LC-1000/ LC-2000 Loadout Manual
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TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction... 1 Quick Start...3 Start Up Copyright Screen...5 Program Navigation...7 Main Operating Screen...9 HOT KEYS...9 TRUCK...9 NET...9 GROSS...9 DROPS... 11 JOB... 11 CUSTOMER... 11 SILO / SCALE... 11 MATERIAL... 11 WEIGH IN / WEIGH OUT OPTIONS... 11 Loading Truck Scale... 15 ALT-L AUTOMATIC LOADING... 15 Messages... 17 ALT-M MANUAL TICKET... 19 Loading Reverse Weigh Silo... 21 ALT-L AUTOMATIC LOADING... 21 Messages... 23 ALT-M MANUAL TICKET... 25 Loading Weigh Batcher...29 ALT-L AUTOMATIC LOADING... 29 Messages... 31 ALT-M MANUAL TICKET... 33 Loading Pup Trucks All Systems...35 Low Silo Bypass...37 Material Flow Errors...39 Aborted Loads... 41 l F1-Lists...43 HELP... 43 TRUCK LIST... 43 CUSTOMER LIST... 43
JOB LIST... 45 SILO CONTENTS... 45 MATERIAL LIST... 45 CUSTOMER COMMENTS... 45 TICKET LIST... 45 REPORT MENU... 47 UTILITY MENU... 47 ESC... 47 SYSTEM SHUTDOWN... 47 m F2-Context Sensitive List... 49 n F3-Ticket List... 51 CORRECTION TICKETS... 51 CASH TICKETS... 51 HAND-GENERATED TICKETS... 53 DITTO TICKET... 53 FIND TICKET... 53 PRINT TICKET... 55 DISPLAY TICKET... 55 o F4-Utility Menu... 57 UNRESOLVED TICKETS... 57 WEIGH IN / OUT MODE... 57 LOADOUT MODE... 57 CHANGE POSTING DATE... 57 SELECT COPY MODE... 59 GATE CHECK... 59 SYSTEM SETUP... 59 Loading Setup... 63 Ticket Setup... 67 Software Setup... 69 FILE MAINTENANCE... 75 Archiving Tickets... 75 Erasing Lists... 75 REPORT MENU... 77 PRINT TRUCK LIST... 77 PRINT JOB LIST... 77 PRINT CUSTOMER LIST... 77 BACKUP TO DISKETTE... 77 RESTORE FROM DISKETTE... 79 TRAINING MODE / RESUME LOADOUT MODE... 79 EXIT PROGRAM... 81 ESC... 81 p F5-Unresolved Tickets... 83 q F6-Weigh In / Out or LoadOut... 85 r F7-System Shutdown... 89
s F8-Comments... 91 t F9-Cash Sale...93 u F10-Fill / Empty Inventory Pictograph...95 F11-Copy Mode...97 F12-Tare a Truck...99 Hand-Generated Tickets...101 Electronic Data Transfer RedRover... 103 Sleep Mode... 105 Troubleshooting... 107 LC-1000/ LC-2000 Database Formats...111 STRUCTURE FOR DATABASE: TICKET.DBF... 112 Explanation of fields in TICKET.DBF... 113 STRUCTURE FOR DATABASE: TRUCK.DBF... 118 Explanation of fields in TRUCK.DBF... 118 STRUCTURE FOR DATABASE: JOB.DBF... 120 Explanation of fields in JOB.DBF... 120 STRUCTURE FOR DATABASE: CUSTOMER.DBF... 122 Explanation of fields in CUSTOMER.DBF... 122 STRUCTURE FOR DATABASE: MIXES.DBF... 123 Explanation of fields in MIXES.DBF... 123 STRUCTURE FOR DATABASE: SILOS.DBF... 124 Explanation of fields in SILOS.DBF... 124 STRUCTURE FOR DATABASE: SCALES.DBF... 126 Explanation of fields in SCALES.DBF... 126 Index... 128 Jog Gate Addendum... 131
INTRODUCTION An LC-2000 Material Loading Computer is a hardware/software system used to: Automatically load asphalt from a single silo onto trucks Maintain silo inventory Perform weigh-in/weigh-out (i.e., quarry) operations Maintain ticket, job, customer, truck, and material databases Transmit databases to/from another computer via a modem An LC-1000 Material Loading Computer is an expanded version of the LC-2000 in that the software and hardware are capable of supporting up to 4 silos. Except for the number of silos, the operation of these programs is identical. Hereafter, the software and hardware for either an LC-1000 or an LC-2000 will be referred to collectively as the "LoadOut". The primary databases maintained by the LoadOut are: Ticket Job Customer Mixes Silos Truck Scales Comment The LoadOut has several other databases it uses for its own purposes. In particular, the Attributes database contains configuration data to customize the program for the customer's individual needs. The databases are in FoxPro 2.6 DBF format. Consequently, most accounting and spreadsheet programs can directly read them. The set of units used for the internal databases is English pounds (i.e., lbs.), dollars, and miles. Weighing indicators can be calibrated in any of several different measurement units, but the program will always convert the measurement internally to lbs. In addition, the operator may choose a third set of units for display and printing in which case the program will convert from lbs. to the operator s choice. VER A60426 Page 1
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QUICK START To load a truck and generate a ticket, follow these steps: Enter a truck in the truck field by typing in a number or selecting it from the truck list If the job should be different from the one shown in the job field, enter a job in the job field by typing in a number or selecting it from the job list because customers are tied to jobs, the customer will automatically be selected If the material in the silo is different from the one shown in the material field, type in the material name or select another from the material list The program will perform internal checks to verify that loading can proceed. When the program is ready, (Alt-L)oad will be displayed in the bottom center of the screen. Otherwise, this area will display a message indicating the problem that needs attention. While holding down the a key, press the L key to begin the load. When the load completes, the ticket is printed and saved to the internal ticket database, the loading horn will sound if enabled, and the cursor will return to the truck field making the program ready for the next load. VER A60426 Page 3
Fig. 1 (above) Fig. 2 (below) VER A60426 Page 4
START UP COPYRIGHT SCREEN When the program first starts, it performs several initialization and configuration procedures. During this time, the copyright screen as shown in Fig. 1 will be displayed. If it is necessary to adjust configuration parameters, press any alpha key while the copyright screen is displayed. After a short delay, the configuration password screen will appear as shown in Fig. 2. If you are authorized to make configuration changes, type the password where indicated. Refer to the Software Setup section regarding configuration changes that can be made. After the changes have been accepted, the program will restart and re-display the copyright screen. SPECIAL NOTE Pressing the al keys while the copyright screen is displayed invokes an internal version of the FIELDMOD utility (included in your installation directory) from which Attribut.DBF can be modified. VER A60426 Page 5
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PROGRAM NAVIGATION To move between fields on the main screen, use the w and y keys. When the cursor is flashing in an input field, simply type in the truck, job, or material desired or press m. The m key brings up the list associated with the field the cursor resides in. For example, if the cursor is in the material field, pressing the m key brings up the materials list. A selection can then be made from the list. Many of the screens in the program require that you make a selection from the displayed list. Use the following keystrokes to navigate through a list: Use w to move up one line Use y to move down one line Use {to move up one full screen Use } to move down one full screen Use g to go to the top of the list Use d to go to the bottom of the list Use e to accept the highlighted item Use ^ to close the list without changing the current selection In addition, many of the lists include options for adding, changing, deleting, etc., list entries. These are indicated at the bottom of the list. For example, the truck list shows (N)ew Truck to add a new truck. To add a truck, simply press N for the New Truck screen. From the Silos list, you can also add materials by pressing the M key. VER A60426 Page 7
Hot Keys Truck Field Gross Field Net Field Drops Field Job Field Fig.3a VER A60426 Page 8
MAIN OPERATING SCREEN A typical Main Operating Screen is shown in Figures 3a, 3b, and 3c. The Main Operating Screen is divided into ten distinct display areas: Hot Keys Hot keys along the top of the screen give the operator quick access to frequently used lists and menu functions. For example, as the operator moves the cursor through the data entry fields, the hot keys change to give the operator access to the underlying database associated with the particular field. Truck The truck area allows the operator to type the name of a truck in the truck database. If the truck exists, the remaining fields are automatically retrieved and entered. If the truck does not already exit, the truck list opens with the closest spelling highlighted. Net In LoadOut mode, the NET field contains the net amount that will be loaded onto the truck. This value comes from the truck database when a truck is selected. The operator can temporarily change the NET for the current load by typing in a different value, as long as the value does not exceed GROSS - TARE. With the cursor in the NET field, the operator can change to GROSS mode by typing a G character. In NET mode, the program will load the truck to the selected net weight. In GROSS mode, the program will load the truck up to the indicated gross weight of the truck, irrespective of the NET value. Gross The GROSS field contains the gross weight of the truck. This value comes from the truck database when a truck is selected. The operator cannot change the value here (use the TRUCK list to effect changes to GROSS). In LoadOut mode, the GROSS is the maximum weight the program will load onto the truck. Lesser amounts can be loaded if the NET field is less than GROSS. With the cursor in the GROSS field, the operator can change to NET mode by typing an N character. VER A60426 Page 9
Net Field Drops Field Job Field Figures 3a & 3b Weigh In / Weigh Out Options Customer Field Silo/Scale Field Material Field VER A60426 Page 10
