KNI A/S of Pilersuisoq is responsible for the supply of liquid fuels throughout Greenland, to a total of 16 towns and 53 villages.

Pilersuisoq is the only company in its field in Greenland. The firm also runs two retail chains with stores in 10 towns and 53 villages, three depots (food and non-food) as well as Duty-Free saes at Greenland's two international airports at Kangerlussauaq and Narsarsuaq. They also handle the distribution of beer, wine and tobacco throughout Greenland.

Our inspectors at work in delightful Greenland surroundings

Three different types of fuel

Pilersuisoq supplies the population of Greenland with three types of fuel – gas oil, kerosene and petrol. This means that there are three volumenometers in each village and four or five in each town. These volumenometers must – according to current legislation – be verified every other year – and this is where FORCE Technology comes into the picture.

FORCE Technology's primary task is to verify the volumenometers used by KNI A/S Pilersusioq's for fuel gauging in the towns as well as the villages.

Moreover, we partake - in accordance with guidelines agreed between Pilersuisoq and FORCE Technology - in the inspection and registration of the condition of the village installations, as well as the registration and management of Pilersuisoq's reserve volumenometers.

As regards volumenometers with flow capacities of greater than 100 l/m, Pilersuisoq is one of our largest customers.

The task is performed according to the rules currently in force regarding verification, that is to say, every other year. Verification is, however, carried out once a year in the three largest towns, Nuuk, Sisimiut and Ilulissat, where most of the nation's fuel is dispensed.

Intimate knowledge of local conditions

FORCE Technology has been carrying out verification in Greenland for many years and because we cover the whole of Greenland we have developed an intimate knowledge of local conditions in both the towns and villages.

Our inspection of installations in the villages and registration of reserve volumenometers is a considerable help to planners at Pilersusioq's energy division.

We have two permanent staff in Greenland every summer. We verify one half of the volumenometers in Greenland one year and the other half the next - so that all the volumenometers are verified at two-yearly intervals.

Besides Pilersusioq's volumenometers, we also verify volumenometers for private oil distributors and for the Greenland Airport Authority.

Nature sets the agenda

Because Greenland is such a massive country, and because nature plays such an appreciable role when it comes to even making a journey, performing verification in Greenland is quite different to doing the same job in Denmark. The job is performed at the place of use, which involves quite a lot of travel by plane, helicopter and boat.
Transport from the towns to the villages is always by chartered boat. These tasks are therefore only performed by two individuals from FORCE Technology; men who have the necessary experience travelling in Greenland and insight into Greenlandic mentality.

Verification is carried out with equipment (volume standard measures) calibrated at Force Technology's laboratories in Brøndby in Denmark, and every town in Greenland has a volume standard measure for the large volumenometers. In addition to this, our inspectors have small volumetric standard measures with them to verify small installations.

Travel four weeks at a time

Each trip usually lasts for weeks. During this period, we typically visit five towns and 10-20 villages, depending on the area. Verification in the towns is carried out in close cooperation between FORCE Technology, the tank manager at Pilersusioq's tank installations and of the private oil distributors.

Collaboration with the private oil distributors is an important aspect of the performance of verification, as it is the oil distributors' tankers which take on the fuel used in validation. Several people are thus simultaneously involved in verification of the town's volumenometers.
Cooperation with local people over many years, and their insight into the verification process are extremely important to performance of the task.

Perhaps, perhaps not?

The conditions peculiar to Greenland means that a journey plan may have to be changed from one moment to the next. Having patience is a virtue, as is the ability to accept the Greenlandic expression "imaqa" (perhaps), as Greenland's natural environment invariably decides whether a journey can be made or not. This means you have to pay constant attention to weather forecasts and aware of alternative means of transport.

In addition, it is also a rule of thumb always to be one step ahead of an assignment, even if this means working or travelling in the evening/at night or at the weekend. Things can change rapidly and you can never really know what tomorrow will bring.

Day and night confused

We carry out verification in villages on day trips or trips that last considerably longer. The longest coherent boat trip in recent years is from Aasiaat in the Disko Bay to Upernavik in northern Greenland. Depending on the weather, we visit three towns and 21 villages.

The trip is made by chartered boat (a 29-foot Viknes 900) with one Greenlandic boatman, and lasts 12-14 days. We sail or work from 7 a.m. in the morning, frequently until 2 a.m. at night. If possible, we also work at night, if the village tank manager is prepared to do so.

It should be added that the sun is above the horizon 24 hours a day during the summer period, and that in the villages in particular you easily confuse night with day. We spend the night in the boat in the village we are visiting. The trip covers 2,500 km, and we are periodically so far away from civilisation that VHF radio cannot be used.

More than once, the boat has got stuck in a village because of the weather, or has been exposed to such an bad weather that we have been forced to seek refuge in the nearest fjord or bay.

A long boat trip of this kind demands intimate knowledge of weather conditions and local waters. Fortunately, we have over a period of many years developed collaboration with reliable, skilled boatmen.

Familiarity with the language and culture helps

Our inspectors have also learned a good deal of Greenlandic vocabulary. In the villages in particular, not all Greenlanders speak Danish. So in certain situations, the ability to understand and speak a few Greenlandic words can be a great help.

Recognition of differences in mentality and an understanding of the Greenlandic way of life are another two qualities that help get the job done in Greenland.

Good personal relations are always important - but particularly so in Greenland, especially when you subsequently have to define a problem, on the basis of a phone call or an e-mail.

In addition to FORCE Technology's verification division, our Fredericia division is also involved in our work with Pilersusioq, as it is this division that specialises in the repair of large volumenometers.

We hold a status meeting every year with the technical head of Pilersusioq's Energy Division. It is rewarding for both Pilersusioq and FORCE Technology to discuss aspects of the performance of verification as well as optimal/correct use of Pilersusioq's equipment.

We have, for example, taken the initiative of entering into dialogue regarding a possible upgrade of their volumenometers installations, which would involve retaining the fluid-related parts, while display (counters) and data transfer would be carried out electronically.