For a ticketing solution at its new Port of Sacramento terminal serving the northern California market, Pan Pacific Cement contacted Command Alkon to identify a system equal to its demands. First, it would have to expedite the ticketing process for high-volume truck traffic at a facility of estimated 1.2 million-tpy capacity. Second, interfacing to both a third-party PLC loadout system and an existing Command Series system for billing and enterprise content management (ECM) would be essential. Finally, on-time delivery and implementation would be needed, since the system would have to be ready for operation when the first ship arrived.

JWS Apex was determined a suitable fit for the producer's requirements. As a leading supplier of ticketing and automation solutions for the bulk materials industry, JWS could parlay its experience with some of North America's largest cement suppliers to help design a system that would establish the Port of Sacramento cement terminal as a loadout facility whose typical load time — three minutes — would significantly exceed the industry average.

SITE SURVEY, PROJECT PLANNING

A site survey conducted while the terminal was under construction enabled JWS to ascertain the facility's physical layout and to clarify specific technical requirements. Upon completion, the terminal would have three loadout lanes, each with a two-section truck scale, plus two surge hoppers overhead to allow for simultaneous loading of front and back trailers. That configuration would allow all three lanes to operate efficiently with a single loadout operator.

After reviewing the site, JWS recommended the use of radio-frequency identification (RFID) readers for convenient tracking of trucks upon arrival, coupled with outdoor printers mounted at cab height to eliminate any need for drivers to exit their vehicles, thereby promoting both efficiency and safety. Accordingly, JWS worked with Pan Pacific on appropriate positioning of the necessary hardware to effect its incorporation into construction plans. Constant contact maintained by JWS Project Manager Matt Fox with Pan Pacific Cement and the third-party PLC provider ensured that all infrastructure was in place when the technician arrived on site for installation and setup of the Apex system.

TECHNOLOGY INSTALLATION

Installing ticketing and automation capabilities at the Pan Pacific Cement terminal involved implementation of a variety of JWS software and hardware solutions. At the core of the system is Apex Ticketing software, providing an intuitive Windows-based user interface for data management and ticket printing at the site. An Auto ID module communicates with the core ticketing application to allow use of RFID readers and remote user-input devices to automate the ticketing process.

To effect third-party controls coordination, Apex communicates via a standard OPC (OLE for process control) interface, enabling the application to provide information, such as target weights and bin identification, to the loadout-control system and to monitor status conditions. Remote ticket printing for rapid delivery of tickets to the driver is accomplished by an industrial printer housed in an enclosure, designed specifically for outdoor printing in conditions common to the bulk-materials industry. The Scale Watcher, comprising integrated video capture, supplies a still image of the truck license and a side-door view for every ticket generated; and, images are stored with the ticket, eliminating the need for driver signatures.

PROCESS FLOW

Each vehicle is issued a hand-held RFID badge. The Apex system stores all information required to load each vehicle, including configuration (single or double trailer), target weights for each trailer, maximum gross vehicle weight, and billing information. When a truck pulls into a loadout lane, the driver presents the badge to the RFID terminal mounted at cab height. The driver will confirm his assignment at the terminal or, if the assignment information needs to change, contact the loadout operator.

Once confirmed, Apex will capture the tare weight and transmit lane identification and vehicle target weights to the loadout PLC. The operator then lowers the spouts and initiates loading. The scale configuration allows the PLC to load a front and back trailer simultaneously with independent target weights.

After loading is complete and the spouts have been raised, the PLC will set the appropriate status; and, Apex will capture the final gross weight and print a delivery ticket at the remote printer. As the ticket is printed, the Scale Watcher module will store the video capture from two cameras, as well as an overlay of key ticket-data values in the form of a pdf image indexed by ticket number for easy retrieval. An additional image of the printed ticket is stored in the ECM system. The entire process — from beginning to end, including the cement loading time — is completed in as little as three minutes.

CONCLUSION

The Pan Pacific Cement terminal provides an instructive case study of JWS solutions for the construction materials industry. The customer was able to implement an Apex bulk-material ticketing application, including RFID and video capture integration, while continuing to utilize the Command Alkon billing and ECM systems already in use within its sister operations.

This report was adapted from information provided by JWS, a division of Command Alkon.