12/6/2006 - A Wireless Solution

Hwashin America Corporation is a Tier 1 Supplier for the Montgomery, Alabama Hyundai plant.  Hwashin produces automotive chassis, drivetrains, and vehicle body parts.  As with most automotive manufacturers, quality control is the most important component of the company.  Quality control at Hwashin begins with incoming material and ends with outgoing product.  Birmingham-Toledo services the truck scale at Hwashin, as well as in-plant scales and measuring equipment.

When the Greenville, Alabama plant was built, the general contractor requested that Birmingham-Toledo submit a bid to sell and install the Hwashin truck scale.  Mettler-Toledo, the Cadillac of industrial weighing, is usually not a low-bid winner, so, after entering their bid, BTI continued to visit and offer advice to both Hwashin and the general contractor regarding best placement of the scale. 

The general contractor wanted to place the scale on a side road adjacent to the plant.  They were concerned only with access to the scale, not actual use of the scale.  BTI encouraged the contractor to consider other options so that regardless of which brand scale was purchased, it would be of value and benefit to Hwashin.

Regretfully, the general contractor chose to purchase a low-cost truck scale.  The contractor then chose to ignore the advice offered by BTI regarding placement of the truck scale, and succeeded in convincing Hwashin to place the scale on the adjacent road.

                  Truck scale on the left                              Plant on the right

Truck scale problems became evident to Hwashin personnel soon after moving into the plant.  The general contractor had placed the truck scale over 200 feet behind the plant, and it was not usable.  Also, the distributor who had installed the scale did such a poor job that they were eventually asked not to return.

BTI, now in their Montgomery Scales and Systems office, was asked to come in and remedy Hwashin's pain.  MS&S began by providing quality service and preventative maintenance of the scale.  Next, they were asked for suggestions regarding increasing the usability of the device.  MS&S offered a wireless solution.

Using Mettler-Toledo instrumentation and wireless interface equipment, MS&S provided an interface from the truck scale to the front office.  This a distance of over 500 feet with the large plant building in the way.  After some initial problems regarding the data stream from the low-cost "digital" scale, the installation went very smoothly.  Hwashin's front office is now able to print each inbound and outbound truck scale weight through wireless data communication.

MS&S also installed a wireless callbox so that Hwashin's office personnel can communicate with truck drivers.  Drivers pull onto the scale, push a button, and communicate wirelessly with the scale operator/receptionist.  The office then prints a weight ticket.  The process is seamless.  Hwashin is now considering a video camera to further enhance their truck scale application. 

Montgomery Scales and Systems, a division of Birmingham-Toledo, Inc., has brought a new solution-based weighing world to the industries of south-central Alabama.  

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