Rinker Increases Production with Weighing Equipment and Software
Rinker Materials Corporation is one of the largest producers of bagged cement, ready mix concrete, and concrete block in the United States. They provide a diversified offering of construction and building materials, including cement, aggregate, brick, glass block, reinforcing steel, construction chemicals, drywall, and fireplaces. Rinkers cement terminal in Port Everglades, Florida is a major packer and supplier of bagged cement and bulk products. When they were looking to increase the productivity of their terminal, they quickly turned to Thompson Scale Company (TSC) for the solution. The requirements became evident; an in-motion checkweigher (phase one), data collection software (phase two), and a packer upgrade (phase three).
When asked what first inspired Rinker to look for a checkweigher for their terminal, Juan Alvarez, Terminal Manager at Rinker Materials replied, "We were looking to increase our production rate, while another main reason was safety. We were using manual labor to get the weights of the bags. This required us to stop the process and have someone pull a bag and put it on a scale to check the weight. We were checking bag weights every thirty minutes which was harder for our workers and took away from production time". Thompson Scale designed a unique compact checkweigher with a space-saver reject ram to overcome the lack of space available in their packaging line. The smaller sized 4693 Heavy-Duty Checkweigher still provides the same accuracy, features, and functionality as a full-sized unit, along with extremely fast weighment cycles to meet the application requirements. "The main improvement since installing the checkweigher is our increased bag per man hour rate which has gone up over the last couple months. Now, we can constantly monitor weights without having to stop the operation. Our production is faster and safer and we have really noticed the increase in our cement production rate", Juan Alvarez said.
To assist them in targeting their optimum bag weights, Rinker knew they would need data collection and reporting software to analyze weights and generate reports. Thompson Scales wholly owned subsidiary, Telemetry Solutions, provided the StatPak-PC software system. This system allows users to easily monitor 100% of production data on a PC, so they can quickly and easily adjust production to optimal levels and analyze production flow over a period of time. We bag throughout the week, and every day that we do bagging, we monitor production rates at the closeout by running a report from StatPak-PC,ä Mr. Alvarez stated. Since installing the reporting software, Rinker has noticed the benefits through more efficient production. "I can see a production increase happening on a monthly basis. The reports we generate are really helping us in monitoring the terminal. The software helps us maintain a constant quality and weight on the bags", he added. This optimized production also leads to decreased expenditure and substantial cost savings over time. Juan Alvarez summed it up with, "We like the StatPak-PC reports that can be run, we get a lot of valuable information".
Thompson Scale provides filling machinery upgrades to update equipment from counter weights and manual controls, to a system with automatic controls and a load cell for more efficient use of older technology. Thompson Scale worked in conjunction with Choice Bagging Equipment (CBE) on the St. Regis 150 four-spout impeller filler upgrade. CBE was involved with the design of a number of mechanical parts, mechanical fabrication, installation, and start-up of the filler upgrade. "Before the upgrade, our filling time was 12 to 15 seconds per bag. We operate at 8 or 9 seconds now, which has really increased our overall production. Also, the system can be run with one operator that can see the automatic bag placer at the same time as the controller and easily check the weights of each bag. This has saved us a lot of man-hours. The upgrade has eliminated almost 90% of our spillage too, reducing dust in the area and greatly reducing reclaim", Mr. Alvarez stated.
When asked how long it might take to reach an ROI and justify the expenditures, Mr. Alvarez had this to say, "We did a quick study that showed an increase in production while there was a sharp decrease in labor and maintenance. Its significant enough that we should see a return on investment within a relatively short time". To sum up the installation and Thompson Scale's products, Juan Alvarez stated, "It was a very good experience. I will definitely recommend Thompson Scale".
Weighing Equipment and Software
Rinker Increases Production with Weighing Equipment and Software
Rinker Materials Corporation is one of the largest producers of bagged cement, ready mix concrete, and concrete block in the United States. They provide a diversified offering of construction and building materials, including cement, aggregate, brick, glass block, reinforcing steel, construction chemicals, drywall, and fireplaces. Rinkers cement terminal in Port Everglades, Florida is a major packer and supplier of bagged cement and bulk products. When they were looking to increase the productivity of their terminal, they quickly turned to Thompson Scale Company (TSC) for the solution. The requirements became evident; an in-motion checkweigher (phase one), data collection software (phase two), and a packer upgrade (phase three).
When asked what first inspired Rinker to look for a checkweigher for their terminal, Juan Alvarez, Terminal Manager at Rinker Materials replied, "We were looking to increase our production rate, while another main reason was safety. We were using manual labor to get the weights of the bags. This required us to stop the process and have someone pull a bag and put it on a scale to check the weight. We were checking bag weights every thirty minutes which was harder for our workers and took away from production time". Thompson Scale designed a unique compact checkweigher with a space-saver reject ram to overcome the lack of space available in their packaging line. The smaller sized 4693 Heavy-Duty Checkweigher still provides the same accuracy, features, and functionality as a full-sized unit, along with extremely fast weighment cycles to meet the application requirements. "The main improvement since installing the checkweigher is our increased bag per man hour rate which has gone up over the last couple months. Now, we can constantly monitor weights without having to stop the operation. Our production is faster and safer and we have really noticed the increase in our cement production rate", Juan Alvarez said.
To assist them in targeting their optimum bag weights, Rinker knew they would need data collection and reporting software to analyze weights and generate reports. Thompson Scales wholly owned subsidiary, Telemetry Solutions, provided the StatPak-PC software system. This system allows users to easily monitor 100% of production data on a PC, so they can quickly and easily adjust production to optimal levels and analyze production flow over a period of time. We bag throughout the week, and every day that we do bagging, we monitor production rates at the closeout by running a report from StatPak-PC,ä Mr. Alvarez stated. Since installing the reporting software, Rinker has noticed the benefits through more efficient production. "I can see a production increase happening on a monthly basis. The reports we generate are really helping us in monitoring the terminal. The software helps us maintain a constant quality and weight on the bags", he added. This optimized production also leads to decreased expenditure and substantial cost savings over time. Juan Alvarez summed it up with, "We like the StatPak-PC reports that can be run, we get a lot of valuable information".
Thompson Scale provides filling machinery upgrades to update equipment from counter weights and manual controls, to a system with automatic controls and a load cell for more efficient use of older technology. Thompson Scale worked in conjunction with Choice Bagging Equipment (CBE) on the St. Regis 150 four-spout impeller filler upgrade. CBE was involved with the design of a number of mechanical parts, mechanical fabrication, installation, and start-up of the filler upgrade. "Before the upgrade, our filling time was 12 to 15 seconds per bag. We operate at 8 or 9 seconds now, which has really increased our overall production. Also, the system can be run with one operator that can see the automatic bag placer at the same time as the controller and easily check the weights of each bag. This has saved us a lot of man-hours. The upgrade has eliminated almost 90% of our spillage too, reducing dust in the area and greatly reducing reclaim", Mr. Alvarez stated.
When asked how long it might take to reach an ROI and justify the expenditures, Mr. Alvarez had this to say, "We did a quick study that showed an increase in production while there was a sharp decrease in labor and maintenance. Its significant enough that we should see a return on investment within a relatively short time". To sum up the installation and Thompson Scale's products, Juan Alvarez stated, "It was a very good experience. I will definitely recommend Thompson Scale".
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