Recently the newspapers and media were in frenzy over the fire that broke out in a chemical manufacturing factory. The fire was so intense that it took many hours to bring it under control but the factory was burnt completely. Fortunately there were no casualties because the fire broke out when the entire staff has signed off. The fire broke out in the storage area and spread like wildfire and engulfed the entire facility within seconds. The forensic reports indicated that a chemical storage tank had sprung a leak which caused the liquid to find its way into the sacks that were stacked nearby. The combination of the liquid with the powdered chemical caused the reaction which resulted in a huge fire.

It may be termed as human error because they failed to learn about the leak before the calamity took place, or it can also be related to the non availability of the ultrasonic level indicator in the factory. The ultrasonic level detecting device is a handy gadget which can easily measure every tank from the outside. It also has the ability to detect leaks in the body because it measures real time liquid flow in the pipes and also from the tank. Measuring with the device could have easily pointed out the unnatural flow of the liquid and the maintenance staff would have learned about the leak easily.

The device also provides a unique function of pointing out the thickness of the tank’s walls. This function easily points out the defective area in the tank. As the person in charge of measuring the liquids in the tanks would have neared the weak point in the tank using the ultrasonic device, the thinning of the wall would have been indicated at that time. He would have informed his seniors about the indication and they would have taken the necessary steps to prevent the calamity. But since the factory didn’t house an ultrasonic device, the leak couldn’t be pointed out and it happened when there was no one around to control it.

The normal mechanical liquid level indicator does not point out leaks or anything about the condition of the storage tank. It just indicates the level of the liquid inside and the staff can only learn about how much is available inside. It is good for record keeping and production planning, but for a more detailed report about the liquid level plus the condition of the tank holding the liquids, it is best to use the ultrasonic level indicator.