?Knowledge is power. If you don?t know what your production rate by-product is, or know how to optimise production modes to achieve the best product mixes, then you?re not getting the most out of your operation,? Soeren says. ?With the industry getting more competitive, utilities more expensive and machines more complex, it?s vital to measure processes and production in more detail.?
Soeren says most operators know they need good information to work efficiently but not all of them are getting it.
?Most major aggregate producers have an enterprise resource planning system, but these rely on highly trained site managers sometimes manually operating the system. Some corporate aggregate producers are using PLC/SCADA systems but this approach can be very expensive and most are not fully automated. And then of course there are the smaller sites, many of which have no monitoring system at all because they?ve traditionally been too costly to install.?
Loadrite?s IM-series Insight software makes it easy to produce a range of useful reports. ?With Insight, companies can identify bottlenecks and pinch points in their processes, track tonnes per hour through the plant, track inventory and assess the wear rate of parts. They can also track ?black belt? time when the plant is running but not producing and keep tabs on downtime,? Soeren says.
?Having access to this information means companies can properly assess their procedures and confirm the impact of the changes they introduce.?
Data can be sent from a Loadrite C-Series belt scale to the Insight system, or via the new C-Weigh 3860 integrator and remote display, which allows operators to monitor and control all belt scales remotely. The C-Weigh 3860 acts as a collection point for weight data from multiple belt scales throughout a plant and displays useful information to the operator.
?The C-Weigh 3860 displays information like flow rate in tonnes per hour, total tonnage for a period, and machine or plant utilisation,? Soeren says. ?This information is provided separately for every conveyor belt scale and the operator can review the production of the previous 24 hour period. With the C-Weigh 3860 it is also easy to enter downtime events, clear and zero total.?
The Insight system and C-Weigh 3860 integrator have been designed to work seamlessly with Loadrite belt scales to form a tailor-made reporting solution.
?The C-Weigh 3860 interface will be familiar to anyone using Loadrite?s scales, which means operators will be using the system efficiently from day one,? Soeren says. ?Insight can be set up so that it?s accessible via company intranets or the internet, so global companies can monitor results from anywhere.?
The system is also fully scalable, ie Insight can work on a single site with one C-Series scale frame or be used across multiple sites to offer reporting visibility for multinational companies.
?In many cases, a single C-Series conveyor belt scale can provide customers with enough information to improve their operations but the product is ready to grow to meet increasing needs and complex set ups.?
The new system was launched globally at ConExpo in Las Vegas in March.
Source: Actronic Technologies/Hardman Communications