SAP compliant weighbridge software at paper mill

A major newsprint manufacturer in the UK is the latest company to benefit from the versatility and connectivity of Weightron Bilanciai’s Winweigh weighbridge software. The new system, which also incorporates Weightron’s versatile Self800 Driver Operated Terminals, has been installed at their paper mill as part of the upgrade of their two existing Avery Weigh-Tronix weighbridges.

The upgrade, which also includes barcode scanners, new traffic lights and vehicle positioning sensors, has been essential to automate and speed up the weighing process for vehicles entering and leaving site as the company’s newly commissioned onsite Materials Recycling Facility (MRF) comes fully on stream. The weighing of vehicles entering and leaving site is now an integrated process, all managed via the company’s SAP ERP system.

The MRF has the capacity to sort 270,000 tonnes of comingled waste material per annum from a wide range of sources. Capable of sorting six types of plastic as well as metals, wood, paper and glass; the facility has been designed to achieve recovery rates of 99 per cent – the highest in the UK. Suitable paper waste is retained onsite for conversion to newsprint, whilst other segregated waste products are sold on. To further enhance its green credentials, the company also burns production sludge residues with biomass fuel to generate electricity for the plant.

The company already have good experience with Winweigh at one of their plants in Europe and a key advantage of the software is that it integrates seamlessly with the company’s multi-million pound global SAP system. Given the increased volume of raw materials and waste products materials now being delivered to and collected from the site, efficient weighbridge operation is essential to avoid delays. All In/Out weighbridge activities are now fully automated, with the SAP system communicating directly with Winweigh.

The purchasing system issues delivery contractors with bar-coded orders prior to arrival on site. When vehicles arrive at the incoming weighbridge, the drivers scan their order using the barcode reader alongside the Self800 terminal and are then prompted via the terminal screen to confirm their registration number. Once the weighing has been completed, the barrier is raised and vehicles are allowed to exit the weighbridge. The process is repeated on exit. Winweigh has the capability to manage both single weighing (pre-programmed vehicle tare weight) and double weighing. Automatic number-plate camera systems can also be integrated with the software.

To further streamline the overall weighing process, independent Winweigh systems have been installed at two of the paper mill’s local recycling partners.