Product transfer security
Product transfer security (PTS) is a wireless identification system used especially in the petrochemical industry. It identifies the equipment involved in the transfer of product from one location to the other, e.g. loading depot to tanker truck or tanker truck to service station.
System description
The PTS system consist of three parts:
- Transponder; a passive RFID device that identifies the destination, e.g. underground tank or tanker truck compartment
- Transreader; an active device that interrogates the transponder and transmits the transponder ID along with its own ID via the MSD RF band.
- Receiver; a receiving device that captures the RF transmissions from transreaders and passes the information on to a control system
It is essentially an add-on to existing automation or control systems such as terminal automation software or hardware controllers. It is not a complete system on its own. It supplies a unique ID number for each piece of equipment which can then be verified by the automation control system to ensure that the product is being transferred to and from the correct locations.
The PTS transponder and transreader also supplies product information about the two pieces of equipment involved in the transfer to ensure that products are not mixed. It can therefore act as a cross-over prevention (COP) system.