Drops The DROPS field specifies the number of drops conducted to load the truck. This value also comes from the truck database when a truck is selected. The operator can temporarily change the value here for the current load (use the TRUCK list to effect permanent changes.) Job The JOB field specifies the job to which the load will be assigned. A job is always attached to a customer. When an existing job is typed in, both the job and the customer fields are completed. If the job does not exist in the database, the job list opens to the nearest spelling. The operator can make a selection or enter a new job. Customer The CUSTOMER field specifies to whom the load will be billed. Since every job must specify a customer, picking a job causes this field to be filled in automatically. Silo / Scale In LoadOut mode the silo is selected from the PLC via the console selector switch, if multiple silos exist. If only one silo exists, the cursor will not stop at this screen location because there is only one possible silo. Behind the scenes, the appropriate scale indicator will be selected automatically because every silo is assigned to the appropriate scale by software. In Weigh In/Weigh Out mode, the operator can choose a truck scale if multiple truck scales exist if only one truck scale exists, this field is bypassed. Material The material being loaded is displayed in this area. For a LoadOut system, the material automatically reflects the material in the selected silo. Typing in a different material changes the data in this field if the material already exists in the database. If the material does not exist, the material list opens to allow the operator to add a material. In Weigh In/Weigh Out mode, this field retains the value entered until the operator changes materials. Weigh In / Weigh Out Options This input area is only active when the system has a truck scale and the operator chooses Weigh In/Weigh Out mode (see q key). Otherwise, this area is overlaid with cash ticket or silo inventory information. The choices in this area consist of 3 mutually exclusive pairs: Material received in or material delivered out Cash transaction or credit transaction Use tare on file or defer tare When material is received into your inventory from a supplier, the received option should be selected otherwise when the material is delivered out of your inventory to a customer, the delivered option should be chosen. VER A60426 Page 11
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When the transaction is a cash transaction, the cash option should be chosen otherwise choose a credit transaction. If the truck tare is known at the time of a transaction, choose use tare. Choosing defer tare causes the ticket to be retained in an unresolved database and will not be printed until a tare is entered for the truck. The tare is entered by weighing the truck on the scale, using the tare from the database, or manually entering a tare value. See the discussion for the key regarding obtaining a truck tare. VER A60426 Page 13
Fig. 4 VER A60426 Page 14
LOADING TRUCK SCALE Enter the load information, starting with the Truck ID. Depending on which information copy mode is used (see F11 Copy Mode), typing the Truck ID in the truck id field and pressing ENTER may bring up Job and Customer information. If the Job ID is not the desired job for this load, type the correct Job ID in the job field. Next, make sure that the desired silo is selected to draw from (multiple silo systems only). Verify that the material shown on the screen is the material to load onto the truck. Rejected Material may not be loaded because it is a special category for those systems having a slat conveyor reject gate. Once all of the load information has been entered, the truck is on the scale, and other safety conditions have been met, the bottom area of the screen shows (Alt-L)oad Truck and (Alt- M)anual Ticket. To execute a cash ticket, press F9 before loading (see the section Cash Tickets). Alt-L Automatic Loading Verify that conditions are safe to load. Remove manual interlocks, such as opening the safety gate for the selected silo. Comments are special records stored in a separate Comments database. They can be used to flag special conditions that apply to certain customers (for example, credit limits). If a comment exists for the selected customer, a window will pop up displaying the comment and prompt the operator to press Y for yes to continue the load (see F8 Customer Comments). If N is selected, the program returns to the main screen without loading the truck. The system checks its safeties again and waits for a stable (no motion) weight from the weighing indicator. The silo gate opens and begins to drop the prescribed amount of material. After the proper amount has dropped, the system closes the silo gate and waits for a stable ending weight. A brief message appears on the screen indicating that the program is learning new values for the freefall and flow rate. In some cases, if circumstances prohibit learning new values (drop too small, for example), the message indicates why the program has bypassed this step. If the Horn After Batch (sec) setting in Loading Setup is greater than zero, the end-of-batch horn blows. On loads that require multiple drops if the value for Automatic Loading Delay in Loading Setup is greater than zero, that number of seconds is counted down and the next drop begins. If the value is zero, the operator must press al to begin each drop. After the load is completed, if the Horn Load Complete (sec) value is greater than zero, the horn blows. VER A60426 Page 15
Typical Before Load Message Location Fig 5 (above) Fig. 6 (below) Typical During Load Message Location VER A60426 Page 16
The ticket is saved to the hard drive in the computer and ticket(s) are printed if printer(s) are attached and enabled. Pressing and holding a and pressing the A causes the system software to abort the load as soon as it is able. CAUTION THIS IS NOT A SUBSTITUTE FOR A HARDWARE EMERGENCY STOP BUTTON! Use a properly wired hardware emergency stop to shut the silo gate in an emergency. Although aa will cause the software to attempt to shut the gate, in case of damage to or failure of system hardware, this might not happen fast enough to prevent bodily injury or property damage. Please see the section on aborted loads for more detail. Messages If any system safety or incomplete information on the loading screen is preventing the start of the load, messages will appear at the bottom of the screen. If any of the system safeties is triggered during a drop, the system will attempt to close the silo gate and a message will be displayed on the screen. The following table describes the messages, their causes, and a possible remedy: Message Cause Remedy BEFORE LOADING: Truck not defined No Truck ID has been entered Type Truck ID in Truck ID field Job not defined No Job ID has been entered Type Job ID in Job ID field Can t load rejected material Material in selected silo is Rejected Material Change material in selected silo Net too large Net weight requested for load is greater than the truck s maximum gross weight minus the tare weight for the truck Reduce the net weight for the load and/or increase the maximum gross weight allowed for the truck Too many drops Waiting for truck Net weight requested for the load divided by the requested number of drops is smaller than the Smallest Drop Weight safety setting Weight on scale is less than the Minimum Truck Weight safety setting Decrease number of drops Drive truck onto scale or reduce Minimum Truck Weight setting VER A60426 Page 17
First Step of a Manual Ticket Fig. 7 (above) Fig. 8 (below) Final Step of a Manual Ticket VER A60426 Page 18
Low Silo DURING LOADING: Waiting for stable weight (informational only not an error) Material flow error (see section on material flow errors) Truck moved off scale Low Silo Bindicator indicates a silo is almost empty Weighing indicator shows weight in motion Material stopped flowing before the system expected it to for the number of seconds in the Seconds Before Material Flow Error setting Weight on scale dropped by a large amount Use the Low Silo Bypass or wait for more material Wait for weight to stabilize, reduce time system waits for stable weight, check scale for instability or increase indicator filtering Fill silo, check silo gates, abort load or increase setting for Seconds Before Material Flow Error Drive truck back onto scale or abort load. Alt-M Manual Ticket If the load is too small to load accurately with the automatic system (for example, a pickup truck), material can still be loaded if the operator controls the silo gate manually. In manual mode, the program captures weights when instructed to do so by the operator. The operator controls the hardware from the manual panel controls. Pressing and holding a and pressing M prompts the operator to press the ENTER key to take the starting weight for the drop. After a stable starting weight is captured, the operator is prompted to load material onto the truck and press the ENTER key when done. A stable end weight is taken and the operator is given the choice to either load more material onto the truck or quit and generate a ticket. Using the arrow keys allows the different options to be selected. VER A60426 Page 19
Fig. 9 VER A60426 Page 20
LOADING REVERSE WEIGH SILO Enter the load information, starting with the Truck ID. Depending on which information copy mode is used (see F11 Copy Mode), typing the Truck ID in the truck id field of the screen and pressing ENTER may bring up Job and Customer information. If the Job ID is not the desired job for this load, type the correct Job ID in the job field. Next, make sure that the desired silo is selected to draw from (multiple silo systems only). Verify that the material shown on the screen is the material to load onto the truck. Rejected Material may not be loaded. Once all of the load information has been entered and other safety conditions have been met, the bottom area of the screen shows (Alt-L)oad Truck and (Alt-M)annual Ticket. To execute a cash ticket, press F9 before loading (see the section Cash Tickets). Alt-L Automatic Loading Verify that conditions are safe to load. Remove manual interlocks, such as opening the safety gate, for the selected silo. If a comment exists for the selected customer, a window will pop up with the comment and prompt the operator to press Y for yes to continue the load (see F8 Customer Comments). If N is selected, the program returns to the main screen without loading the truck. The system then waits for the gob hopper at the top of the silo to cycle open and closed. If the loadout system is controlling the gob hopper, it will immediately cause it to open for the prescribed amount of time, then close. The system checks its safeties again and waits for a stable (no motion) weight from the weighing indicator. The silo gate opens and begins to drop the prescribed amount of material. After the proper amount has dropped, the system closes the silo gate and waits for a stable ending weight. A brief message appears on the screen indicating that the program is learning new values for the freefall and flow rate. In some cases, if circumstances prohibit learning new values (drop too small, for example), the message indicates why the program has bypassed this step. If the Horn After Batch (sec) value in Loading Setup is greater than zero, the end-of-batch horn blows. On loads that require multiple drops, if the value for Automatic Loading Delay in Loading Setup is greater than zero, that number of seconds is counted down. The system waits for the gob hopper at the top of the silo to cycle open and closed, then the next drop begins. If the value is zero, the operator must press al to begin each drop. After the load is completed, if the Horn Load Complete (sec) value is greater than zero, the horn blows. The ticket is saved to the hard drive in the computer and ticket(s) are printed if printer(s) are attached and enabled. VER A60426 Page 21
