French quarry operator invests in Precia-Molen weighing system

Company supplies new weighbridge-management system to Carrieres de la Vallee Heureuse Quarries

SITUATED in the French Marquise basin between Boulogne sur Mer and Calais, Carrieres de la Vallee Heureuse Quarries (CVHQ) produce more than 15,000 tonnes of aggregates per day.

With more than 200ha of a hard, compact limestone deposit, the company extracts limestone flux, limestone chippings, micro-sized limestone and rock fill which are transported by road, rail, sea and river to customers in France, Belgium, the Netherlands and the UK.

With an average of 400 trucks (600 during peak periods) visiting the busy site daily, CVHQ recognized the need to improve their customer service with regard to identifying customer requirements, monitoring orders and optimizing truck loading on site.

Following a tender process, CVHQ awarded Precia-Molen an order to supply and install a bespoke weighbridge-management system. And the weighing specialists came up with a weighing solution comprising a touch-screen driver console, together with ROC weighbridges, which has met the demands of CVHQ by providing a total package, allowing them to optimize customer satisfaction by improving the quality of service and productivity.

‘The Precia-Molen system has helped us achieve quality objectives by delivering the right product, at the right weight to the right destination while limiting the impact on the environment by reducing health and safety risks relating to on-site traffic and the amount of time vehicles spend on site,’ explained Bruno Devaux, industrial performance director at CVHQ.

Previously, the site was equipped with a weighbridge at the entrance, a weighbridge at the exit and a ‘pre-checking bridge’ in the quarry. The new system comprises five weighbridges, two at the entrance, two at the exit and a ‘pre-checking weighbridge’ in the quarry. All the weighbridges are driver operated using BI WIN driver consoles.

On arrival at site, drivers present their badge to the driver console and, once identified, the barrier opens allowing access to the site. The vehicle is immediately identified and associated with a product and a loading point. Delivery notes are printed automatically from touch-screens positioned on the two exit weighbridges.

The information recorded (in real time) on entry is displayed on large information panels. Loading orders are transmitted by radio link to terminals located at the fixed and mobile loading points, allowing immediate identification by the operators.

The touch-screen driver console with integrated industrial PC also allows:

• The display of customized messages (eg badge presented/badge authorized/badge refused etc)
• Transmission of date to the system host (eg visits by numbered badges)
• Activation of outputs configured by the system host (eg activation, barrier opening etc)
• Access control configuration is carried out via a keyboard within the BI WIN driver console. The on-board PC, which is protected against voltage outages, includes software for processing access badges, counting vehicles, and other information vital to the efficient management of the site.
• An integrated 12V battery allows data to be saved in the event of mains failure. Database updates are completed automatically via the Ethernet link, providing the site manager with a database updated in real time.

By rationalizing the loading/movement of trucks and loading equipment, CVHQ have improved site safety, customer service and productivity ratios thanks to Precia-Molen’s weighbridge-management system.

Moreover, as traffic is more fluid at the entrance and exit, the time on site has been optimized, accident risks have been reduced and the impact on the environment limited. CVHQ have also been able to eliminate overloading on departing vehicles.