Industry update for measurement instrumentation for autumn 2021
- March 31, 2021
- Posted by: Sro tech
- Category: SRO Technology News
To help keep your finger on the pulse, here is an industry update from Matt Keane and the team at SRO Technology.
We share noteworthy Australian developments we have seen and let you know the new things we can do for you.
Here is our short list of key industry updates:
- Increases in new equipment
- Growing demand for fast parts delivery
- Expanded service in QLD, NSW and WA
- Preventative maintenance trends up
- New expertise in baghouse control
Here are our key news items:
Industry update measurement instrumentation Australia for Autumn 2021
Increases in new equipment
In the past quarter we have seen significantly increased investment in new measurement equipment installs. There are several reasons for this trend.
Low cost and fast payback
The industry has been upgrading equipment, taking advantage of its low cost and fast payback.
Process efficiency and automation
These upgrades reduce cost by improving process efficiency and automation.
Lower impact of breakdowns
They also lower risk and impact of breakdowns on business continuity.
Growing demand for fast parts delivery
We have quadrupled the size of our Brisbane facility, dramatically increasing the volume of spares and stock we can hold. This will help us meet the industry’s need for reduced lead times on belt scales and will speed up the supply of parts needing urgent replacement.
Expanded service in QLD, NSW and WA
Our Mackay service base in Bowen Basin continues to strengthen. We have added Marius Venter, with his considerable expertise, to help keep up with the growing demand for our field service team in that region.
We have had to increase our service delivery team in Newcastle and the Hunter Valley region. We now have two permanent technicians, closely supported by our Sydney team.
Kevin Woods, with over 30 years’ experience, has joined us to help keep up with the expanding servicing demand in Western Australia.
Preventative maintenance trends up
We are seeing the industry moving from ad-hoc service arrangements on their equipment to adopting a preventative maintenance approach. It is good for everyone to take a more planned approach to servicing and maintenance.
If you are interested in obtaining a quote for a preventative maintenance program that fits your situation, feel free to reach out to us.
New expertise in baghouse control
Our technicians have been cross-trained in the use of bag house and dust controllers from PTronik. This is to make our servicing capability more inclusive. Next time our technicians are onsite, ask how they can help you with your dust controllers.
Additions to the SRO Technology team
Kevin Woods
Kevin is based in Adelaide and will be servicing South and Western Australia. He has specialist knowledge on belt scales and tramp metal detectors. For more than 15 years Kevin was a service technician at Thermo Fisher. He has a Bachelor in Electronics Engineering and a Masters in Digital Signal Processing (Audio Engineering).
Kevin comes with a genuine ‘can do’ work attitude and listens carefully to work out the best solution for the customer. His analytical approach to problem solving is of great benefit, and detailed service reports keep customers well-informed.
Work background
Kevin grew up on a farm in the Southern Flinders Ranges. His first job was as an Auto Electrician for the South Australia Police Department where he specialised in unmarked Police vehicles. He then worked in electronics repair doing factory testing and quality assessing (ISO-9001) before starting a career as a field service engineer.
About Kevin himself
Kevin’s family is big in sports and charities. His brother-in-law sponsors Port Adelaide and his sister is head of two charities. He shares his home with a housemate, one Red Heeler dog, two cats and more than 60 frogs.
Marius Venter
Marius is based in the Mackay office, where he is to help expand support in the Bowen Basin. He has over 30 years’ experience servicing static and dynamic weighers, as well as nucleonic density gauges.
Work background
Marius is excited to be in the field service team. He started out in South Africa and moved to Australia in 2012, working in eight countries and across two continents. Marius has extensive industrial experience, from analogue gauges to modern digital systems.
About Marius himself
Marius is an electronics fanatic. So much so that his wife, Diane, says she is the girlfriend and the electronics hobby is the wife. It was important that he worked a career that encompassed electronics. Marius enjoys design and building of handy gadgets he uses for his work, as well as gardening, painting and photography with Diane. They have a son, Daniel, and daughter, Meghan, who are studying at UQ and QUT, respectively, in Brisbane.
Expanding the SRO Technology team with Kevin Woods and Marius Venter
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PMC Remote Access and Data Logger
The pMC Remote Access and Data Logger is a complete system that monitors the condition of your dust collectors, bag houses, ESP and air filtration systems. It works on units of all sizes and provides the following benefits:
- Saves money and improves efficiency
- Ensures compliance with environmental regulations
- Increases workplace safety
Operators will no longer need to climb around equipment to ‘work out what is going on’. There is an ability to remotely log into the pMC from any network-connected computer (password protected). You can make changes to system settings and download historical data from the pMC and display trends in the PTronik application. If an issue is detected, set up the pMC to send you email alerts, or a text message notifying you of the exact issue in real time.
Matt gives a walkthrough, providing an overview and showing the features.
For more details of this and other Australian-made dust collector controllers.
pMC Remote Access and Data Logger
Another Australian-made belt scale ships
Check out a recently constructed fully floating belt scale being loaded for shipping within Australia. You can clearly see the build quality of its major components, such as the:
- Scale frame design
- Self-shedding billet weights
- Totally isolated load cells
The unit has full mechanical decoupling and hot dip galvanised construction. We can also construct in stainless steel if required.
Another Australian-made belt scale ships
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When did you last check your spares levels?
Double-check you have enough suitable spares! Ensure you have on hand a safe number of spares to cover you over any coming holiday period. Double-check you have enough of the more common items, such as:
- Tilt switches
- Weigh rollers
- Load cells
- Integrators
Let us help get your spares organised. Feel free to contact us.
Double check you have enough spares
Aware of the features in our new spiral cages?
We recently supplied a number of non-intrusive spiral cage pulleys for installation of belt scales. These eliminate the need to remove conveyor structure and improve ease of fitment.
These new spiral cages have an improved bearing housing guard, designed to further increase the service life of these already reliable and rugged units.
For more on our spiral cages and speed sensors.
New features of the non-intrusive spiral cages
What happens when weigh rollers fail?
When weigh rollers are not being properly maintained, the bearings will eventually fail and the roller seize. This will cause the belt to scrub and bounce across this seized roller. Further, the load cells in the belt weigher will report false fluctuations in the measured weight. Poorly maintained weigh rollers will greatly affect the accuracy of the belt weigher and damage the belt.
We can implement an asset reliability plan to ensure your weigh rollers and other consumables are checked and replaced before failures occur. A proper maintenance program like this will protect against unexpected and expensive problems later.
We can help you set up a maintenance program to avoid these types of failures. Contact us and get started.
What happens with poorly maintained weigh rollers
Need help with onsite servicing?
Our ability to maintain your belt scales and other instrumentation across Australia is one of our major advantages, making us a market leader.
Local service and support
We have technicians and service offices in all the main regions across Australia, so we can easily provide quick local service.
Our technicians are NMI certified and have extensive industrial experience.
Spares and fast delivery
Our extensive support network means we have the fastest spare parts delivery in Australia.
We carry spares on the shelf for all belt scale components such as load cells, integrators and speed sensors, making replacements even faster.
Contact us to find out what we can offer you.
Visiting Ulan in outback NSW for some belt scale onsite servicing
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If there is anything we can help you with or if you have any questions, please let us know. Feel free to follow us on our social profiles:
We hope you enjoyed our first industry update.