Typical Before Load Message Location Fig. 10 (above) Fig. 11 (below) Typical During Load Message Location VER A60426 Page 22
Pressing and holding a and pressing the A causes the system software to abort the load as soon as it is able. CAUTION THIS IS NOT A SUBSTITUTE FOR A HARDWARE EMERGENCY STOP BUTTON! Use a properly wired hardware emergency stop to shut the silo gate in an emergency. Although aa will cause the software to attempt to shut the gate, in case of damage to or failure of system hardware, this might not happen fast enough to prevent bodily injury or property damage. Please see the section on aborted loads for more detail. Messages If any system safety or incomplete information on the loading screen is preventing the start of the load, messages will appear at the bottom of the screen. If any of the system safeties is triggered during a drop, the system will attempt to close the silo gate and a message will be displayed on the screen. The following table describes the messages, their causes, and a possible remedy: Message Cause Remedy Before loading Truck not defined No Truck ID has been entered Type Truck ID in Truck ID field Job not defined No Job ID has been entered Type Job ID in Job ID field Can t load rejected Material in selected silo is Change material in selected material Net too large Too many drops Silo < Drop Size Rejected Material Net weight requested for load is greater than the truck s maximum gross weight minus the tare weight for the truck Net weight requested for the load divided by the requested number of drops is smaller than the Smallest Drop Weight safety setting Silo doesn t contain enough material to make the current drop. silo Reduce the net weight for the load and/or increase the maximum gross weight allowed for the truck Decrease number of drops Wait for gob hopper to add enough material or reduce the net weight for the load VER A60426 Page 23
First Step of a Manual Ticket Fig. 12 (above) Fig. 13 (below) Final Step of a Manual Ticket VER A60426 Page 24
Low Silo During Loading Waiting for stable weight (informational only not an error) Small Drop Size Options Material flow error (see section on material flow errors) Gob hopper opened unexpectedly Silo is below the Minimum Silo Weight Weighing indicator shows weight in motion The next drop requires more material than the silo contains Material stopped flowing before the system expected it to for the number of seconds in the Seconds Before Material Flow Error setting Gob hopper opened while silo gate was open, causing possible weighing inaccuracy Use the Low Silo Bypass or wait for more material Wait for weight to stabilize, reduce time system waits for stable weight, check scale for instability or increase indicator filtering Wait for gob hopper to add enough material or reduce the net weight for the load Fill silo, check silo gates, abort load or increase setting for Seconds Before Material Flow Error The message is dismissed automatically, but to prevent inaccurate drops in the future, reduce Maximum Batch Weight setting, increase the number of drops, and/or increase the time the gob hopper is closed each cycle Alt-M Manual Ticket If the load is too small to load accurately with the automatic system (for example, a pickup truck), material can still be loaded if the operator controls the silo gate manually. In manual mode, the program captures weights when instructed to do so by the operator. The operator controls the hardware from the manual panel controls. The operator should pay particular attention to synchronizing manual drops with the gob hopper gates because dumping material from the gob hopper while the silo gates are open will corrupt the weight readings. VER A60426 Page 25
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Pressing and holding a and then pressing M prompts the operator to press the ENTER key to take the starting weight for the drop. If the system controls the gob hopper, it opens the gob hopper at this time; otherwise, it waits for the gob hopper to open and close. After a stable starting weight is captured, the operator is prompted to load material onto the truck and press the ENTER key when done. In order to get an accurate weight it is crucial that the operator closes the silo gates well before the gob hopper opens again. A stable end weight is taken and the operator is given the choice to load more material onto the truck or quit and generate a ticket. Using the arrow keys allows the different options to be selected. VER A60426 Page 27
Fig. 14 VER A60426 Page 28
LOADING WEIGH BATCHER Enter the load information, starting with the Truck ID. Depending on which information copy mode is used (see F11 Copy Mode), typing the Truck ID in the truck id field of the screen and pressing ENTER may bring up Job and Customer information. If the Job ID is not the desired job for this load, type the correct Job ID in the job field. Next, make sure that the desired silo is selected to draw from (multiple silo systems only). Verify that the material shown on the screen is the one to load on the truck. Rejected Material may not be loaded. Once all of the load information has been entered and other safety conditions have been met, the bottom area of the screen shows (Alt-L)oad Truck and (Alt-M)anual Ticket. To execute a cash ticket, press F9 before loading (see the section Cash Tickets). Alt-L Automatic Loading Verify that conditions are safe to load. Remove manual interlocks, such as opening the safety gate for the selected silo. Press and hold a on the keyboard while pressing L. If a comment exists for the selected customer, a window will pop up with the comment and prompt the operator to press Y for yes to continue the load (see F8 Customer Comments). If N is selected, the program returns to the main screen without loading the truck. The system checks its safeties again and waits for a stable (no motion) weight from the weighing indicator The silo gate opens and begins to drop the prescribed amount of material. After the proper amount has dropped, the system closes the silo gate and waits for a stable weight. Once the weight in the batcher has stabilized, the batcher begins to dump into the truck. When material stops flowing out of the batcher, the system closes it and waits for a stable end weight. A brief message appears on the screen indicating that the program is learning new values for the freefall and flow rate. In some cases, if circumstances prohibit learning new values (drop too small, for example), the message indicates why the program has bypassed this step. The horn blows if the Horn After Batch (sec) value in Loading Setup is greater than zero. On loads that require multiple drops, if the value for Automatic Loading Delay in Loading Setup is greater than zero, that number of seconds is counted down and the next drop is begun. If the value is zero, the operator must press al to begin each drop. After the load is completed, if the Horn Load Complete (sec) value is greater than zero, the horn blows. The ticket is saved to the hard drive in the computer and ticket(s) are printed if printer(s) are attached and enabled. VER A60426 Page 29
Typical Before Load Message Location Fig. 15 (above) Fig. 16 (below) Typical During Load Message Location VER A60426 Page 30
Pressing and holding a and pressing the A causes the system software to abort the load as soon as it is able. CAUTION: THIS IS NOT A SUBSTITUTE FOR A HARDWARE EMERGENCY STOP BUTTON! Use a properly wired hardware emergency stop to shut the silo or batcher gate in an emergency. Although aa will cause the software to attempt to shut the gates, in case of damage to or failure of system hardware, this might not happen fast enough to prevent bodily injury or property damage. Please see the section on aborted loads for more detail. Messages If any system safety or incomplete information on the loading screen is preventing the start of the load, messages will appear at the bottom of the screen. If any of the system safeties is triggered during a drop, the system will attempt to close the silo gate and a message will be displayed on the screen. The following table describes the messages, their causes, and a possible remedy: Message Cause Remedy Before loading Truck not defined No Truck ID has been entered Type Truck ID in Truck ID field Job not defined No Job ID has been entered Type Job ID in Job ID field Can t load Material in selected silo is Change material in selected rejected material Net too large Too many drops Batch too large Low Silo Rejected Material Net weight requested for load is greater than the truck s maximum gross weight minus the tare weight for the truck Net weight requested for the load divided by the requested number of drops is smaller than the Smallest Drop Weight safety setting Net weight requested for the load divided by the requested number of drops is larger than the Maximum Batch Weight safety setting Low Silo Bindicator indicating a silo is almost empty silo Reduce the net weight for the load and/or increase the maximum gross weight allowed for the truck Decrease number of drops Reduce the net weight for the load and/or increase number of drops Use the Low Silo Bypass or wait for more material VER A60426 Page 31
First Step of a Manual Ticket Fig. 17 (above) Fig. 18 (below) Final Step of a Manual Ticket VER A60426 Page 32
During Loading Waiting for stable weight (informational only not an error) Material flow error (see section on material flow errors) Holding batcherpress any key to dump Batcher holds [amount], dump batcher manually and press any key to continue Weighing indicator showing weight in motion Material stopped flowing before the system expected it to for the number of seconds in the Seconds Before Material Flow Error setting ah has been pressed during loading Material still contained [stuck] in batcher is greater than MINBATCHERWEIGHT in ATTRIBUT.DBF (default: 250 lbs.) Wait for weight to stabilize, reduce time system waits for stable weight, check scale for instability or increase indicator filtering Fill silo, check silo gates, abort load or increase setting for Seconds Before Material Flow Error Press any key to dump batcher Get as much material as possible out of the batcher (bang batcher gates with the manual button) then press any key to get a tare weight for this drop. Alt-M Manual Ticket If the load is too small to load accurately with the automatic system (for example, a pickup truck), material can still be loaded if the operator controls the silo and batcher gates manually. In manual mode, the program captures weights when instructed to do so by the operator. The operator controls the hardware from the manual panel controls. Pressing and holding a and pressing M prompts the operator to press the e key to capture the full batcher weight for the drop. At this point, after manually opening the silo gate to put the desired amount of material in the batcher, the operator should press e to capture a stable starting batch weight. The operator is then prompted to press e to read the empty batcher weight. At this point, the operator empties the batcher and presses e. A stable end weight is taken and the operator is given the choice to load more material on the truck or quit and generate a ticket. Using the arrow keys allows the different options to be selected. VER A60426 Page 33
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LOADING PUP TRUCKS ALL SYSTEMS If a truck has a pup truck number entered, the data for the pup truck will automatically appear on the main screen after the primary truck has been loaded. The operator can temporarily change any of the pup truck information, except the truck number, directly from the main screen. See the section F1-Lists regarding how to enter a pup truck number. Because the system regards a truck and its pup truck as separate loads, separate tickets will be printed. VER A60426 Page 35
Low Silo Indication Fig. 19 (above) Fig. 20 (below). Low Silo Bypass Indication VER A60426 Page 36
LOW SILO BYPASS Some systems have bindicators that indicate when the level of material in a silo has gone too low. This warning is usually to prevent load segregation, damage to the cone, or damage to the lower part of the silo. If the intent of the operator is to empty the silo, the bindicators can be disregarded and loading from the silo can continue. When the program receives an indication of a low silo condition, it will not allow another drop unless the operator acknowledges the condition. Fig. 19 shows the warning. Notice that the al option is inhibited. The operator can bypass the condition or perform manual loads. If the operator wants the computer to control the drop, bypass is required. The manual ticket option will allow the operator to keep the gate open to completely empty a silo. (See section on loading for more information on manual tickets.) To activate the Low Silo Bypass, press and hold a, then press B. The screen will show that you have activated the bypass as seen in Fig. 20. If there is a low silo bypass horn, it will sound until the end of the load or until the system is no longer bypassed. The al option is available again and you can load normally. To cancel Low Silo Bypass press ab again. VER A60426 Page 37
Fig. 21 (above) Fig. 22 (below) VER A60426 Page 38
MATERIAL FLOW ERRORS When the system has opened the silo gate, it expects changing weight readings. If the weight is not changing, or is changing in the wrong direction, a material flow error results. Most commonly, material flow errors result from running out of material in the silo. Errors can also happen because the system is trying to open the silo gate, but due to a hardware disconnect or interlock in the manual system, it cannot. Often this is a result of the hardware Emergency Stop button being engaged unintentionally (for example, someone accidentally leaned on it). Another frequent cause is the Low Air Interlock. Because sometimes gates react slowly, the operator can set the number of seconds that the system detects no flow before causing a material flow error. This is described more detailed in Loading Setup. There are two or three recovery choices from a no-flow error depending on whether the system is controlling multiple silos. They are: Terminate the load Saves and prints a ticket for the material on the truck unless the amount is zero. Continue loading from this silo Prompts the operator to enter the number of additional drops to perform. Entering zero drops terminates the load. Continue loading from another silo [If more than one silo in the system] Prompts the operator to enter which material will print on the ticket and how many additional drops to perform. Entering zero drops terminates the load. NOTE Changing the material to print on the ticket can cause a discrepancy between what the LoadOut reports for material inventories and the inventories the plant computer reports. This is because the LoadOut extracts its material report information from the ticket database. VER A60426 Page 39
Fig. 23 VER A60426 Page 40
ABORTED LOADS Pressing and holding a while pressing A during loading causes the system software to abort the load as soon as it is able. CAUTION This is not a substitute for a hardware emergency stop button! Use a properly wired hardware emergency stop button to shut the silo gate in an emergency. Although aa will cause the software to attempt to shut the gate, in case of damage to or failure of system hardware, this might not happen fast enough to prevent bodily injury or property damage. There are three recovery choices from an aborted load. They are: Resume loading Prompts the operator to enter the number of additional drops to perform. Entering zero drops terminates the load. Save data and print a ticket Stores ticket information for the amount loaded to the ticket database and prints a ticket if printers are attached and enabled. Do not save data and do not print a ticket Returns the operator to main screen without storing ticket data or printing a ticket. To maintain accuracy, silo inventory is adjusted to reflect material removed from the silo on systems so equipped. VER A60426 Page 41
Fig. 1-1 VER A60426 Page 42
l F1-LISTS From any location on the main screen, the list of databases may be accessed by pressing l. The list appears as shown in Fig. 1-1. To make a selection from the list, use the w or y keys to move through the list or simply type a highlighted key. The following items are available: Help Truck List Customer List Job List Silo Contents Material List Customer Comments Ticket List Report Menu Utility Menu ESC System Shutdown Help The Help screen displays a brief explanation of the function of each of the F-keys. If you forget the function of any F-key, simply hit l twice from the main screen to bring up this list. Truck List The truck list shows the trucks already typed into the truck database along with the gross, net, and tare weights, expressed in the selected set of units and the number of drops used for loading. Permanent additions or modifications to the truck database are done here. The visible fields in a truck record are: truck number gross weight tare weight net weight drops pup truck To attach a pup truck entry to a primary truck, add the pup truck to the database first, then add, or edit the primary truck entry. See the section Loading Pup Trucks. Customer List The customer list shows the list of customers entered into the database. A customer may be attached to multiple jobs. When entering a new customer, you can also flag it as being as private customer. This is useful is some accounting systems where customers are sorted by private (i.e., non-governmental) and non-private classifications. VER A60426 Page 43
Fig. 1-1 VER A60426 Page 44
Job List The job list shows the list of jobs entered into the database. Every job must have a customer attached and every job must be unique. This means that job HWY101, for example, cannot be attached to more than one customer. Silo Contents The silo contents list shows the silos available in the plant. From this screen you can change the amount of material in the silo being displayed for silo inventory, adjust the values the program uses for freefall and flow rate, and change the material designation. NOTE Freefall and flow rate values change throughout the day because the program continually adjusts them as new information becomes available. Material List The material list displays the current list of materials entered into the system, the inventory on hand for each material, and the price per unit. Customer Comments Customer comments provide a means of attaching information regarding customers. For example, to add a comment that a particular customer is strictly COD, select the customer from the list, and then press s to add the appropriate comment. After you press al to load but just before loading begins, the comment message box appears to display the comment and give the operator the option to cancel or continue the load. If the RedRover utility is installed on a remote computer, comments provide a means for your accounting department to inform the plant operator of special customer conditions by sending comment records via a modem connection. See the section Electronic Data Transfer RedRover. Ticket List Choosing the ticket list pops up a window listing the tickets currently on file. Pressing the n key from the main screen will also direct you to the ticket list. Refer to the section on the n key for a description of the features available. VER A60426 Page 45
