GENERAL

The operator / scale interface shall be a performed on an industrial computer (see "Industrial Computer Hardware" below) connected via serial data stream to a separate digital weight indicating element and shall incorporate all of the following features:

• System shall be NTEP approved as a Platform Scale Weighing Data Processing System or as a combination Bulk Weigher and Platform Scale Weighing Data Processing System.
• System shall support single and multiple NTEP approved digital indicating elements.
• Computer operating system shall be Windows 95, Windows 98, or NT 4.0.

• System shall communicate with digital weight indicator (Condec UMC 600 or equivalent) mounted in separate enclosure.
• System shall be designed so operator is able to perform any operation using only the keyboard and function keys, and not require the use of a "mouse." However, the system must support the use of a mouse.
• System shall include minimum 56K modem and 32-bit remote connectivity program (PCAnywhere32 or equivalent) for remote support.
• System shall be designed to permit scale data management functions by non-programmers.
• System shall have ability to capture weight in automatic or manual mode, and still meet official weighing requirements.

A local printer shall be connected to the computer. The local printer shall record as a minimum all of the following:

• Customer identification information
• Gross Weight
• Tare Weight
• Net Weight
• Commodity
• Transaction Date
• Transaction Type
• If weight is manually entered, the word "MANUAL" shall be recorded next to the manual weight.

Where connectivity to data management, accounting interface, or other process control is required, computer shall communicate scale data via ethernet link to a network. If such connectivity is not required, computer shall be able to operate in standalone or local mode. Operator inputs shall be via keyboard and function keys, and shall not require the use of a "mouse," although the system must support the use of a mouse.

Operator Interface to Platform Scale shall be a GMS Series from CompuWeigh Corporation.

SCALE DATA MANAGEMENT

Scale data shall be handled on an industrial computer separate from any scale controller and from process control computer / PLC. Scale data shall be managed by a fully relational 32-bit database and shall incorporate all of the following features:

• Scale data management system shall be written in Microsoft Visual FoxPro or other industry standard, 32-bit database that can be served by Structured Query Language (SQL), if required.
• Database code shall be "object based" – able to accept changes to one part of the code without affecting other parts of code.
• Operating system shall be Windows 95 or NT 4.0 or higher.
• Scale data management system shall have flexible reporting system built in, allowing non-programmer to generate reports.
• Scale data management system shall be able to interface to RF Tag readers, Bar Code readers, automatic grading equipment, and other serial-data streams.
• Scale data management system shall be designed that during normal mode operator may use function keys or a computer "mouse." Operator must be able to perform any operation using only the keyboard and function keys, and not the mouse.
• All database information shall be stored in Industry standard dBase format.
• Customer and ticket information shall be able to be accessed directly or may be output to ASCII or spreadsheet format.

• A scale ticket shall be automatically printed at the end of each transaction. Scale tickets shall be customizable and shall include at a minimum, customer information, commodity and weight information. Information shall be made available for the accounting system and local reporting.

Operator shall be able to identify rail cars either by their I.D. number, bill of lading or automatically using optional bar codes or RF tags. Once entered the transactions shall be processed in any order or may be sequenced so that each transaction is automatically processed as soon as the previous one is complete.

If an HMI package is present, scale data shall be fully and seamlessly integrated into HMI package.

Scale data management shall be performed by Grain Management System® by CompuWeigh Corporation.

MODULAR DESIGN

Optional software "modules" shall be available to build in future capability without discarding existing computer or controller equipment. The following options shall be available:

• GRADING option shall allow operator to enter any sample’s grade factors, regardless of the order the the bulkweigher or platform scale is processing. Once the factors are entered the computer must automatically calculate the correct grade. Grade must be changeable by operator at his discretion. Additional factors must be able to be added to the grading template to handle customers who are concerned with other items (e.g. protein, moisture).

Using "drag and drop" technology, the supervisor shall be able, without special programming training, to quickly design or modify grading templates, selecting exactly what factors to include, in what order they appear on the screen and the description attached to each.

• INVENTORY viewing and reporting capability shall be available as an option. Inventory system shall replace the manual bin board with a "bird’s eye" view of the bins. Display shall show a "pie-chart" showing how full each bin is; with information on the average grade and factors of each bin. The system must be able to be integrated with temperature monitoring and bin level equipment to provide both hazardous temperature alarms and integration of calculated and physical inventory. System must be able to adjust for differences between calculated inventory and that taken by physical means. System must be capable of displaying bin levels in real-time through interfacing to level devices.
• GRAIN BLENDING capability shall be offered as an option. Blending system shall calculate the proper blend of product to ensure shipment meets the customer’s requirements but does not exceed them.

Software modules shall be by CompuWeigh Corporation.

MULTIPLE SCALE CONTROL WORKSTATION

If an operator is required to operate more than one scale, a Multiple Scale Control workstation shall be provided. Multiple scale control computer shall accept instructions from networked workstations and shall pass instructions to communications server. Multiple scale control computer shall include customized Wonderware® InTouch interface. Multiple scale control workstation shall include seamless integration between HMI (process control) and scale data.

Multiple Scale Control Workstation to be provided by CompuWeigh Corporation.

HUMAN-MACHINE INTERFACE (HMI)

HMI shall communicate to multiple scale control computer at optimized speeds using Wonderware’s enhanced Net-DDE. HMI must be able to handle up to eight scales simultaneously, per workstation. Scales may be any combination of bulkweighing hopper systems or platform scale. Graphical interface shall show exact status of each scale, including gate positions and amount of grain in each weigh hopper. Operator shall be able to control any scale from one HMI screen or from multiple screens on a network.

Alarms shall be immediately displayed with a record kept of when alarm occurred, who acknowledged the problem and the time alarm was corrected. Operator shall have ability to start and stop scales at any time with no restriction on how many of the scales are in operation.

Scale data and PLC I/O shall both be seamlessly integrated into HMI package. All scale data must be stored in the same dBase format files described above.

HMI software to be Wonderware InTouch.

COMMUNICATIONS SERVER

If more than one scale is to be controlled across a network, a separate data communications server computer shall be provided. The communications server shall act as a "bridge" between the scale controllers and the Ethernet network. Communications server shall use industry-standard Net DDE to broadcast scale information across the network. Communications server computer shall be capable of handling all information received from the individual scale controllers as well as sending and receiving scale information on up to 8 scales (bulkweighing scales or platform scales) in real time across the Ethernet network. Communication to controllers shall be a rate greater than or equal to twice per second.

Communications server shall be Compu.Server by CompuWeigh Corporation.

DATA SERVER

In the case of multiple scale controllers, scale data shall be stored on separate data server. Data server shall save key scale information to hard disk on a timely basis and in the same format used by the scale data management system described above.

Data server shall be supplied by CompuWeigh Corporation

INDUSTRIAL COMPUTER HARDWARE

All computers shall be industrial-grade, suitable for use in a dusty, vibration-prone environment. Industrial computers shall include: Heavy duty UL listed steel case; air filter to minimize dust infiltration; shock mounted hard drive, floppy disk and CD-ROM; positive hold-down clamp for cards; lockable front door to prevent unauthorized access; industrial fan with positive air pressure system; high quality power supply. Processor shall be Intel Pentium II 300 MHz or higher with 64 megabytes or more of RAM. Display shall be 17" energy efficient Super VGA monitor. 104 keyboard and a Microsoft mouse shall be provided. System shall be pre-loaded with Windows 95, Windows 98, or NT 4.0.