InfraStructures - June/July 2008 - LOADRITE® Releases New Loader Scale Systems

LOADRITE Releases New Loader Scale Systems

Actronic Technologies recently announced the release of the LOADRITE® Pit Boss, an onboard pit loader scale with a custom software package designed to provide productivity and preventive maintenance information and reports to quarry and mine owners and operators. Actronic Technologies is an international market leader in the development of onboard weighing systems and software productivity solutions for wheel loaders and excavators.

Quarry and mine managers can immediately see the effect that a wet or damaged haul road has on productivity and the effect that improvements can make after the equipment has been serviced. They also gain access to the working hours of each loader and haul truck, allowing them to confirm that all operators are working the required number of hours.

Through tracking of the percentage of shot rock to large rock, managers are also able to track the effective use of explosives and to identify efficient blast patterns. In addition, the report tracking mechanism allows for planned plant maintenance based on the tonnage each piece of equipment actually lifts or hauls, rather than by engine hours, minimizing unexpected downtime. Reports can be run by day, week, month or any other desired time period.

After installation of the LOADRITE Pit Boss, managers have reported up to an immediate 15% productivity gain and a significant return on their investment. Over the life of the equipment, Pit Boss actually helps pay for the machine that it is installed on. "With the ever increasing cost of running a quarry," says Mike Rose, vice president LOADRITE Americas, "Our customers are interested in everything and anything that can help them improve productivity, and it all starts in the pit. If you can measure it, you can manage it with the Pit Boss. This new product makes it easy for quarry managers to monitor and improve their pit operations on a continuing basis."

Actronic also announced the release of the new LOADRITE Loadout Management System. Designed to utilize data captured from LOADRITE onboard scales, the LOADRITE Loadout Management System provides staff at the local quarry, regional and corporate levels of an organization greater visibility of their loadout operations.

The LOADRITE® Loadout Management System facilitates communication between a quarry's scale house ticketing system and the wheel loaders operating within the quarry. Using radio modems and ruggedized in-cab displays, loader operators stay informed of all trucks waiting within the quarry, get confirmation of what type of product each requires, how much product is required and how long the customer has been waiting. "The benefits to the loader operator in reducing errors and improving safety are significant, but the real power of the system comes from the real-time reporting," says Brent O'Meagher, LOADRITE's Productivity Solutions business unit manager.

Loadout information is sent from the wheel loader to the ticketing office in real-time. Every movement of machines and material becomes trackable, turning the LOADRITE scale system into a sophisticated production management tool.

A site manager can see the number of trucks at each zone or stockpile at any given time and how long each has been waiting. They can then decide how to efficiently schedule their loaders. The system generates reports based on machine, product, date, time or any other combination of parameters stored in the database. The LOADRITE Loadout Management System identifies peak loading patterns and generates reports on machine utilization, allowing operational costs to be determined. As reports are based on actual machine usage and not just engine hours, preventive maintenance can be effectively planned. The system eliminates the need to enter data or to process transactions manually, and improves customer billing processes.

Produced in large, easy-to-read spreadsheets, the system's reports can be custom formatted to fit any operation's needs. All installations are supported by LOADRITE's worldwide comprehensive distributor and dealer network, where technical support is always just a phone call away.

Source: Actronic Technologies