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Report Menu The report menu option displays a sub-menu from which you can print or display the following detailed reports: truck report customer report job report material report load report cash load report private customer report haul sheet Utility menu Choosing the utility menu pops up a menu listing common daily maintenance utilities. Pressing the o key from the main screen will also direct you to the utility menu. Refer to the section on the o key for a description of the features available. Pressing the ESC key dismisses the list menu. ESC System Shutdown Choosing system shutdown allows you to terminate the program. All operating parameters and data are saved prior to program termination. Shutting down can also be done from the main screen by pressing the r key. Refer to the section on the r key. VER A60426 Page 47
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m F2-CONTEXT SENSITIVE LIST When the cursor is in the truck, job, or material field, pressing the m key pops up the list that applies. For example, when the cursor is in the job field, pressing m brings up the job list. This feature provides faster access to the lists that are routinely used throughout the day. VER A60426 Page 49
Ticket Options Ticket Types Fig. 3-1 (above) Fig. 3.2 (below) Erroneous Ticket Correction Information VER A60426 Page 50
n F3-TICKET LIST The ticket list shows all tickets generated since the list was last archived. See Fig. 3-1. From the ticket list you can: correct a ticket change the job/customer, material, and/or truck on a ticket that was incorrectly generated ditto a ticket copy the truck and job/customer from a ticket to the main screen find tickets locate all tickets with a specified 1) Ticket number (precludes all other criteria) 2) Start date 3) End date 4) Job 5) Customer 6) Truck 7) Material reprint a ticket display a ticket Correction Tickets To correct an erroneously generated ticket, select the ticket from the ticket list by highlighting it with the w or y keys, and then press C. The screen shown is Fig. 3-2 appears. The upper portion of the screen displays the information that exists on the erroneous ticket. You can enter the information that should appear on the corrected ticket in the lower portion of the screen. In the field highlighted by the cursor, simply type in the correct information or press the m key to bring up the list that applies (from these lists you can add, change, etc., records as needed). When the new information appears as it should, hold down the a key and press C. Two tickets are generated and printed one, which undoes the erroneous ticket by generating a ticket where the net weight is subtracted, and a second ticket where the correct information is applied. The original erroneous ticket will be marked with a V (for void ) in the left-hand column of the ticket list indicating it is now a void ticket. The undo ticket is marked with a C (for corrected ). The re-issued ticket is marked with an R (for re-issued ). No further changes can be made to the void or corrected ticket. If later an error is found in the re-issued ticket, simply repeat the above procedure. When this happens, this re-issued ticket will become a void ticket and two more tickets will be issued. Cash tickets are marked with the $ symbol in the left-hand column. Cash Tickets VER A60426 Page 51
Fig. 3-3 (above) Fig. 3-4 (below) VER A60426 Page 52
Hand-Generated Tickets Hand-generated tickets are marked with the H symbol in the left-hand column. See the section Hand-Generated Tickets. Ditto Ticket The ditto feature allows you to copy the information shown on a particular ticket to the main screen. This is useful when you need to load a truck using the same information used the last time the truck was loaded. Simply highlight a ticket in the list and press the e key. If the system is in LoadOut mode, the material is not copied because the material is obtained from the currently selected silo. In Weigh-In/Weigh-Out mode, the material is copied to the main screen. Find Ticket The F key allows you to search the ticket database for tickets of a specified nature. The screen shown in Fig. 3-3 appears. You can find tickets using combinations of: Ticket number (precludes any other criteria) Posting start date Posting end date Job Customer Truck Material For example, to find all tickets issued between February 1, 1987, and August 5, 1987, to job NEWJOB, enter 02/01/1987 in the Start Date field, enter 08/05/1987 in the End Date field, and enter NEWJOB in the job field. To include all trucks, materials, etc., delete the data or type ALL in the corresponding fields. When all criteria appear as they should, move to the <Find> command button and press e. If any tickets meeting the criterion are found, a screen similar to Fig. 3-4 appears. To print the list for future reference, simply press the P key. VER A60426 Page 53
Ticket Number Being Displayed Correction Ticket Information Fig. 3-5 Options VER A60426 Page 54
Print Ticket The print ticket option allows you to reprint a ticket. Simply highlight the desired ticket and press the P key. Display Ticket To view a ticket as it would appear in the standard ticket format, highlight the desired ticket and press the e key. A screen similar to Fig. 3-5 appears. NOTE When correction tickets are involved, you can use the Band F keys to move backwards and forwards through the series to view all tickets in the correction sequence. You can also reprint individual tickets by pressing the P key or print all the tickets in the series by pressing the A key. VER A60426 Page 55
Fig. 4-1 (above) Fig. 4-2 (below) Copy Mode Options VER A60426 Page 56
o F4-UTILITY MENU The day-to-day maintenance and configuration tasks are accomplished using the utility menu. Press the o key to pop up the menu. Notice that several of the items have their own hot key, shown in parentheses, such as Unresolved Tickets. Many of the items invoke additional submenus. See Fig. 4-1. To make a selection from the menu, type the highlighted hot key shown or use the w or y keys to highlight a selection, then press e. Unresolved Tickets If you have a truck scale, choosing unresolved tickets pops up a window listing the unresolved tickets currently on file. An unresolved ticket occurs when gross information about a Weigh- In/Weigh-Out ticket is captured but the truck tare weight is not yet known. Pressing the p key from the main screen will also direct you to the unresolved ticket list. Refer to the section on the p key for a description of the features available. Weigh In / Out Mode LoadOut Mode Assuming you have a truck scale, these two menu items allow you to toggle between weigh in/weigh out mode and loadout mode. You can also toggle modes by pressing q from the main screen. If you are in LoadOut mode, the words Weigh In / Out Mode appear indicating that you can switch to LoadOut mode, and visa versa. Change Posting Date The posting date is useful when the date that should appear on the tickets is different from the calendar date. For example, when an operator s shift begins at 7:00 PM and the date printed on your tickets should not change at midnight, set the posting date as required. Choosing the change posting date option displays the same screen that appears when the program initializes. VER A60426 Page 57
Gate Check Options Fig. 4-3 (above) Fig. 4-4 (below) VER A60426 Page 58
Select Copy Mode The copy mode designates how tickets are dittoed from the ticket list. The location of the copy mode indicator is shown in Fig. 4-2. The copy mode may be set to Manual Ticket or Truck In TICKET mode, after you have made a truck selection, the program finds the last ticket in the ticket list and fills in the job/customer information from that ticket (the material is also copied when operating in Weigh-In/Weigh-Out mode). In TRUCK mode, the program locates the last ticket on which this truck was used (which may not necessarily be the very last ticket) and fills in the job/customer information from that ticket (the material is also copied when operating in Weigh-In/Weigh-Out mode). Manual copy mode requires that you make the job/customer selection without program assistance. If individual trucks are hauling to different locations, use truck mode to let the program keep track of these details for you. If all trucks are hauling to the same location and new trucks are coming in to help with the haul, use ticket mode so that the new trucks get the correct information. Gate Check Gate check is a maintenance feature that lets you open silo or weigh batcher gates from the keyboard. It is important to note that this feature is not intended for truck loading only as verification that the electronic link between the computer and the silo gates is functional. Choosing gate check displays a screen as shown in Fig. 4-3. If your system is not a weigh batcher, the second line will not appear. BE ABSOLUTELY CERTAIN THAT THERE IS NO MATERIAL IN THE SILO AND/OR WEIGH BATCHER AND THAT NO PERSONNEL ARE IN THE IMMEDIATE VICINITY BEFORE USING THIS FEATURE. Press the indicated key to open a gate. If a gate fails to open but can be opened with a manual panel button; the problem is most likely located at the fuse on the PLC output module. System Setup Choosing System Setup displays a sub-menu as shown in Fig. 4-4. Each of these options can pop up other screen for data input. Loading Setup this option allows you to alter parameters such as gob hopper timing, silo capacity, etc. See the discussion that follows for details. Ticket Setup this option allows you to change how your tickets are printed and what information goes on them. VER A60426 Page 59
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Software Setup this option affects how the program is configured. Since errors in these parameters can cause your program to malfunction, a password is required to proceed. If you need access to these parameters, you should contact your program supplier to obtain it. VER A60426 Page 61
