You may not of think scale operations and procedures as being a critical piece of the biomass supply chain.
Scale operation and logistics play an important role in the supply chain for feedstock quantity, inventory, and other factors regarding energy crops.
Scales need to work properly and drivers need to correctly use the scale system.
Here at Genera Energy, each driver utilizes a unique number for their own truck, as well as each location and each product. Locations could be a farm or another supplier. There is a database created for trucks/drivers, products and locations. It is important for each driver to know their own truck number, what product they have, and from where they are coming. It is also important to keep this file up to date to ensure that you have accurate data coming from your scale operations to your reporting files. Commercial supply chains can have over 100 trucks in and out on a daily basis from different places carrying different products.
The weights of these trucks need to be accurate as this is entered into our system as inventory. Information from the scales for inventory is an important step for our biomass supply chain. If this inventory is not utilized immediately, the material must be stored and managed to maintain quality.
Farm and/or location is important because feedstocks from different locations have been grown and harvested under different conditions and may have different quality parameters. If we manage the inventory by source, we have data for the full chain of custody. All of this factors in to our inventory and production for customers.
Ultimate responsibility for the data that enters our inventory system rests with each driver. They will pull onto the scale with a loaded weight and enter their personal truck number, the location and the type of product. It seems like a simple process and it should be, however, one small mistake could make a big difference in the bio based products we manufacture. Proper training for drivers and all involved in the inventory system is critical to successful inventory control.
By Harmony Cole, Administrative Assistant
