Case Studies > Ceská Rafinérská Implements STATISTICA to Monitor Quality of Petroleum Products

Ceská Rafinérská Implements STATISTICA to Monitor Quality of Petroleum Products

Company Size

1,000+

Region

Europe

Country

Czech Republic

Product

STATISTICA Base
STATISTICA Standard Cz
STATISTICA Automated Neural Networks (SANN) + Code Generator

Tech Stack

STATISTICA software

Implementation Scale

Enterprise-wide Deployment

Impact Metrics

Cost Savings
Customer Satisfaction
Productivity Improvements

Technology Category

Analytics & Modeling - Machine Learning
Analytics & Modeling - Predictive Analytics

Applicable Industries

Oil & Gas

Applicable Functions

Process Manufacturing
Quality Assurance

Use Cases

Predictive Maintenance
Process Control & Optimization

Services

Software Design & Engineering Services
System Integration

About The Customer

Ceská rafinérská, a. s., is the largest crude oil processing company and the largest producer of refined petroleum products in the Czech Republic. The company is a collective business of Unipetrol and the renowned international companies Eni and Shell. Established in 1995, the company is operated as a reprocessing refinery / clearing house for its manufacturers, from whom it purchases crude oil and other raw materials for processing in refineries in Litvínov or Kralupy nad Vltavou. It sells its finished products to customers both regionally and abroad.

The Challenge

For planning needs and quality control processes monitoring, Cˇeská rafinérská previously used traditional tools included with commonly available computer software programs. For superior prediction of process changes—both undesirable and desirable—it became necessary to acquire much more sophisticated software. Cˇeská rafinérská thus started searching for a suitable solution and, through recommendations, it found the right one in STATISTICA software from StatSoft CR. The main requirement of the company was to acquire a tool for observing the quality of products in production units. In practice, this meant observing the quality of input values so that the quality of the output values would meet specified requirements. Among the observed variables are temperature, which can influence the properties of raw materials during manufacturing, as well as the density and viscosity of the material. The goal is to monitor a massive volume of measurements with the help of appropriate software in order to achieve maximum quality according to spec, as well as to ensure optimum production scheduling.

The Solution

The implementation of STATISTICA software was very simple thanks to the user-friendly environment, and it went smoothly, as a matter of fact, with no additional training necessary. The implementation of another module, STATISTICA Automated Neural Networks™ (SANN) + Code Generator, was also carried out very easily, which clearly points out the level of advancement of this tool. Just as during the implementation, no serious problems occurred after the activation of the software, thus the intervention of the supplier was not needed. When it comes to mutual communication and regular support, cooperation with StatSoft is pleasant and absolutely professional. The price of the acquired software and its license is certainly an impressive value, given STATISTICA’s capacity.

Operational Impact

The new STATISTICA software tools are currently employed to maintain consistent product quality and to predict production volumes that will sufficiently meet the actual demands of the Czech and foreign markets.
The company has also started using the SANN + Code Generator add-on to produce immediate product composition estimates, which was not possible until recently.
As utilization progresses, SANN will help the Czech oil refinery appreciably reduce the costs associated with these activities.