Dynamic rail weighing ensures efficient train deliveries for major cement supplier

By Avery Weigh-Tronix
Posted on May 01, 2013

Avery Weigh-Tronix (Indonesia) - In motion rail weighing technology from Railweight is ensuring efficient transport of cement on train deliveries between the Indonesian factory PT Semen Padang and the local port, from where it will be exported. More than 2000 tonnes of cement are delivered every week.

The company had identified that unloading cement at the port was uncontrolled and that they had no way of monitoring whether the returning wagons had cement left in them. This affected the ongoing efficiency of deliveries.

As part of its continuous improvement process, the company needed to accurately monitor its deliveries as well as identify and repair any faulty wagons as part of a planned process.

By recording the weight of each wagon and train when they leave the plant with a full load and then return from the port empty, the company can immediately see whether any cement has returned and then identify the cause. The system weighs moving trains to an accuracy better than +/- 0.25 percent and individual wagons to +/- 0.5 percent.

Maximise efficiency
Says Fidel Bastri, head of bagging at PT Semen Padang: “By monitoring our rail transport effectively we can maximise our deliveries to the port. Our wagons have a capacity of between 20 and 30 tonnes and in a normal week we will deliver more than 80 wagons. It is vital that we know that the loads are emptied at the port.”

Crucially for the plant, the Weighline system was fast to install and does not involve any major civils work, so disruption was minimal. The specified system has four pairs of Weighline transducers, which were fitted to sections of rails that matched the existing rail type, a TSR4000 weight indicator and I-Line software.

Engineers replaced sections of the on-site rail with the Weighline system. Unlike rail weighbridge installations, the onsite rail installation only takes a few hours, rather than weeks.

Data analysis
The TSR4000 digital weight indicator and I-Line software can record, display or print the weight data. Custom reports can be created about the train, including wheel loads, axle loads, wagon type, total train consist and individual wagon tare, gross and net weights.

Within weeks of the installation a number of cement wagons were identified for maintenance. Before the system was installed wagons could remain undetected for weeks, which had a serious affect on the amount of cement delivered and the number of extra wagons required.

Benefits: