Author: Priya Rai

CFCLA Australia is the leading provider of leased locomotive and rolling stock to rail operators around Australia. Its Islington maintenance facility, located in Adelaide, has purpose-built workshops to perform a complete range of services, including engineering design, overhaul and maintenance of locomotives.

The Islington facility also serves the maintenance of track plant and equipment, and has a business unit focused on manufacturing and maintenance for the defence industry in South Australia.

The objectives

CFCLA’s customer had an existing A&D AD4406 indicator connected to four non A&D compression load cells to give them the total weight reading of train carriages.

They reached out to A&D Weighing, as their customer needed them to provide individual corner weighing results and end-to-end weighing results. The process was to weigh the carriages prior to being gutted and refurbished, and then weigh them again once the refurbishment was completed.

The A&D solution

Our team provided CFCLA with four new individual indicators connected to their existing load cells, to allow them to achieve their corner weighing. Our team calibrated each indicator / load cell combination to 40t x 0.02t. This also increased their total capacity to 160t, allowing them to weigh large locomotives up to 130t in weight. The load cells were positioned using jacks on either side of the carriage.

We can’t wait to see The Ghan once the refurbishments to their luxury platinum carriages have been completed.

A&D Weighing is committed to helping our customers achieve their goals, and is always ready to provide customised solutions according to various requirements.

Australia Post is the main provider of parcel delivery within Australia, and with the increase of online orders, we are seeing a dramatic shift happening in the postal industry. The number of parcels being moved around Australia has exponentially increased in the last 5 years.

To keep up with postal demands, A&D were recently contacted by Australia Post to assist with streamlining part of their weighing process at one of their distribution facilities.

The customer’s objectives were clear:

• Improve the current process of recording the weight of large trolley bins.
• Ensure it can work within the facility’s space limitations.
• Ensure it is robust to withstand heavy parcels.

The A&D Weighing team went to work and constructed a custom base manufactured specifically to weigh Australia Post’s large trolleys whilst being mindful of the facility’s space limitations. A RS-232 option was also installed in the AD4406 indicator to provide weight data output to their data system.

The customer advised A&D that the cumulative weight of the various express post parcels in the trolleys generally did not exceed 500kg. In this instance however, the scale was set to 600kg x 0.2kg to future-proof the scale for possible heavier bins if required.

The operators can simply wheel the trolleys into place via the small ramp in front of the drop centre scale. The ramp was specifically designed to ensure a smooth transition onto the scale, and the protective highly visible yellow barriers were also made by A&D to prevent people from walking over the scale.

The A&D solution:

• Improve the ease of recording accurate weights.
• Lower OH&S risk for operators pushing heavy trolleys onto platforms.
• Incorporate safety barriers to remove likelihood of tripping hazards occurring.

Australia Post appreciated being able to come to A&D to get all aspects of the job done by one contractor, and A&D Weighing continue to prove that economical, Australian designed and manufactured solutions are a vital resource for local industry.

The Australian Department of Agriculture and Water Resources recently contacted A&D Weighing to create a customised portable trolley for a Post Entry Quarantine (PEQ) facility.

Australia currently enjoys very good animal health status, and is free from a number of cat and dog diseases. To ensure this continues, animals entering the country have to undertake a period of quarantine on arrival. Once the animals arrive at the quarantine stations, they will be checked and weighed.

A new PEQ facility in Mickleham, Victoria contacted A&D Weighing requesting a simple method to weigh incoming animals, primarily dogs, at their kennels rather than bringing them into a building, to avoid cross contamination and possible infections.

Their requirements were:

• To quickly and accurately weigh animals whilst they are on the trolley.
• In cases where the animal may be aggressive, it should be possible to weigh the animal whilst they are secured in a cage.
• The weighing solution needed to be able to weigh animals in extra large cages.

The SD-200 trolley scale is fully portable and easy to manoeuvre, making it convenient to be moved around as and when needed. Its sturdy construction also allows it to handle large cages and heavy animals.

Animals don’t usually stay still whilst being weighed, which is why it is important to use a highly stable portable trolley scale. The SD-200 scale comes with a battery operated LCD display that is clearly visible, which means quarantine officers will be able to get the weight measurements quickly.

As the facility needed a scale to accommodate larger animal cages, this meant that a larger weighing surface than the normal SD-200 would be needed. As such, A&D manufactured an extra large stainless steel platform to suit.

A&D Weighing is proud to be part of this project and to be able to assist in a customised weighing solution.

