Aggregates Manager Digital Magazine
Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/674527
OPERATIONS ILLUSTRATED OUR EXPERTS Absolute Automation May 2016 Matt Etheridge is president of Etheridge Automation, based in Powhatan, Va. He is considered an expert in the fi eld of aggregates automation with more than 20 years of experience and hundreds of successful projects across the U.S. and Canada. Etheridge is active in NSSGA and is an experi- enced speaker on the topic of automation, having given talks at NSSGA, as well as various state associations. He is also a master electri- cian and resides in Powha- tan, Va., with his wife and fi ve daughters. Arnold Connelly, area manager of aggregates for Tilcon New Jersey, has been with the company for almost seven years. With Tilcon, an Oldcastle Materials Co., he was a plant manager for the Riverdale and Mt. Hope quarries before taking his position as area manager. Connelly's plant manage- ment experience in aggre- gates goes back to 1996. He has a bachelor's degree in mining and mineral engi- neering from the University of Kentucky and an M.B.A. in general business admin- istration and management from Centenary College. For the past four years, Mark Cohen has been the elec- trical maintenance manager for Tilcon New Jersey, an Oldcastle Materials Group Co. Prior to that, he was head electrician at the Mt. Hope quarry for a total of 20 years. Initially, the quarry was known as Mt. Hope Rock Products until 2001, when it was sold to Tilcon. Cohen was electrician helper at Mt. Hope from 1989 to 1992. He has worked at the Mt. Hope Quarry a total of 27 years. Automation allows operators to track productive and unproductive time. Managers on a regional or national basis can see the entire system remotely, allowing them to ask questions of the operator. By tracking data trends, operators and managers alike can adjust the plant for better performance. Historical data tracking ultimately improves the bottom line for better produc- tion and lower costs. Unlike automobile manufacturing or food processing, which are automated with uniform input and output, automation within the aggregates industry must be built to handle a large number of variables. In the au- tomotive world, automation is sold as a package, with robots that handle production of uniform machines. In comparison, with aggregates operations, total plant automation requires vast knowledge of the process and understanding of each unique quarry's variables. A plant that is totally automated runs with information from every component — including screens, bins, crush- ers, and conveyors. The automation software has more information than the operator and makes decisions on the fl y about how much to alter speeds of specifi c components as needed to increase production. With interlocked components, the automated plant has the ability to shut down quickly, in proper sequence, pro- viding greater safety. Just because a plant might have a PLC or a single com- ponent that is automated, such as a crusher, it is not ac- tually a fully automated plant. If a plant can operate with decisions being handled automatically for every piece of equipment, adjusting the speed of all components from the primary feed to the fi nal conveyor without input from the operator — that is total automation. Based on plant modes, the system will increase production of key products. New school: Whole-plant automation Track data Defi ning total plant automation Automation challenges 2 5 3 6