Aggregates Manager Digital Magazine
Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/883641
14 AGGREGATES MANAGER / October 2017 Develop a graphical system T he key to effi cient loading and ticketing in an aggregates operation is to keep loadout trucks moving and increase the speed to complete the entire material loading cycle — from scale house to stockpile and back to the exit, says Ron Becker, business consultant with Command Alkon. Automation technology can help play a role in speeding up this process by automatically identifying a truck as it enters the scale house. This can be done with a radio fre- quency identifi cation (RFID) tag or reading a license plate. "Anything that identifi es the truck without having to interact with a person helps move things along," says Becker, who set up point-of-sale and remote scaling systems for Oldcastle Materials' Shelly Co. in a previous position. "If a truck is coming in and being identifi ed, a conversation is being started with the right truck." When a truck initially enters a plant to load material, the haul truck driver can identify himself and indicate the product needed. "If you're coming in and out sever- al times, you don't need to check in every single time," Becker points out. "You can assume the truck is there for the same thing, unless indicated otherwise." This allows the loader operator to handle other tasks when trucks are not in line. "If you can 'talk' to the loader-operator via the web or wireless check-in," Becker notes," you can provide information ahead of time on the product needed and the loader operator knows who is here for what and where to go." Effi ciency is also important for the equipment being used. Cemex has EnergyStar-rated terminals at some of its operations, which keeps electrical consumption to a minimum by turning on operating equipment only as needed, explains Glenn Carr, Cemex regional manager of logistics operations for the West Region. "If you keep employees engaged with a common goal of energy conservation, it can keep your equipment running as effi ciently as possible," Carr says. "It gives everyone a chance to succeed." Automation is important to making a plant effi cient, says Jay Wise, a partner with Kruse Integration, noting that some small operations — i.e. "mom and pop" facili- ties — may not have much experience with it or think it is important. "Their grandfather may have worked the plant with a shovel, so that's what they have known," he says. "But it's hard to be effi cient this way. Someone may end up eventually buying the operation or it may go out of business because they won't have data recorded about where improvements are needed." However, Kruse notes that automation alone is not enough to make it successful. Education is also essential. "You need a few guys that understand the entire system and how it works," Kruse says. Keep Your Ticketing System Effi cient Develop a graphical system that mirrors the physical system to make it simple to understand. All elements of the loading and ticketing system need to be integrated, simplifi ed, and monitored, including equipment load cells, scales, and batching loadout information. Create a variety of batching recipes that can be accessed through a simple drop-down menu so there is no confusion or unnecessary time taken to plug in a recipe. This can be set up so, if different silos, cement bins, and belts drive the loadout system, a different batch can be loaded to each truck. 1