Materials Handling
Many companies deploy inventory policies that maintain a minimum stock over a set period of time. These minimum inventory levels cushion against demand spikes and supply disruptions.
of volume measurement in a wide range of inventory environments, acoustic volume mapping technology can decrease carrying costs of safety stock. Furthermore, by reducing average inventory levels, utilisation of existing storage space can be further optimised, allowing for additional capacity to increase production.
Reducing labour costs Implementing acoustic volume mapping eliminates the need for manual volume measurement, which is the case in a variety of bulk solids and powders inventory scenarios where traditional process level instrumentation is used currently. For example, if one manual volume measurement is taken every day in each of two silos, it would take two man-hours per day, or 730 man-hours per year. Assuming a cost of €15 per hour for a technician to perform this function, the annual labour cost would equal €10,950. Acoustic volume mapping’s ability to
provide automated real-time measurement removes this cost entirely.
Fig. 4. Acoustic volume mapping’s ability to provide automated real-time measurement removes the cost of manual volume measurement.
If real inventory drops below the minimum without being measured as such, the chance of stock-out is higher than the supply chain was designed for. To avoid this situation, the minimum inventory
level is inflated by the maximum possible positive measurement error, guaranteeing that any stock-outs are not due to measurement error. This scenario of overcompensating with higher levels
of safety stock clearly illustrates the disadvantages of imprecise level instrumentation technologies applied to the task. Therefore, better awareness of inflows, outflows, and
current stock levels would allow companies to reduce required safety stock, while protecting them against supply chain changes and loss of inventory while providing greater accuracy in reporting bulk material assets.
Decreased carrying stocks With its ability to significantly improve the accuracy
40
www.engineerlive.com events). CONTOUR works with almost every solid and
bulk powder material, such as coal, cement, sand, aggregates, fly ash, chemicals, fertilisers, food, grain and plastic pellets. In addition to bins and silos, the systems allow
measuring in previously difficult-to-measure vessels or containers, such as bunkers, hoppers, pits, open bins, bulk storage rooms and warehouses. Magnetrol manufactured the first liquid level switch
to accurately and safely detect motion of liquid in boilers and feedwater systems. The company was also responsible for introducing
the first pneumatic valve controller, supporting the growth of the nuclear power industry with new standards in safety and performance. ■
For more information ✔ at
www.engineerlive.com/epe
Katrien Geerinckx is with Magnetrol International, Zele, Belgium.
www.contour.magnetrol.com
Additional benefits A number of qualitative benefits arise from moving to the precise volumetrics of acoustic volume mapping, resulting in a holistic inventory management solution. Among them are more accurate accounting, better awareness of yields, and alerts to unexpected inventory changes (as can be experienced from theft or damaging
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