Grain sampling stations are located in some of the most remote locations on earth, so on-site technical support and downtime contingencies can be a costly affair. With valuable and sensitive instrumentation centric to the sampling process, technicians have to be diligent and well trained to ensure long term reliability is achieved.

Unfortunately, from time to time “Accidents Happen” and the simplest of mistakes can lead to large repair costs and extended down-time, exacerbated by the remote location of grain sampling labs. Aside from an accidental “coffee spill”, the dusty nature of grain labs play havoc with electronic instruments. Once fine dust starts to build on circuitry, it’s only a matter of time before performance is compromised.

A&D’s precision balances mitigate many of these risks by having IP-65 dust and moisture ingress protection on their legal-for-trade FZ-WP balance range. Historically, adding this level of protection to a 1mg or 10mg weighing instrument results in significant cost increases over non dust/waterproof versions. A&D Japan’s R&D division has changed that situation with the FZ-WP with pricing actually lower than past models used in the grain industry. These precision models are already popular, with over 200 units deployed to grain sites in the last 24 months. A&D have added a square weighing pan as a specific add-on to suit grain testing requirements, and have approval certification from the National Measurement Institute in Sydney (NMI cert. 6/4C/269) ensuring legal compliance with Weight’s & Measures regulations. A&D report that their short but effective YouTube video tells the simplest of stories and creates significant interest for this new level of protection in precision weighing instruments.

The desorption kit consists of a quick-latching Camlock canister and water reservoir connected by some tubing. A sample of material from which gas is evolving is placed in a sample holder which, in turn, is placed in the body of the canister. The camlock lid is locked in place, and the accumulating gas increases pressure inside the water reservoir. Water is displaced and collects in a beaker for estimation of produced gas volume.

Gas may be produced at varying rates and gas expulsion trends could be a critical part of a project – a technician may be required to monitor and record the displaced water volume at high rates of expulsion, which can be a demanding and restrictive task. The ideal solution would be to include equipment that can accurately measure gas production and send data directly to a laptop or data logger. In this example here, A&D can provide that solution and significantly help to save time and effort.

A beaker placed on the weigh pan allows the scale to measure the increasing weight of water, and stream data directly to your laptop via RS232 or USB cable. In this application, our software allows the user to set the preferred acquisition rate.

This type of solution can be applied in the resources industry with coal seam methane and unconventional gas exploration being prime candidates. Samples of fresh coal, drill cuttings or sidewall cores can desorb gas at measurable rates and the displaced water (mL) is a close approximation to the evolved gas volume (cc).

The kits are portable, straight-forward to use and disassemble for transport if necessary. The range of A&D scales complement the kits and allow the operator freedom to perform other duties rather than visually document the produced volumes. For a setup like this, you can use the EW-i Series Portable Triple Range balances, which can be approved for trade in accordance the National Measurement Institute of Australia.

A&D Weighing were proud to support Gould Instruments (one of our long term Dealers based in Townsville, QLD) to develop a solution to help ensure the weighing accuracy of shipping boxes at RAAF Townsville.

The primary objectives were clear:

• Supply a weighing solution that can weigh bulky shipping boxes up to 3T.
• The scale needs to have a low profile footprint of 2.5m x 1.5m.
• The scale needs to be robust and suited to the outdoors.

Our A&D engineering team went to work and designed a low profile, three tonnes capacity pallet scale manufactured from galvanised steel to withstand demanding outdoor conditions. This scale is then simply connected to an elevated waterproof indicator where weighing measurements can easily be seen by the operator.

This is another example of A&D Australasia continuing to provide high-quality weighing solutions to industries in Australia and New Zealand.

When it comes to commercial weighing equipment, there may be plenty of fish in the sea, but world-class processing solutions is a far rarer catch.

The achievements Lakes Entrance Fishermen’s Co-operative have accomplished is a great success for the seafood industry and we love sharing our clients’ stories…

The Company

In 2014, A&D Weighing commenced work with the Lakes Entrance Fishermen’s Co-operative Ltd (LEFCOL), one of Australia’s largest fish receivers located in Eastern Victoria. The primary catch they receive is Eastern School Whiting, a lesser known relation of King George Whiting. LEFCOL receives about one third of the national school whiting catch, which totals 1200 to 1300 tonnes per annum, and are now developing commercial quantities of value-added products.

The Challenge

The huge volumes at hand would need to be matched with custom filleting equipment, which LEFCOL had managed to source successfully. However, the job was far from complete. LEFCOL first needed to procure a custom grading system to grade the huge volumes of whiting they were receiving each day.

