NISTM 2022 Takeaways

NISTM Orlando 2022 Takeaways

HUVR sponsored the National Institute for Storage Tank Management (NISTM), 24th Annual International Aboveground Storage Tank Conference and Trade Show in Orlando, Florida last week.  Meeting such a wide variety of owners/operators, service, technology and subject matter experts was an incredible experience and we wanted to share some of the key takeaways from the show.

New Regulations meet the Great Resignation 

SB900 has been passed into law;  Texas now joins the list of 18 other states that have equivalent regulations. Once enforcement begins in September 2023, it is expected that many other states will follow suit. Meanwhile, experienced personnel continue to retire or resign, and it is challenging to entice new recruits to join or simply remain within the industry. The resultant experience gap—in combination with the addition or tightening of regulations—is becoming increasingly worrisome.

Inspection companies and asset owners are looking for new solutions to fill the experience gap, improve asset performance and integrity while complying with regulatory requirements. The NISTM tradeshow and conference facilitated this superbly. It was wonderful to see the enthusiasm and pride of the people we spoke with, regardless of role and responsibility, eagerly driving and seeking new and improved technologies and solutions to meet performance and regulatory expectations.

Data Management is the challenge…but also the solution

A common theme we encountered while speaking with asset owners and inspection providers is the challenge of aggregating, automating and analyzing the vast amounts of data derived from both new and existing inspection technologies. Information is often being delivered late, on thumb drives, as PDF reports or in various proprietary cloud repositories—none of which is ideal when further evaluation and/or action is required. NISTM exhibitors commonly said that inspection tools and technology are advancing much faster than the software systems available to handle the new sources of data.

Furthermore, attendees stressed that an appropriately designed inspection data management system – specifically tailored to the application, asking the right questions, and providing the right answers, to the right people at the right time—would greatly alleviate the challenges that the industry is facing.

HUVR can help

This was no great surprise to us at HUVR—through the advice of our network of advisors, such as Earl Crochet, our IDMS platform readily accommodates these industry needs.  In fact, we were proud to announce the new HUVR Tank Solution (a purpose-built suite of workflows to handle diverse data sets regardless of source) from the show floor. The solution aggregates, automates and analyzes tank inspection data seamlessly so that service providers and asset owners alike can confidently  leverage all of the unique and specialized inspection technologies showcased at NISTM’s 24th Annual Conference and Trade Show.

If you’d like to know more about our plans for the future, or how we can help you today, please don’t hesitate to get in touch. We’d love to talk it through with you, as the future is not on the horizon…it is already here.