SCALIS IN THE QUARRY AND GRAVEL PIT
Quarries and gravel pits are facilities where the receipt, production, storage, loading, weighing, and shipment of large quantities of material are handled every day. Vehicles arrive to pick up various grades of aggregate; loader operators work under time pressure; and the scale must accurately record who arrived, what they hauled away, how much they hauled away, and to which order the material should be assigned.
SCALIS transforms this process into a digitally controlled, self-service weighing station. It integrates weigh stations, SCALIS AUTOMAT, RFID/QR/PIN identification, driver data entry, cameras, barriers, traffic lights, loader on-board scales, belt scales, cloud-based record-keeping, and ERP systems into a single process.
A Real-Life Scenario from Operations
A truck arrives at the gravel yard to pick up 8/16 gravel. The driver does not have a paper weigh ticket ready, and the scale operator does not need to record the data manually. Upon entry, the driver approaches the SCALIS AUTOMAT terminal, where they identify themselves using an RFID card, a QR code, a PIN, or their license plate number.
If an order has been created in advance, SCALIS automatically loads it. If the order is not yet ready, the driver will, depending on the facility’s settings, select or enter the details directly on the terminal: customer, carrier, vehicle, material, fraction, type of operation, loading location, or a note regarding weighing.
After the data is confirmed, SCALIS creates a weighing record, opens the barrier, instructs the driver to drive onto the scale, and records the initial weight. The vehicle then proceeds to the loading area. The loader operator can see what material to load, for whom, and in what quantity. After loading, the vehicle returns to the exit scale; the system calculates the net weight and generates a digital weigh ticket.
The data is stored in the SCALIS cloud and automatically sent to the ERP system, warehouse, accounting, or invoicing departments as needed.
A quarry or gravel pit manager can view all operations in one place on the SCALIS PORTAL. They can monitor in real time how much material has been hauled away, which vehicles have passed through the scale, what product was loaded, and whether the data has been correctly verified by camera, RFID, or QR code identification.
Thanks to the integration of SCALIS LOCAL, CENTRAL, and ENTERPRISE, management has an immediate overview of the performance of individual operations, daily production, sales, shipping, and scale utilization. Data from multiple quarries is stored in the cloud, and managers can use it for reporting, invoicing, production planning, and process control without having to manually transcribe the data. SCALIS can be integrated with virtually anything via APIs or shared databases. Data can be compared across individual operations (for example, when goods are transported from gravel pit A to gravel pit B—to verify whether the amount delivered to B matches the amount shipped from A).
A Problem at a Regular Gravel Pit
The traditional process leads to repeated errors and delays. Operators must manually record the license plate number, carrier, customer, cargo type, and the weight upon arrival and departure. Drivers wait at the scale, and data is transcribed between paper forms, Excel spreadsheets, weighing software, and invoicing systems.
Most Common Problems:
- long lines of vehicles at the weigh station
- manual data entry
- substitution of material or fraction
- Unclear orders for one-time purchases
- Overloaded vehicles after loading
- missing photographic documentation
- Delayed billing documents
- Poor overview of the performance of the
shipping service; inaccurate - records of inventory movements
- a high risk of materials being removed from the premises without being weighed
- given the complexity of record-keeping and the possibility of exceeding the order limit
- withdrawal of materials even if the customer has outstanding payments
How does SCALIS work in self-service mode?
1. Vehicle Arrival
The vehicle arrives at the entry point or directly at the scale. The driver communicates with the system via SCALIS AUTOMAT. The facility can configure whether the driver simply confirms the pre-filled data or can also enter the data themselves.
2. Identification of the driver or vehicle
SCALIS allows identification via an RFID card, QR code, PIN, barcode, license plate number, or manual selection on the screen. The system then searches for an existing order or allows you to create a new weighing transaction.
3. Entering or Confirming Information
Depending on their permissions, the driver can select or add:
- customer
- carrier
- Vehicle License Plate Number
- material or fraction
- Operation type: Receipt, Issue, Loading, Unloading
- order or contract number
- loading location or warehouse
- Note on Weighing
- method of printing or sending
- serious ticket
For regular carriers, the information may be pre-filled. For one-time shipments, the terminal can function as a self-service form.
4. Review of the Rules
SCALIS verifies that the process is set up correctly. It checks the vehicle, the customer, the material, the open order, the entry authorization, or any existing, uncompleted weigh-in. If something is wrong, the system stops the process or requests operator intervention.
5. Initial Weighing
After confirming the data, SCALIS authorizes entry onto the scale. It can control the barrier, traffic light, and information display. Once the weight has stabilized, it reads the data from the scale indicator and saves the initial weight to the weighing record.
At the same time, it can save a photo of the vehicle, its license plate, the cargo, or a view of the scale.
6. Loading of Materials
The vehicle proceeds to the loading area. If the system is connected to a tablet or the loader’s on-board scale, the operator can see which vehicle has arrived, what material it is to load, and what quantity is required.
When connected to an on-board scale, SCALIS can compare the planned quantity, the current load, and the final weight at the weigh station.
7. Final Weighing
After loading, the driver returns to the scale. SCALIS identifies him again, finds an open weighing case, reads the outgoing weight, and automatically calculates the net weight.
The system can alert you to an overload, a discrepancy with the order, or a process that was not completed correctly.
8. Digital Weighing Slip
Once the weighing process is complete, SCALIS generates a weigh ticket. This can be printed at the terminal, sent via email, saved to the cloud, or transferred to an ERP system.
A weigh ticket may include the customer, carrier, vehicle, material, grade, gross weight, tare weight, net weight, time, date, order number, weigh-in number, and photographs.
What the SCALIS software does in the background
During the process, SCALIS creates a digital weighing record. This record consolidates all data into a single record: vehicle, driver, customer, carrier, material, fraction, weights, photos, time data, and process status.
Software on an ongoing basis:
- verifies the input data
- manages weighing operations
- communicates with the scale and the terminal
- controls barriers and traffic lights
- saves photos from the cameras
- matches the input and output weights
- calculates the net weight
- creates serious tickets
- stores data in a database and the cloud
- prepares exports to the ERP system or for invoicing
SCALIS, therefore, doesn’t just handle weight. It handles the entire weighing process: who arrived, for whom, what material, how much was loaded, when they left, and where the data should go next.
SCALIS Cloud-Based Record-Keeping
The cloud-based component of SCALIS allows you to monitor weighings even outside the weighing station. Management, sales, dispatch, and accounting can access the data based on their permissions.
The cloud enables:
- real-time weighing overview
- archiving of digital weighing slips
- search by vehicle, customer, material, or date
- Daily, weekly, and monthly shipping reports
- inspection of multiple quarries or gravel pits
- Exports for ERP, Inventory, and Billing
- Tracking complaints using photos and weighing history
- Integration with all parent applications via an API or a shared database
- the option to customize the extension according to the customer’s requirements