During their research, LEFCOL found that existing seafood feed-in technology was far too expensive and didn’t work effectively in sorting fish with a variation in size of almost 70% (from 15-25cm long). They needed an automated system that was not only accurate, but fast and capable of grading thousands of fish each day.

The A&D Weighing Solution

By gaining an intimate knowledge of the nature of LEFCOL’s operations, we were able to design and manufacture a custom checkweigher specially optimised to grade the whiting they were receiving, factoring in everything from their size and shape, to variations in their firmness during winter and summer.

The A&D EZI-Check checkweighers have fast moving conveyor belts which can quickly capture the weights to within one gram. Air jets triggered by the weights then sort the fish into predetermined categories – currently four, with options for up to six. Depending on the weight category they fall into, fish can either be sold for bait or pet food, set aside for automatic filleting, or sold fresh to domestic wholesale markets.

The Result

Thanks to A&D Weighing’s custom checkweigher and other complimentary processing equipment, LEFCOL can now grade up to 200 fish per minute. Not only are they able to get the whiting from net to plate faster and fresher than ever before, the checkweigher’s ultra-precise measurements encourages fishermen to catch and target larger fish. This allows LEFCOL to generate better profits from the fish they process, while smaller fish are given a chance to grow.

There’s no doubting it, A&D Weighing equipment is the reel deal. If you’re in the market for weighing equipment specially customised to your product, get in touch today.

When you taste the beautiful sweet tomatoes that Phuong & Van Le grow at their family farm 40km north of Adelaide, you can tell they put their heart & soul into what they do.  Sweet, bright & bursting with flavour, their advanced glasshouse facility produces some of the best tomatoes you will ever taste and it’s no surprise they have been on our supermarket shelves for several years.  Phuong is a natural green-thumb and when he’s not focussing on their commercial crops, he’s keenly nurturing his hobby plants in the form of Asian family favourites like Bitter Melon & Custard Apple.

Running a major glasshouse facility is a massive task, especially with a young family.  Phuong & Van know that having the right processing & measuring systems in place is paramount to success.  Three years ago when they were undertaking a rapid expansion, Phuong was one of the first people in Australia to invest in A&D’s EZICheck™ inline weighing system and it has served them well; automatically checking and recording hundreds of thousands of punnets, ensuring only optimal weights leave the premises.

When it comes to weighing equipment there is a lot of choice out there and Phuong sums it up when he says “we don’t buy scales, we invest in peace of mind and A&D delivers just that”.  Reliability is a given with any Japanese equipment but with A&D it’s the combination of simple, efficient & reliable technology with local advice & backup whenever you need it. 

In the last few years, A&D have now installed over 300 Checkweighing & metal detection systems across Australia into companies both large & small.  If you’d like to see one of these systems first hand then get in touch with your local A&D office or Authorised Partner.  A system can be brought straight to your site for an in-depth test & analysis.

A&D Australasia’s Inspection Systems Division was recently approached by Reynolds Group Ltd, one of New Zealand’s leading suppliers of complete end-of-line solutions for the manufacturing sector. Reynolds Group has an enviable reputation for delivering world-class industrial technology with complete, turn-key systems, so they expected nothing short of a premium solution.

The primary objectives were clear:

• Supply an end-of-line weighing system that can weigh 10kg of whole capsicums packed in reusable plastic crates or cardboard boxes.
• Intelligent storage of product information with easy extraction for quality assurance.
• The checkweigher needs to easily integrate with existing established lines and equipment.
• System design needs to be robust with food grade stainless steel (easy to clean and maintain).
• System controls including the large colour touch screen interface needs to be user-friendly.

Using A&D Japan’s popular touch screen intelligent checkweighing controller, the A&D Australasia design team went to work to produce a high capacity checkweigher. The complete system – which consists of an infeed conveyor, weighing conveyor, control unit, and a push ram rejecter, has a throughput of over 30 pieces per minute with +/- 0.02kg accuracy.

This large capacity checkweigher was built, tested, inspected, delivered and training completed within budget and time-frame.

The benefits of this inspection system are significant:

• Real time monitoring of product weight deviations, and efficient weighing technology significantly increases the speed and precision of the entire production.
• Improves QA & QC reporting – able to record and store the weight of every product.
• Audio guidance support via the user-friendly touchscreen interface facilitates smooth production runs.
• Moderates overfilling and wastage to improve profit margins and reduce giveaways.
• Outstanding value for money and peace of mind.