Parameters Depend On Type of System Fig. 4-5 (above) Fig. 4-6 (below) VER A60426 Page 62
Loading Setup Loading setup will invoke a series of screens, the order and content of which depends on how your plant is set up. Fig. 4-5 shows the first screen. This screen is for a system where the first silo uses a truck scale. If a reverse weigh scale is used the second entry would be for minimum silo weight and the third would be for smallest drop weight. For a weigh batching system, the second line would be for maximum batch weight and the third for smallest drop weight. NOTE The number and order of these screens depends on how many scales and silos your system has. The smallest drop weight will be changed throughout the day because the program continually adjusts this value as new information becomes available. Fig. 4-6 is the next screen after all silos have been processed. The PLC has a timer output for controlling a gob hopper. The first line in the list is the number of seconds the PLC will turn on this output to hold the gob hopper open (call this time T1). The second line is the number of seconds to hold the gob hopper closed (call this time T2). The third line applies to reverse weigh silos. It is the amount of time before the gob hopper opens that the program will terminate a drop to prevent the gob hopper discharge from corrupting an accurate silo weight reading (call this time T3). In essence, the program anticipates when the gob hopper is about open and will terminate a drop prematurely (when the drop time exceeds T2 T3) to prevent a corrupted weight measurement. These parameters should be adjusted taking into account your plant production rate (T2), the capacity of your gob hopper (T1), and the amount of time required by your system for a weight reading to stabilize (T3). VER A60426 Page 63
Fig. 4-7 VER A60426 Page 64
Fig. 4-7 shows the last screen in Loading Setup the Common Parameters screen. These parameters are explained below: Use Metric Units setting this parameter to Y enables displaying metric units (either kgs or mgms, depending on the setting of Display in Tons ). Setting this parameter to N enables English units either lbs. or tons Display In Tons used in conjunction with the preceding parameter, this parameter determines whether major units (i.e., tons or mgms) are displayed or whether minor units (i.e., lbs. or kgs) are displayed. The following table summarizes how these two parameters interact: Use Metric Units N Y Display In Tons N Lbs. Kgs Y Tons Mgms Horn Load Complete setting this parameter to any value other than zero determines how many seconds that the loading horn will sound after the last drop of a load. Horn After Batch - setting this parameter to any value other than zero determines how many seconds the loading horn will sound after each drop is completed, excluding the last drop. Since the load complete horn is the same as the batch complete horn, you may want to set this value to zero to avoid confusing the truck driver. Auto-Load Delay this parameter determines how many seconds should elapse after the end of a drop before the program automatically starts the next drop. The purpose of this delay is to allow time for the truck to re-position before the next drop commences. NOTE: To disable automatic drops, set this parameter to zero. You will then need to manually start every drop by pressing the a L keystroke combination. Stability Delay this time determines how long after shutting the silo gate the program waits before looking for a stable weight from the indicator. The smaller this value is, the faster (and potentially less accurately) the drop will complete. For reverse weigh systems, this time is related to T3 discussed in Loading Setup; i.e., T3 should be set two or three seconds longer than the stability delay. Delay Before Material Flow Alarm this value determines the length of time used by the program to determine when flow has stopped, typically due to an empty silo. Bridged material may free itself. A value of 7 seconds is a good compromise between long waits for empty silos and false material flow errors. VER A60426 Page 65
Fig. 4-7 (above) Fig. 4-8 (below) VER A60426 Page 66
Load Tolerance this is a percentage value applied to the end of each load. If the net load is short by more than this percentage value, the program pauses with an option screen allowing you to complete the remainder of the load manually. Free Fall Constant this value determines how rapidly new information from each drop is incorporated into what the program thinks the freefall is. Freefall is the amount of weight the load increases after the command to shut is gate is given. The freefall can change throughout the day due to temperature changes, amount of material in the silo, distance from silo gate to truck bed, etc. The program adjusts for these changes continually. The freefall constant determines how rapidly the program adjusts. When the freefall constant is set at zero, no adjustments are made (i.e., the freefall is fixed). Any value larger than zero, up to 50, applies that percentage of the freefall from the most recent drop to the value held internally by the program. If your system contains high vibration and you know the freefall fairly accurately, use a lower value. If your system is stable and you would like the program to adjust rapidly to changing conditions, use a larger value. Flow Rate Constant this value is similar to the freefall constant but applies to updates the program makes to information it is collecting regarding the flow rate. The flow rate is used to anticipate when to shut the gates. It is also used to pre-load the PLC with a gate closure time so that if the LoadOut computer fails (a sudden power outage, for example), the PLC can safely shut the gates without receiving a command from the LoadOut computer. In most cases, the value you choose here should track the value you re using for the freefall. Silo Inventory Prescale for systems that receive measured pulses from the plant computer, this value determines the increase in production each pulse represents. For example, The ADP-100 provides one pulse for each ton produced at the point of A/C injection. The LoadOut increases the inventory in the silo selected for filling each time a pulse arrives. Note reverse weigh silos do not need an inventory pulse because the silo weight can be directly measured. Fig. 4-8 shows the screen displayed when Ticket Setup is chosen. Ticket Setup Company Name these three fields are used to enter information about your company that will appear on printed tickets. Generally, your company s address is entered here. Next Ticket Number this field allows you to advance the ticket number. You cannot reduce the ticket number unless you first archive all tickets in the current ticket database. Refer to F4, File Maintenance, for instructions on how to archive the ticket database. VER A60426 Page 67
Fig. 4-9 (above) Fig. 4-10 (below) VER A60426 Page 68
Default to cash tickets this option allows you to remain in cash ticket mode continually. If you set this option to N, you can enter cash mode for one ticket by pressing the t key on the main screen. After the load is completed and the cash ticket is printed, the program reverts to credit mode. Setting this option to Y keeps the program in cash mode after each load completes. Print Summary Results Only in situations where only a single line summary ticket is require rather than a full invoice ticket, set this option to Y. Print Drops On Ticket some states require that statistics for each drop be printed on each full invoice ticket. Set this option to Y if you would like to enable this feature. Form Length In Inches if your blank ticket paper for the standard ticket is not 5.5, you can change the ticket length by entering the page length here. Standard printer paper is 11 long yielding two tickets per sheet. Number Of Copies if you need multiple copies each time you print a ticket, enter the desired number here. Note this number also applies to re-printed tickets. Print Alternate Units some States require both metric and English units on tickets while other States prohibit multiple system of units. If you want both sets of units printed, enter Y here. Entering N prints only your selected set of units. See Loading Setup regarding how to select a set of units. Use custom ticket format if you use preprinted ticket sheets and have purchased a custom ticket format file to your specifications, entering a Y for this option will instruct the program to use it. Otherwise entering a N here causes the internal standard ticket format to be used. Software Setup Before you can modify any data in Software Setup, you must enter a password. The purpose of the password is to prevent accidental entrance into this area where erroneous entries can cause the program to malfunction. After passing the password screen, a series of screens is displayed. The first screen is shown in Fig. 4-9. If this computer is the only loadout computer, or is the server in a Plant Local Area Network (i.e., the master computer), enter Y to network master. The station number is a unique number identifying LC-x000 computers. If your computer is the master computer, enter 1. Otherwise, enter a number that uniquely identifies your computer. Note that the station number appears on the ticket, i.e. 004325-1. Because multiple computers can generate the same ticket numbers, adding the station number to the ticket number allows your accounting department to determine the computer that generated the ticket. If your computer is the master, enter the number of computers in the network. If it s the only computer, enter 1. VER A60426 Page 69
Fig. 4-11 (above) Fig. 4-12 (below) VER A60426 Page 70
