In
our current economic conditions most companies are looking
for ways to cut costs.
One way is through better management of materials in your storage
silos. Many companies still use just point level sensors, like
a “paddle unit”, to let them know when the material
in the silo is high or low. Besides detecting high and low levels,
a continuous level sensor can actually help cut costs and even
increase personnel safety. Although a continuous level inventory
measurement system sounds like a good idea, the inclination right
now may be that “a point level works ok, no need to spend
any money to upgrade or change.” So how does one justify
the extra initial cost of a continuous level system?
A company in Crystal Lake with 13 silos who provides pre-blended
masonry products and automated mixing stations to construction
sites or as they like to call it “mortar at a push of
a button” was looking for a way to better control the
inventory levels of their raw materials instead of having to
do a “visual”. They try to be very proactive in finding ways to make themselves more cost-efficient and effective on all levels of operation. After some research they decided
to go with the SiloPatrol® cable-based smart sensor (SMU)
with the SiloTrackTM inventory management software from Monitor Technologies. Even though
the system cost more than they initially were willing to spend,
they were able to justify the expenditure because of the added
benefits of time saved not having to manually measure the material levels, better control of material inventory,
and for the personnel safety reasons. Now with automatic or
on-demand readings, they have better control of when they need
to re-order raw materials and when the silos are getting full
during refilling to prevent the downtime and clean-up costs
of an over-filled silo. Plus, personnel make a lot fewer trips
up the silos.
Their initial purchase was for 6 SMU’s and the SiloTrack
software. Once they realized the value of the continuous level
measurement system, they were able to justify the purchase
of additional SMU’s for more of their silos.
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Other features that they have come to appreciate about the
SiloPatrol is the simplicity of installation (including wiring
and set-up) for the sensor and the software, that the software
works with the current PC on their desk, the sensor’s
compartmental isolation of the electrical and mechanical components
which eliminates much of the dust from going into the electrical
area, and the ability to replace the sensor’s wiper and
brush that cleans the cable without having to actually cut
the cable for servicing. They also mentioned that technical
support has been very responsive. They once had a computer
board issue that caused software re-installation problems and
technical support spent the time to talk them through the issue
and shared knowledge for future prevention.
The SiloPatrol SE inventory management system is the second
edition of the industry-leading cable-based smart sensor system
that is designed to handle some of the harshest and most dynamic
conditions imaginable. The SiloPatrol SE system incorporates
state-of-the-art sensors with a wide choice of operator interfaces
to fit all types of situations.
For more information, please visit
www.monitortech.com/product_conti.shtml or
call us in the USA at 800-766-6486 or from anywhere at 630-365-9403.
Also, check out our Level
Measurement blog at http://monitortech.typepad.com.
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