This is an example of A&D Australasia continuing to provide high-quality inspection solutions to industries in Australia and New Zealand. Contact us to find out how we can help you with your requirements.

 

Maintaining the right amount of moisture content in fertilisers is very important to the grading and quality of the fertilisers. Issues can arise if the final product is either too wet or too dry and can lead to significant product quality issues.

Always looking to improve their processes, Neutrog – an organic fertiliser manufacturer based in South Australia, contacted A&D Weighing.

To start, a small sample from Neutrog’s production was collected and some preliminary tests were conducted by A&D Weighing Moisture Balance on these samples. The results of these tests and real-time graphing displays were then shared with Neutrog.

 

The key features of the A&D Moisture Analysers are:

• Fast and uniform heating
• Moisture content of up to 0.001% resolution can be measured
• High repeatability and various selectable heating modes available
• Five year warranty, and more

Based on the results of the preliminary tests, Neutrog purchased the A&D ML-50 moisture analyser, and are now able to analyse their organic products quickly and effectively, producing superior quality products.

A&D Weighing is an Australian leader in the supply of electronic weighing scales, balances, metal detectors, checkweighers and analytical equipment. Browse our website to view our full range of weighing equipment, as well as many other products and services or contact us on 1800 241 343 today.

The Royal Adelaide Hospital (RAH) is Adelaide’s largest hospital with over 680 beds and will become even larger once construction for Adelaide’s new health and biomedical precinct is completed. Recently, A&D were engaged by the RAH to provide a custom weighing solution for weighing heavy liquids, waste products and general goods.

Reviewing RAH’s requirements and utilising our weighing expertise, the engineering team designed a scale ramp that would provide the following benefits:

• Heavy objects can be weighed quickly and accurately
• Minimise the chance of injury to hospital staff
• Have a suitable size footprint to fit in the designated area of the hospital

The platform ramp scale has a large capacity of 3000kg x 1kg and is manufactured from heavy duty stainless steel for easy cleaning and durability. The ramp is also angled at 7 degrees incline to ensure minimal chance of the liquid drums tipping over or spilling.

This is another example of A&D’s weighing innovation and we are proud to be a part of this success story with yet another inventive weighing solution.

A&D Weighing – Specialists in Australian weighing equipment & weight scales, have teamed up with the Royal Adelaide Hospital to design a custom made in-ground bed scale. Medical treatments requiring patient’s weight to be correctly measured on a regular basis has increased in demand in recent years, and for many patients who have movement and mobility restrictions, this weighing process has always posed a challenge for both the patient and medical staff.

Making the process easier, A&D weighing has manufactured a 2m x 1.5m recessed platform scale that is able to seamlessly fit into the designated area of the hospital and has a high weighing capacity of 1 tonne. This heavy duty steel scale is easy to operate and is connected to an A&D AD-4406 indicator for fast and easy patient readings.

With this new scale, Hospital staff can safely and easily wheel the hospital beds into position causing minimal discomfort to patients.

A&D Weighing is an Australian leader in the supply of electronic weighing scales, balances, metal detectors, checkweighers and weighing systems. To discover our full range of weighing equipment, as well as many other products and services, browse our website or contact us on 1800 241 343 today.

Recently we were contacted to assist in the research of one of Australia’s biggest pests – Collingwood Supporters. OK; Cane Toads!

Cane toads are regarded as a prototypical case of a feral species (others being rabbits, foxes, cats) and are considered a major threat to our Australian ecology as the species has dispersed very effectively throughout Northern Australia over a short period of time.

The long-term effects of cane toads on the Australian environment can be difficult to determine, however some effects include the depletion of native species that die eating cane toads; the poisoning of pets and humans; depletion of native fauna preyed on by cane toads; and reduced prey populations for native insectivores, such as skinks.

Emily Gregg a researcher from Melbourne University contacted A&D Weighing as her research team needed to investigate water loss and water uptake in toads to better understand how the toads can survive in such varying environments and habitats. It is hoped that this research into the study of the cane toad’s survival will assist in vital further management of this invasive species.

Emily and her team are conducting field work with live moving toads so she requires a scale that can quickly measure weight, is light and portable, and that she can easily tare for accurate results. Our A&D HT Series scale is ideal for the job.

Below is a photo of Emily and her supervisor Reid Tingley carrying out a typical check.

This is another example of A&D Weighing continuing to prove that economical, Australian supported solutions are a key resource for local industry.

A&D Weighing rose to the challenge to solve a problem for one of Australia’s favourite bakers Riviera Bakery recently.

