KING SAND AND GRAVEL - KPI-JCI

for trial-and-error troubleshootingwhen an operator does identify thatsomething is not functioning properly.“A lot of valuable time can be wastedhunting for problems. This new systemcan troubleshoot automatically,allowing problems to be fixed quicklyand the unit to be back online sooner.”Ironically, the value of such asystem cannot be recognized until acomponent on the classifying tank fails,800-542-9311www.kpijci.comand KPI-JCI equipment is notknown for frequent failures.Still, two opportunities didarise since the system wasinstalled at the King Sand andGravel site for field testing.When the classifier was firstinstalled in the fall of 2005,the system detected ahydraulic leak, andappropriately shut down theunit. The leak was quickly fixedand the tank resumedoperation. About eight monthslater, a small power supplywas detected to have failed; ittoo was quickly replaced.While the issues were minor,the monitoring systemperformed as expected,notifying the operator of theissue appropriately.Another major changemade to the KPI-JCI classifyingtank was the transition fromAC coils to DC coils. Wendteexplained the benefits of thatchange. “AC coils are whatphysically energizes thecartridge valve for opening andclosing…but they are like lightbulbs—you can take two fromthe same package, and onemay blow in an hour while theother works perfectly for twoyears. They’re just inherentlyunreliable.” The more reliableDC coils blow much lessfrequently. “That tank hasn’t blown acoil yet. Normally, they would havereplaced a few AC coils by now,”Wendte added. The obvious advantageis the reduction in replacement partsand time; but less obvious is the gain inproductivity from not having valves fail.Because a failed valve decreases theproductivity and effectiveness of theclassifier, ensuring they are fullyfunctional at all times results in agreater volume of high-quality material.For Rachel and King Sand andGravel, their new KPI-JCI classifyingtank has far exceeded theirexpectations. “It has worked outexceptionally. When they approachedus with the upgrade opportunity, wereally didn’t know what we were gettinginto to be honest,” Rachel recalled.“None of us are very computer literate,but the transition for us to go to theautomated system was very easy.” Theresults for KPI-JCI have been verysatisfying as well. “The performance ofthis system in the field has definitelymet our goals,” Wendte said. “Withinthe next few months, we expect totransition all our tanks to DC coils, andthe new systems monitoring bridge willbe an available upgrade later this year.”As King Sand and Gravel settlesinto their new facility, the efficiency oftheir new classifier has been quitebeneficial to the operation. “Everythingthat comes out of the mine gets soldas something,” Rachel explained. “Theoversize we sell for fill and such—generally the largest stone we get is4–5”. The screen decks then separate1.5” minus stone, 3/8” minus peastone, before the sand slurry isdirected to the classifier. From there,King uses KPI-JCI’s SpecSelect systemto generate various mixes of concretesand, until the finest material comesthrough the bottom of the tank and issold as mortar sand. “It took sometime to get our programming set,” saidRachel. “But once we got all therecipes in the system that we needed,creating an accurate and consistentspec product is extremely easy.Because the material that comes outof the ground will always fluctuate,being able to quickly compensate forthat is a big plus.”With a dozen trucks on the roaddelivering material throughoutnortheast Texas, King Sand and Gravelis well-positioned to capitalize on theirnew mine and processing plant tomeet the aggregate demands of themarket more efficiently than ever. Andwhen future needs arise that requireadditional equipment investments tomeet them, Rachel said he mostdefinitely will turn to KPI-JCI again. “Thepeople at KPI-JCI have been easy to getalong with, the service is excellent andthe quality of the products has verymuch met our expectations. We’ll beturning to KPI-JCI again in the futurefor sure!”