Fig. 4-10 shows the scales setup screen. Enter the number of weighing indicators used in your system. The LC-2000 system supports only one indicator the LC- 1000 can support several. Every scale attached to the system will display a screen as shown in Fig. 4-10 where the serial port parameters are entered. It is important that these parameters be correct because an erroneous parameter here can cause the program to malfunction. Following the weighing indicator parameter screen is the silo parameter screen as shown in Fig. 4-11. In this screen, the type of silo (i.e., TS for truck scale, WB for weigh batcher, or BW for reverse weigh) and the weighing indicator attached to it are specified. The drawing position parameter specifies the position, from left to right that the silo inventory pictograph should appear on inventory sub-window. Specifying a drawing position allows the pictographs to be drawn on the screen as seen from the operator s perspective. There will be one screen similar to Fig. 4-11 for every silo in the system. The screen that follows, Fig. 4-12, contains several miscellaneous set-up parameters: Print each drop enter Y if you d like the gross, net, and tare weights for each drop printed on standard tickets (not available for custom tickets) Print overloaded tickets if your location prohibits generating tickets for overloaded trucks, choose Y here. Overload limit this is the amount over the maximum gross weight of a truck in which an overload condition is declared Keystroke rate this is the time interval at which the program temporarily stops waiting for keystrokes to perform internal tasks. A value of 0.25 seconds is typical. To make the keyboard more responsive, increase this value. Decreasing the value causes the computer to capture weight reading more rapid at the expense of keyboard response. Background weight rate this is the amount of time that the program requests information from the indicator when not loading a truck. Read silo rate the program reads silo information from the PLC at this time interval. Watchdog time this is the time in seconds of the longest possible drop before the computer gives an error and closes the gate. Minimum freefall time this is the minimum amount of time the silo gates must be open during a drop before the program will consider a new freefall value as valid. Reject quantity the accumulated amount of material that has been rejected through the reject gate. VER A60426 Page 71
Fig. 4-13 VER A60426 Page 72
Disconnect PLC in case of a PLC failure, set this parameter to Y to cause the program to ignore the PLC. Manual loading can proceed until the PLC is repaired. The next screen, as shown in Fig. 4-13, has the communication parameters of the PLC. These parameters are vital because if there are incorrect entries the computer will have no control over the hardware. The initial question is about silo inventory. If you don t have a reverse weigh silo, and the plant computer has a tons-out pulse, the computer can keep an approximate inventory of each silo. If you do have a reverse weigh silo then the indicator will determine the silo inventory. The inventory is displayed graphically on the main screen with a pictograph for each silo. The other parameters on this screen determine the connection to the PLC and great care should be taken before modifying them. The next page of the setup accepts remote serial printer parameters. If a small sales slip type printer is used then answer yes to this question. The printer described here is not the ticket printer and would require an additional cable to the computer. The next section asks for if there is a remote modem used for downloading the databases (see the section Electronic Data Transfer RedRover). The databases can be copied to a different computer in a different location for accounting purposes Silo information is entered in the next section of the setup. Each silo gets a page that is used to input different things depending on what type of scale is being used. This section is identical to the Loading Setup section. Please refer to that section for the final screens in the software setup. VER A60426 Page 73
Fig. 4-14 VER A60426 Page 74
File Maintenance Choosing File Maintenance displays a sub-menu as shown in Fig. 4-14. The purpose of this section is to provide an easy way to clean up old databases that won t be needed anymore. There is a danger of deleting useful lists, so great care must be taken when entering this section. WARNING ONCE YOU HAVE ERASED A LIST, YOU CANNOT GET IT BACK. The ticket database is treated differently than the others because there is always a possibility of needing to regenerate an old ticket. That is why the ticket list is archived instead of erased. Older tickets are removed to a location on the LoadOut computer that the program will not normally access. An example of where erasing lists would be used is a portable asphalt plant that has just moved to a different area with different customers, trucks, etc. Adding to the old lists would be possible but the lists could be very large and there could be confusion between new and old jobs, customers, and trucks. Archiving Tickets To archive tickets, press 1 from the File Maintenance menu. The next menu will ask for a range of tickets to archive by date. Choose the date that would include all of the tickets that are to be archived. To retrieve a ticket from an archive, press 7 from the File Maintenance menu. The program recovers all archived tickets and makes available all ticket list options. See the F3-Ticket List section. When you are done working with the archived tickets the program will reload the current working ticket database. Erasing Lists To erase a list, press the number of the list you wish to delete in the File Maintenance menu. The program will then ask you to enter Y or N for deleting the list. If you answer yes, the program will then ask you if you are sure you want to delete the list. It asks twice because an erased list cannot be restored. WARNING DO NOT ERASE A LIST UNLESS YOU ARE SURE THAT YOU INTEND TO LOSE ALL THE DATA IN THAT LIST. VER A60426 Page 75
Fig. 4-15 (above) Fig. 4-16 (below) VER A60426 Page 76
Report Menu The report menu option displays a sub-menu from which you can print or display the following detailed reports: truck report customer report job report material report load report cash load report private customer report haul sheet The first four items that have reports are for the lists used by the program. The reports that are generated show all tickets involving that item. Because the procedure is the same for these reports, this manual will only show the example of the truck report. After choosing the truck report, a menu will ask if a single truck or all of the trucks should be included. Then it will ask for the date range of interest. With this information, the program will either print the report or view the report on the screen. The remaining items that are available for reports are handled differently since they cannot be created about an individual truck, customer, job, or material. Therefore, the menu that appears after selecting one of these reports asks only for the dates of interest. In addition, the option to view the report on the screen is not available so printing is the only form of output. Print Truck List This option from the utility menu simply prints all the trucks that are on the truck list. Print Job List This option from the utility menu simply prints all the jobs that are on the job list. Print Customer List This option from the utility menu simply prints all the customers that are on the customer list. Backup to Diskette The backup option will take all of the databases and put them on a floppy disk for retrieval later. If the time comes to get the data from the disk the Restore from Diskette option is used. If the lists are too large to fit on one disk, the program will ask for another disk until all files are saved. The person making the backup should label the disk or disks for future reference. If multiple disks are needed the disk number should also be included on the label. VER A60426 Page 77
Denotes Training Mode Fig. 4-17 VER A60426 Page 78
Backup to Diskette is very different from the File Maintenance menu. The backup will not effect the lists in any way. It is simply a method to protect your data in case of a computer problem. It is wise to periodically backup your data so that if something unforeseen happens, the amount of time required getting the system back to normal in minimized. Restore from Diskette The restore option will ask for a diskette that has data from the Backup to Diskette option. With the disk in the computer, this option will overwrite all data currently in the program with the data that is on the diskette. CAUTION BECAUSE RESTORE FROM DISKETTE OVERWRITES DATA, THE PROGRAM WILL LOSE ANY NEW DATA, INCLUDING TICKETS, ENTERED SINCE THE BACKUP WAS RECORDED. This option should only be used when there has been a major problem with all of the lists. Any tickets generated after the backup will be lost along with trucks, customers, jobs, and materials. Training Mode / Resume LoadOut Mode The next option in the utility menu toggles between LoadOut Mode and Training Mode. Training mode simulates LoadOut operations using an entirely different set of practice databases external hardware is disconnected. The computer will simulate the gates, silos, trucks, and weighing indicators. This mode is used for training operators so they can get a feel for how the program works before they control the real thing. Because training mode has the exact feel of the program, it is necessary to put a message on the screen warning that the program is in this mode. Fig. 4-16 shows how the main screen appears in training mode. All of the data in training mode is kept is a different location than the LoadOut data. There is no way to transfer training data to the LoadOut. The truck, job, customer, and material lists cannot be shared. The tickets that are generated in training mode are not useful for anything other than practicing with the program. To get out of training mode, use the Utility menu and choose the Resume Loadout Mode option. VER A60426 Page 79
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Exit Program This option is the same as the System Shutdown Option in the Lists Menu. Choosing Exit Program allows you to terminate the program. All operating parameters and data are saved prior to program termination. The exception is any parametric data entered in training mode that would affect the actual running mode this data is discarded. Shutting down can also be done from the main screen by pressing the r key twice. Refer to the section on the r key. Pressing the ESC key dismisses the utility menu. ESC VER A60426 Page 81