Riviera Bakery have an existing batching system (not an A&D product) which they have had for many years. This batching system is used to load up the flour bins to help produce the freshly baked loaves and rolls delivered across Australia every day.

However with Riviera Bakery’s popularity increasing and their volumes and variety of baked goods expanding, Riviera’s productivity was restricted by their slow batching system which could only store pre-set target weights to batch out the preselected amount of flour.

Riviera Bakery’s objectives were clear:

• Required a simple, effective food grade solution.
• Needed to fill the hopper with accurate measurements of flour depending on what product and what product quantity they were looking to create (up to 100+ blend combinations).
• Required a fast and variable target setting method that their operators could easily dial up.

The A&D Weighing team inspected the existing batching system and was quickly able to deliver a solution within budget and time-frame. A&D replaced the existing controller on Riviera’s batching system with a new control cabinet. The control cabinet included an AD4401 high performance batching indicator and large rotary dials. Now the operators can simply dial variable target settings for each flour batch required.

Additionally inside the control cabinet, there are smaller rotary dials for the manager to adjust the free fall value depending on required consistency and density of the flour in the storage hopper.

The benefits are significant and return on investment rapid:

• Faster, more efficient weighing process, releasing extra labour for other tasks
• Improved batch QA & QC – able to record gross batch weights and individual flour weights
• Locally designed & manufactured solution, easily supported by their local scale service provider

Most A&D scales, balances and weight indicators can be expanded in this way. A&D Weighing continue to prove that economical, Australian designed and manufactured solutions are a vital resource for local industry.

After all, if you don’t measure it, how can you control it?

A&D Australasia’s Weighing Division recently solved a problem for a large local plastics manufacturer based in Melbourne. This manufacturer produces scores of plastic pipeline for many high profile companies and projects which include: water and waste water plants, mining and mineral processing, food processing companies, power stations, hospitals, schools, and high rise developments just to name a few.

Being a leader in their industry and priding themselves on constantly improving their manufacturing processes to increase efficiencies whilst adhering to quality systems that conforms to Australian Standards, this manufacturer wanted to find a faster and more cost effective method of measuring the moisture content in their pellets of polypropylene plastic which is used to manufacture their plastic pipelines.

We were told that measuring moisture content particularly in the early stages of the manufacturing process was critical. If there is too much or too little moisture left in the pellets of polythene plastic after they have gone through the drying process, then the consistency of the moulded pipes could be weakened and could result in leaks in the pipes.

Looking to move away from their current time consuming titration method which often requires costly specialized equipment, the manufacturer purchased an A&D Advanced Moisture Balance with SRA (Secondary Radiation Assist) Technology and are now able to get accurate moisture content measurements in a much shorter time.

Some significant benefits achieved from A&D’s involvement:

• Faster and uniform moisture measurement with halogen lamp and innovative SRA technology.
• Huge cost savings because the customer no longer needed to purchase replacement specialised titration equipment.
• If required, live moisture data can be graphed to a PC using A&D’s WIN CT moisture software.
• Locally supported moisture analysers which can easily be serviced by their local scale service provider.

A&D Australasia continue to prove that economical, Australian designed and manufactured solutions are a vital resource for local industry now and into the future.

After all, “If you don’t measure it, how can you control it?”

A&D were proud to support GP Graders (one of Australia’s leading manufacturer of cherry sorting and packing machinery) to develop a solution to improve the cherry filling process for eight new production lines at Cherry Hill Orchards in the beautiful Yarra Valley.

The main objective was to carefully transfer the picked cherries into crates, whilst also ensuring even distribution into all of the various bag and box sizes during the filling process.

Together with GP Graders’ world leading food processing systems, we developed a reliable and intelligent solution incorporating our A&D high speed AD-4402 Batching indicator controller that allowed seamless, uniform distribution.

See the video below on how it all came together.

A&D’s powerful Multiweigher 3000 weight data suite has recently been implemented to capture the weights of tomato trusses growing in a new high-tech glasshouse just north of Adelaide.

With several Dutch automated process systems already in use at the glasshouse, A&D’s technical team were contacted to:

• Facilitate better weighing accuracy which aligns with Australian Weights & Measures Guidelines;
• To provide superior data capture intelligence compatible with the Dutch supplied equipment;
• To provide local service and technical support.

Reviewing the customer’s requirements and taking the new state of the art facility into consideration, A&D’s locally approved & supported weighing hardware and the A&D Multiweigher 3000 software package became the obvious solution.

