Concrete Products covers the issues that attract producers of ready mixed and manufactured concrete focusing on equipment and material technology, market development and management topics.
Issue link: http://concrete.epubxp.com/i/114208
INNOVATIONS REPORT DISPATCH SYSTEMS DRIVE MIXER FLEET COSTS DOWN Efficiency in ready mixed delivery can be greatly improved through computerized dispatch; i.e. loads are shipped on time with the right mixes/admixtures; truck utilization is improved thus reducing plant and truck costs, according to San Antonio-based Ace-Co, one of the technology suppliers noted here. A more effective truck loading schedule will increase users' ability to meet daily production as well as showing where a dispatcher can add "that one more load." With an appropriately scaled system, Ace-Co notes, order entry becomes more intuitive and streamlined; operational information is provided real-time to aid in management's decision making for ever changing job/plant conditions; interface to mapping software gives the driver exact knowledge of where the job is located; truck utilization tools provide greater productivity with fewer trucks required to meet the production/delivery demand; interface to GPS/truck signaling equipment lets users know at a glance a truck's present location and status and timing of next status; and, plant production rates are not exceeded or over extended. ACE-CO Company's dispatch system can show where variables like delivery costs and overhead can be lessened and how they affect profit margin (spread) in a ready mixed operation. Its dispatch technology allows management to shrink trucking costs (number of trucks efficiently used in the operation for that day); decrease delivery costs (load the truck at the nearest plant to the jobsite); determine actual material costs (gauge a plant's accuracy, up-to-theminute usage, i.e. cement costs); cut overhead (fewer employees/trucks required for that day's production needs); reduce labor, better manage production orders, decrease truck requirements, and improve plant productivity with fewer personnel; accurately see profitability real-time and where staff can improve; help make staff more efficient in decision making; and, increase cash flow by enabling faster and more accurate invoicing. Screen displays indicate graphically order, plant production and truck status, and trucks available at a glance for Command Alkon 40 | MARCH 2013 Ace-Co quick decision-making (move/release trucks for better coverage, daily loads going out using fewer trucks, desired load times not exceeding plant production rate). A Truck Tracking screen displays the trucks hauling to each job, the current truck status and how long that truck has been in that status as well as the expected time to the next status change. The Job List provides the dispatcher the progress and status of each job including next load time, quantity ordered, quantity on the road and quantity delivered. The Plant Demand screen provides the order taker with how many trucks will be needed at serviceable intervals as well as future truck requirements and plant demand. — 800/676-4111; www.ace-co.com COMMAND ALKON All of the costs and constraints that go into making the "perfect" dispatch decision every minute of the day are not suited to the human mind. But the company's Dispatch Optimization technology can reduce delivery costs by rapidly planning and rescheduling truck assignments as the day progresses. These reductions in delivery cost dollars per load add up to significant savings at the day's end. And, when users start multiplying the cost of a "less than perfect" decision to yearly yardage, they can quickly realize the overall benefit of Dispatch Optimization. — 205/879-3282; www.commandalkon.com WWW.CONCRETEPRODUCTS.COM