Fig. 5-1 VER A60426 Page 82
p F5-UNRESOLVED TICKETS LC-1000 / LC-2000 systems with truck scales can also perform weigh-in/weigh-out (i.e., quarry) operations. If a truck arrives loaded and the tare weight is unknown, a partial ticket can be generated for which all information is known except the tare weight (and consequently the net weight). Refer to the Defer Tare option in Weigh-In / Weigh Out. These partially resolved tickets are saved in a database awaiting further processing. To view the list of unresolved tickets, press p from the main screen, press N from the utility menu, or use the w or y keys to highlight the row and press e. The unresolved ticket screen appears as shown in Fig. 5-1. Note that in the ticket number column, either the word bought or sold appears rather than a ticket number. This is because no tickets have been generated yet. You can highlight an unresolved ticket from this screen and press e to copy it to the main screen. Unresolved tickets do not take part in any summary calculations. When a tare weight is captured using the F12 key from the main screen, the updated tare is used to compute the net weight for any unresolved tickets where this truck appears. These tickets are then moved to the main ticket database and printed. The load date and time that appear on the ticket is the date and time the ticket was entered into the unresolved database (the date and time the material crossed the scale). The ticket numbers assigned will be the next available ticket numbers although the original unresolved ticket might have been started many days earlier. VER A60426 Page 83
Fig.6-1 VER A60426 Page 84
q F6-WEIGH IN / OUT OR LOADOUT For configurations with truck scales, the q key toggles between Weigh In/Weigh Out mode and LoadOut mode. The mode the program is currently executing in is shown below the onscreen scale read-out. The caption will be a green bar and read LoadOut when operating in loadout mode the caption will be red and read Weigh In / Weigh Out when operating in weigh-in / weigh-out mode. To switch modes, simply press the q key. Weigh In/Weigh Out mode is for quarry type operations. It is capable of using the truck scale to weigh, ticket and inventory all materials coming into and out of the plant. There are three pairs of choices when a loaded truck drives onto the scale. Each choice can be one or the other, NOT BOTH. The operator must tell the system: Is the load being RECEIVED into the yard or DELIVERED to a customer? Is the transaction a CASH SALE or purchase or is it a CREDIT SALE or purchase? Should a ticket be generated now that will USE TARE on file, or should the system DEFER TARE until the truck comes back empty? Ideally, a transaction where the plant is receiving material will happen in these steps: A loaded truck drives onto the scale Enter the truck ID, job ID and material being received Choose a1 Received and whether the purchase is cash or credit Choose a6 Defer Tare ag to Generate Ticket The system records all of the information in the unresolved database, but does not yet print a ticket The horn blows if present and if the Horn Load Complete (sec) setting is greater than zero (see Loading Setup for more details) The truck drives off of the scale and dumps material on the pile The empty truck drives back onto the scale Press to get a tare weight for the truck (see Tare for more details) The unresolved ticket is resolved, stored into the ticket database, and a ticket is printed if printer(s) are connected and enabled. The unresolved ticket is deleted. The tare need not be deferred if there is a recent, accurate tare on file for the truck. If the USE TARE option is selected, a ticket is printed immediately after pressing ag. VER A60426 Page 85
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A transaction where the plant is delivering material should happen in these steps: An empty truck drives onto the scale Enter the truck ID Press to get a tare weight for the truck (see Tare for more details) The truck drives off of the scale and is loaded with material from the pile The loaded truck drives back onto the scale Enter the truck ID, job ID and material being received Choose a4 Delivered and whether the sale is cash or credit Choose a3 Use Tare ag to Generate Ticket Information is stored to the database and a ticket is printed if printer(s) are connected and enabled The horn blows if present and if the Horn Load Complete (sec) setting is greater than zero (see Loading Setup for more details) NOTE The material list holds inventory information for each of the materials (see material list for more information). In order to retain compatibility with the LoadOut system, negative amounts represent material inventory (stockpile) and positive amounts represent amounts shipped. VER A60426 Page 87
.Fig. 7-1 VER A60426 Page 88
r F7-SYSTEM SHUTDOWN To exit the program, press the r key. In the event that you accidentally pressed the r key during daily operation, another screen appears asking you to verify your choice. The default option on this screen is Yes. You can select this option by pressing e. Pressing r will also select Yes so simply pressing the r key twice in succession is a fast and convenient way to exit the program. VER A60426 Page 89
Denotes Comments for This Customer Fig. 8-1 (above) Fig. 8-2 (below) Options for Customer Comments VER A60426 Page 90
s F8-COMMENTS Comments are informational records attached to the customers you choose. For example, if a particular customer should always pay in cash, you can add a comment to alert the LoadOut operator to this fact. When a comment record is attached to a customer, a flashing asterisk appears to the right of the customer number as shown in Fig. 8-1. After the customer field has been completed on the main screen, you can view, edit, add, or delete the comment by pressing s or use l -Customer Comments, as shown in Fig. 8-2. If a comment record exists for the selected customer, a red alert message appears on the screen after you press a L to begin loading the truck. At this point, you can choose to continue loading or cancel the load. Comments are a very useful way for your accounting department, using RedRover from a distant location, to warn the operator of special conditions. See the section Electronic Data Transfer RedRover. VER A60426 Page 91
Cash Ticket Inputs Fig. 9-1 VER A60426 Page 92
t F9-CASH SALE The LoadOut can be configured to always run in cash mode or to execute an occasional cash sale (see o, (S)ystem Setup, (T)icket Setup, Default to cash tickets). In either case, pressing t brings up the price/tax window as shown in Fig. 9-1 from which you can modify the price per unit and tax rate. Prices are stored internally in units of dollars per pound. If the operator switches to a different set of units, prices are automatically converted to reflect the new set of units. If you use cash tickets only occasionally, you can cancel the cash ticket before the load starts by pressing t again. Otherwise, continue with the normal load process. Once the load has completed, the program will return to credit ticket mode. VER A60426 Page 93
Silo Inventory Pictographs Fig. 10-1 (above) Fig. 10-2 (below) VER A60426 Page 94
u F10-FILL / EMPTY INVENTORY PICTOGRAPH For truck scale and weigh batching silos, you can reset the silo inventory pictograph to either filled or empty by pressing u. If the operator needs to frequently switch the silo that is filling, or small calibration errors exist, etc., the count of material inventory in a silo can become slightly inaccurate during the course of a day. At a known point, such as an empty silo or a high silo alarm, this option can be used to adjust the pictograph quickly and easily. To make a selection from the list of displayed choices, use the w or y keys to move through the list. The following are the available choices: [Selected Silo] has been emptied. This choice sets the amount in the silo inventory pictograph for the selected silo to zero. [Selected Silo] has been filled. This choice sets the amount in the silo inventory pictograph for the selected silo to the silo capacity entered in loading setup. This feature is not necessary for a reverse weigh silo because the program can directly determine the amount of material in the silo by simply reading the silo weight. VER A60426 Page 95
Copy Mode Options Fig. 11-1 VER A60426 Page 96
F11-COPY MODE The copy mode controls how the program automatically completes the main screen when the operator enters a truck number. From any location on the main screen, the operator may change the information copy mode by pressing. To make a selection from the list of choices, use the w or y keys to move through the list. The chosen copy mode appears at the bottom right corner of the main screen (i.e., TRUCK, TICKET, or MANUAL). The following are the available copy modes: Manually enter every field this choice requires that operator type in the job/customer information for every load. In Weigh In/Weigh Out mode, the material description must be changed manually, if necessary. In LoadOut mode, the material description is taken from the selected silo. Copy job/customer information from the last TICKET this choice automatically uses the job/customer information from the last ticket in the ticket database. In this mode, the operator only has to type the job/customer information if the current load is going to a different job. The material description will be copied from the ticket when operating in Weigh In/Weigh Out mode. In LoadOut mode, the material description is taken from the selected silo. Copy job/customer information from the last load for this TRUCK this choice automatically uses the job/customer information from the last ticket for this truck (it is possible that the last ticket for this truck may not be the same as the last ticket in the ticket database). In this mode, the operator only has to type the job/customer information if the truck is going to a different job. The material description will be copied from the ticket when operating in Weigh In/Weigh Out mode. In LoadOut mode, the material description is taken from the selected silo. VER A60426 Page 97
Truck Tare Options Fig. 12-1 VER A60426 Page 98