Firstly, the A&D technical team installed replacement indicators (A&D’s FSi-D models) to the pre-pack lines and the truss production lines. These indicators were fitted with wireless serial data servers which transmit the data via the company’s wireless network to a designated PC. These integrated seamlessly with the existing loadcells, minimizing physical disruption.

The A&D Multiweigher 3000 software allows the customer to accurately monitor the tomato truss production lines; ensuring better measurement control of their production operations. The A&D Multiweigher package allows capture of all weights, not only from the newly implemented A&D scales, but also from the customer’s existing inline checkweighers.

Furthermore, A&D installed an optical counter at the end of the production lines to cross check the count data, validating the production accuracy all managed by the single and very cost effective software package.

 

Some significant benefits achieved from A&D’s involvement are:

• Waste reduction & minimised giveaways
• Improved cost savings / profits
• The facility to monitor operator efficiencies

A&D Australasia continue to prove that economical, Australian designed and manufactured solutions are a vital resource for local industry and are proud to continue to work with this SA tomato glasshouse facility to produce quality prime fruit now and into the future.

After all… “If you don’t measure it, you can’t control it”

A&D Weighing were recently contacted by one of Australia’s leading pasta manufacturers Alligator Brand, to help further improve their inspection process.

Alligator Brand has been manufacturing pasta in Melbourne’s inner west for over 20 years and is supplying quality product to over 300 businesses worldwide. As their client list continues to grow, Alligator Brand is constantly looking for ways to further improve their quality systems.
Alligator Brand is renowned for their premium quality products, so they expected a premium solution:

Superior metal detection system for food production line;

Local service and technical support.

A&D’s EZI-Check™ Metal Detector allows the customer to accurately control the quality output of their production lines to ensure they align with our high Australian industry standards.
The EZI-Check™ Metal Detector is Japanese designed to provide an exceptional level of performance, accuracy and reliability, and the compact frame ensures minimal factory space is taken up.
A&D Weighing is proud to provide Alligator Brand with the innovative EZI-Check™ Metal Detector, helping to protect the welfare of their customers, and to safeguard their production processes & reputation.

After all, “If you don’t measure it, you can’t control it”

To see the full library of EZI-Check™ Inspection videos, CLICK HERE

In a bid to control prisoners’ food consumption and to ensure overall nutritional balanced diets within the jail, a NSW prison recently requested our help to suggest a better way of achieving consistent food portions.

The current process saw the prison’s catering teams manually divide the daily food portions into approximate serving sizes without the aid of any significant measuring equipment. This process yielded inconsistencies with a few prisoners receiving either too much or too little food during meal service.

Working together with local A&D Platinum Partner Precision Calibration Services (PCS), we suggested the use of A&D’s FS-6Ki scales to achieve accurate measurement control of the daily food portions. We also introduced the A&D Multiweigher 3000 to determine which teams worked best together thus improving overall yield.

The solution was simple. Two FS-6Ki scales were set up at the portioning station in the central kitchen. The first FS-6Ki scale was used to weigh every portion to determine if too much or too little food was being served, and the second FS-6Ki scale was used to even out the inconsistencies.

The A&D Multiweigher 3000 was also integrated in the portioning process to capture and measure which teams worked best together to provide the greatest consistency and efficiency.

This is another example of A&D Australasia continuing to prove that economical, Australian designed and supported solutions are a key resource for local industry.

After all… “If you don’t measure it, you can’t control it”

Some people love them whilst others fear them, but how safe are amusement thrill rides?

Recently some of our A&D Techeng team based in Brisbane were called to support one of Australia’s most popular theme parks in Queensland.

A new amusement ride was purchased by the theme park to invigorate attendance numbers particularly with the school holidays coming. However before the amusement ride could be released to the most daring of thrill seekers, a rigorous risk assessment was performed. This assessment is carried out on all new and existing rides to ensure all safety guidelines are met in accordance to Workplace Health and Safety Act 1995 (QLD) and AS 4024.1-2006 – Safety of Machinery.

In this instance, the risk assessment found the thrill ride did not fully comply with compulsory safety requirements so our engineers where sought out to advise on possible solutions to improve the safety rating of the new amusement purchase.

The requirements were reviewed and A&D Techeng found the optimal way to meet safety category ratings of CAT 3 and CAT 4, was to install an Allen Bradley CompactGuard PLC with safety IO on Ethernet/IP and category rated switches.

A&D Techeng used the risk assessment to map out the electrical design (CAD), program the PLC, manage the electrical installation and commission the ride. The PLC was an ideal solution as it is used to monitor safety measures as well as being able to perform control functions for the amusement ride.

