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Product category: Manufacturing Machinery and Plant Equipment
News Release from: Marco | Subject: Henkel
Edited by the Engineeringtalk Editorial Team on 08 May 2002

Marco helps Henkel with a sticky problem

Marco Weighing Systems is helping Henkel to ensure a smooth flow of vital raw materials at its Winsford Plant with the implementation of a ground breaking inventory management system.

Next time you visit your local DIY store, there is a good chance you'll end up leaving with a product manufactured by international chemical manufacturer Henkel Through its Adhesives arm, Henkel develops, produces and markets adhesives for use in the household, office and by professional tradesmen

As the world leader in adhesives the company supplies more than 3000 different formulae, sold under well known brand names such as Loctite, Unibond, Solvite, No More Nails, Pritt and many more.

Leading weighing specialist Marco Weighing Systems is helping Henkel to ensure a smooth flow of vital raw materials at its Winsford Plant with the implementation of a ground breaking inventory management system.

In conjunction with Marco, Henkel has pioneered the development of what it has named its RIM (remote inventory management) system.

Marco has installed fully digital weighing systems to nine storage silos with capacities of 30 and 60t.

Each silo is mounted on three digital 'plug and weigh' stainless-steel load-cell assemblies.

These are connected through Marco's digital Lucid weight indicators which are constantly 'talking' to the central PC via a multiway serial card.

Inventory management systems are not new, but most are based on analogue weighing systems.

These conventional systems use traditional analogue load cells that provide an output based on the arithmetic average of the individual load cell outputs.

Unfortunately, dial-up systems based on this technology have distinct limitations.

For example, there is no sure way of knowing whether systems data at any point in time are actually valid and problems with individual components are not recognised.

Even when problems are noticed, identifying the exact cause usually involves lengthy on site investigation.

By contrast, the digital system at Henkel provides constant real-time information on the contents of each silo and the health status of each and every load cell.

If a problem arises it is flagged up at the PC and Henkel can notify both the particular supplier and 'Marco Customer Support'.

Marco can immediately access the system via its engineering server and quickly identify where the problem is.

Digital weighing systems offer other major advantages over analogue systems.

Calibrating high capacity tanks and vessels has traditionally been a long and laborious procedure.

Applying loads to the system is very difficult and often only partial calibration is carried out, leading to low accuracy.

Digital weighing systems on the other hand can be calibrated extremely quickly using manufacturers' data from the individual load cells.

Provided the system has good mechanical repeatability, there is no need to apply calibration loads.

At Henkel, digital calibration was checked using product, which had been weighed on a weighbridge, and each vessel showed excellent correlation within 1 part in 3000 If, at any time, one of the load cells fitted to a particular silo is showing discrepancies, it can be electronically 'disconnected' from the system.

The system can then be remotely recalibrated based on the output from the two remaining load cells.

Although there may be a small loss in accuracy, the system will function more than adequately.

Any remedial work can then be carried out at a time convenient for Henkel, without unnecessary disruption.

Replacing a load cell is very straightforward, and recalibration is carried out without the need for the vessel to be empty.

Unlike most dial-up inventory systems, Henkel's RIM uses a single piece of software for all the different suppliers.

The system is fully security partitioned so those individual suppliers can only access data from their vessels.

Typically, data are sent out on a 12-hour basis showing usage trends and actual weight at that time.

These data allow the suppliers to plan their deliveries very precisely so that they know how much product is required and when they need to deliver it.

This guarantees that the product can be accommodated in the silo without problem and ensures that Henkel does not run out of raw material.

Henkel's engineering manager Neil Lloyd is very upbeat about the new system.

"Marco's pragmatic approach and attention to detail has ensured that we have a fully integrated system based on the most up to date technology.

They took time to listen and understand not only our requirements but also, most importantly, those of our suppliers.

Our experience with the system is very encouraging and although we are confident that the load cells are extremely reliable, we have the peace of mind that in the unlikely event of any problems, these will be resolved rapidly with the minimum of disruption.

The system tracks our changing requirements for raw materials and ensures that we always have adequate supplies available".

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