. Many Orificemeters are still in use which measures the pressure difference. However these meters are obsoleteand have several disadvantages. Orifice meters cannot measure the amount of gas for very highflow rates of the gas. In addition to the differential pressure, density, viscosity, static pressureand the temperature of the gas must also be known for proper gas metering. Therefore, whenreviewing the metering system, it is essential to develop strategy to change Orifice meters withlatest gas meters that can measure high pressures of gas.The latest technology in metering systems is the Ultrasonic flow meters. TransGas should look toreplace all orifice meters with Ultrasonic flow meters. They are very complex and require signalprocessing to measure the amount of gas. The principle of operation of Ultrasonic meters is thespeed of sound in gaseous medium. The speed of sound is then compared with standard speedsthat correspond to a specific temperature, pressure and gas composition. Ultrasonic meters aresuitable for gas supply and are mainly used for high pressure gas flow. TransGas can install thesemeters in its transmission network to improve the metering process. Although these meters areexpensive, they will increase the reliability of the metering system (Ragle, et al, 2001, p. nd). 3 | P a g e Information System Strategy and Development – Assignment 1 – TRANSGAS Case Study3. Gas Storage Gas storage technology is also very essential and needs to be reviewed regularly. To store thegas, it is transmitted to the filtering system via the pipeline transmission network. The pressureof the gas is not sufficient to be injected into the cavern, so compressors are used to increase thepressure of gas before it can be stored in the cavern. At the same time, the temperature of the gasalso increases and it has to be brought down under tolerable limits.The storage system needs to be reviewed and the compressors should be analyzed for theirperformance keeping in mind the age of the compressor and the efficient performance of thecompressor.The pressure measurement devices in the storage and transmission system shouldbe reviewed and latest technologies must be incorporated into the design of underground storagefor TransGas Company. 4. Problems and Risks4.1. Locations to be installedIt is important to note that TransGas supplies gas to remote areas, topologically dangerous areasand other hazardous locations. In view of the fact, technologies that monitor the gas flow inpipeline must be compatible with the locations where they are to be installed. The ruggedlydesigned Sierra Wireless Raven XT is in use currently and is able to operate at very lowtemperatures. It can operate in temperatures as low as minus 40 degrees Celsius. It is alsoimportant to note that the remote locations do not have any electrical power supply. In order tooperate the equipments in remote locations it is essential to install solar powered equipments andmeasurement devices.Remote locations are not accessible through telephone lines. Therefore cellular communicationhas to be used to monitor such locations. A new technology in real-time data transfer is theSupervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA). These systems are flexible and data can betransferred real-time with the highest reliability and accuracy. Another aspect of concern when installing equipment in remote areas is the availability of repairtechnicians and engineers. In case of a fault in the system or any operational changes in thesystem skilled labor and technicians are not easily available. Therefore, when installing suchinformation systems it is important to ensure that the systems are highly reliable and will notrequire frequent repair and maintenance. 4 | P a g e "