Once the thrill ride was upgraded with the appropriate changes, the ride was then re-evaluated to ensure that the requirements of the risk assessment were achieved.

With the safety of the amusement ride now successfully validated, we are sure this new exciting thrill ride will get even the most well-seasoned thrill seekers’ hearts racing. We thank the theme park team for choosing us to be part of this successful project.

A&D Weighing recently solved a problem for an Australian strawberry grower based in WA, with customised, NMI trade approved bench scales that significantly improved the efficiency of their packing processes. This strawberry grower supplies hundreds of tonnes of berries to retail supermarkets each year and is renowned for their premium strawberries, so they expected a premium solution. The Objectives were clear:

• Improve packing process for packing staff of 30+.
• Need to accurately weigh out 250g punnets accurately and quickly.
• Need NMI trade approved scales to meet Australian and Retail legislative requirements.
• Robust portable bench scales with easily readable displays and comparator functionality.

The A&D Weighing design team went to work to enhance the standard A&D EW-i bench scales with custom modifications to support the most efficient packing process possible. The scales were assembled, tested, inspected and delivered within budget and time-frame. Now the packing operators simply turn on their scales and with the aid of the bright comparator lights prompting the packers to when the target punnet weight is met/over/under, they fill their punnets. The punnets are then boxed and ready to be delivered. Next step – super sweet, fresh strawberries at your local supermarket! The benefits are significant and return on investment rapid:

• More efficient & intelligent weighing process, releasing extra labour for other tasks.
• Added peace of mind that scales are trade approved by NMI Weights & Measures to align with QA processes.
• Identifies trends & errors in real-time to reduce unnecessary giveaway and wastes.
• Improved batch QA & QC – system can further be expanded to allow full data capture & reporting.
• Locally designed solution, easily supported by their local scale service provider.

A&D Weighing also ensured a “future-proof” system by utilising scales that would easily allow the client to add wireless scale weight communication directly to their production PC if ever required. Most A&D scales, balances and weight indicators can be expanded in this way. This is another example of A&D Australasia continuing to prove that economical, Australian designed and supported solutions are a vital resource for local industry and are proud to continue to work with this WA strawberry grower to produce quality prime fruit & berries now and into the future. After all, “If you don’t measure it, you can’t control it”

Diners and restaurants are becoming more adventurous with culinary fare, and in the last few years we have witnessed a rise in demand for game meat in Australia as well as overseas.

Making increasingly regular appearances on our menus are: kangaroo meat, rabbit meat, emu, and boar just to name a few. So with demand on the rise, a well-known and highly respected game meat processing company called upon A&D Techeng’s services to help improve their existing game meat tracking process, and to ensure they continue to deliver quality game meat of the highest standard to our domestic market as well as overseas.

The customer’s objectives were clear:

• Facilitate better tracking of the animal from the truck to the cool room.
• Improve the current process of recording stock with greater accuracy and efficiency.
• Devise a catchment operating system for any barcodes that require manual recording.

Reviewing the customer’s requirements with the assistance of A&D Partner Able Scales in Brisbane, and using barcode scanners, Schneider SCADA & HMI System, Allen Bradley Micrologix, A&D Weighing’s IP65 AD-4407 indicator with analogue output option, and utilising existing A&D overhead-track OHT-600 scales, the team were able to design and implement an innovative system that can easily read, record and sort information quickly and easily.

The system registers the shooter ID tag and the weight of the animal using the digits on the barcode (the barcode primarily identifies the type of animal, site reference, the shooter), and additional information regarding the truck number, the date, and time is also collated into a CSV file for further accounting and reporting requirements. If any barcodes are not readable/visible in the tag reading area, then the animal is automatically diverted to an alternative weighing station where manual entry is performed.

The benefits are significant and return on investment rapid:

• Faster and more intelligent weighing process, releasing extra labour for other tasks.
• An efficient recording and tracking process that requires less time to complete.
• Added peace of mind with improved accuracy and recording capabilities.
• Improved batch QA & QC reporting and accounting.

This is another example of A&D Australasia continuing to prove that economical, Australian designed and manufactured solutions are a vital resource for local industry.
After all, “If you don’t measure it, you can’t control it”

One of Australia’s largest family owned producer, packer and marketer of fresh produce has a reknowned reputation for quality and consistency, and are always seeking new and innovative methods to raise the bar.

As part of their rigorous QA program, they identified scope for improvement in their mushroom picking operations.
With state of the art spawn laboratories and the latest in growing environment measurement and control, they identified an opportunity to move away from their current process of manually recording the pick weights, adopting a more effective method of automatically logging weight data during the picking stage.

Utilising A&D Australasia’s waterproof FS-15Ki trade approved scales with RS232 serial output, local A&D Australasia partner Able Scales implemented a precise and cost effective method of automatically capturing every finalised pack weight and was easily integrated into the company’s own grading software.

With one simple button press, the pickers are able to log weight, time and date and the information is directly fed into the customer’s grading system for further processing.

The Objectives are significant:

• Logging the data facilitates accurate weight records, reducing operator error.
• With payment based on picking productivity, digital data capture eliminates potential disputes.
• By allocating logged data to specific pickers, the company is able to monitor productivity rates by batch and by individual operator.
• Systems are easily supported by their local scale service provider.

Not resting on their laurels, these leaders in the fresh produce space continue to establish best practice and innovation; maximising yields and reducing costs, whilst maintaining the highest quality standards. A&D Australasia were proud to be a key part of this success story with yet another innovative weighing solution.

Webstar are one of Australia’s leaders in the print media space and have forged a reputation for unrivalled flexibility, quality and reliability. They print more than 150 magazine titles, catalogues and corporate publications each month. Always seeking productivity improvement opportunities, A&D Australasia were called upon to assist Webstar in devising and implementing an effective and reliable method to reduce overprint in some titles, i.e. make sure print runs were consistently closer to targets thus reducing waste in materials, energy and manual effort.

Reviewing Webster’s requirements, A&D Australasia utilised their unique skill set of Automation Engineering and Weighing Instrument Manufacturing to take on the challenge.

“If you can’t measure it, you can’t control it” is the mantra at the heart of A&D’s process improvement philosophies. Utilising a precision compact balance to set initial sample weights and a SCADA package custom-built by A&D TechEng, output weights were then tracked on a larger 2000kg scale with real-time feedback to the main system. Improvements to the commercial print operations were instant.

Aside from the customised Electrical Engineering design by A&D TechEng, this project was rolled out using “off the shelf” A&D Weighing instruments and the local expertise & support of A&D Platinum Partner Precision Calibration Services (PCS).

With their local know-how and responsiveness, PCS are able to support this system with ease, providing the client with complete peace of mind.

• A&D EK Compact Precision Balance facilitates accurate sample weights for initial setup, reducing irregularities with insert materials.
• A&D3000 2000kg Pallet Scale (proudly made in Australia) monitors the final mass output, eliminating the time and variance associated with manual counts.
• A&D TechEng SCADA solution delivers easy operator interface and management feedback.
• PCS provide local service and calibration support to keep it all running smoothly.

A&D Australasia were proud to be a key part of this success story with yet another innovative weighing solution.

A&D Australasia’s Weighing Division recently solved a problem for local boutique coffee blender and roaster Veneziano Coffee, with a customised, portable weigh hopper that reduced OH&S risks and significantly improved their blending process.
Veneziano are renowned for their premium coffee so they expected a premium solution.

Weighing Hopper Solution Objectives were clear:

• Had to take the blending hopper to the 50kg sacks of imported raw beans – not the other way round (they don’t share our OH&S standards in places like Guatemala & Kenya – boy are those sacks heavy!)
• Needed to accurately add small and large amounts (within 50g accuracy) to create up to 400kg blends.
• Hopper was to be fully portable with battery or mains powered weight system on board.
• Robust design from Food Grade Stainless Steel with oversize wheels

The A&D Weighing design team went to work and the system was built, tested, inspected, delivered and training completed within budget and time-frame. Now the operators simply wheel the hopper to each pallet of raw beans, add the required amount to the hopper weigh scale, tare the A&D AD4406 controller before adding the next ingredient and so-on until the batch is completed. The hopper weigh scale is then wheeled into position under the vacuum pipe that extracts the beans up into the roaster.

Next step – a fresh Veneziano Espresso!

The benefits are significant and return on investment rapid:

• Lower OH&S risk from carrying heavy sacks
• Faster, more efficient weighing process, releasing extra labour for other tasks
• Improved batch QA & QC – able to record gross batch weights and individual ingredient weights
• Locally designed & manufactured solution, easily supported by their local scale service provider

They also ensured a “future-proof” system by utilising a Weighing controller that would easily allow the client to add wireless scale weight communication directly to their production PC if ever required. Most A&D scales, balances and weight indicators can be expanded in this way. A&D Weighing continue to prove that economical, Australian designed and manufactured solutions are a vital resource for local industry.