Displaying items by tag: software
W&P Zement offers virtual plant tours
20 January 2022Austria: W&P cement has launched digital tours of its Peggau, Styria, and Weitersdorf, Carinthia, cement plants using 3D photo technology. Virtual guests can access areas which are closed off during conventional tours, while integrated information points provide them with detailed knowledge. W&P Zement also offers a digital tour of one of its ready-mixed concrete plants in Gratkorn, Styria.
Sales Director Peter Ramskogler said “It was important to us to make our production facilities accessible to everyone. Especially in times of a pandemic, the virtual factory brings even more advantages. In this way, we can at least continue to offer digital tours for schools and universities - regardless of current safety regulations."
Cemex signs service deal with HCL Technologies
22 December 2021Mexico: Cemex has signed a five-year agreement with India-based HCL Technologies for information technology (IT) services related to employee services, increased automation and analytics. HCL will work on IT managed services, infrastructure and application services and end-user support. It will also collaborate with Neoris, a subsidiary of Cemex, on customer services and supply chain resiliency. HCL will use its DryICE and Software products, along with various other automation products.
“Cemex selected HCL Technologies because we have a vision of working smarter to cater to the global company’s fast-growing operations,” said Fausto Sosa, vice president of Information Technology of Cemex.
Argos implements simulation model for marine cement dispatches
18 November 2021Colombia: Cementos Argos says that it uses simulation software for logistics at six of its port operations. The company explained that simulation helps to avoid delays in the rotation of resources and to optimise ships’ capacity.
International commercial advisor Alfonso Andrés Ibarra said “The simulator facilitates the decision-making process when delivering our material, since it allows us to evaluate different scenarios in advance to define the best alternative for loading the shipments. This way, time and costs are reduced, and our supply chain is optimised.”
UK: Road building company Hanson Contracting has begun rolling out Causeway Ermeo mobile workforce management software across its operations. The technology will replace paper forms and workflows. The software connects construction sites and offices through digital workflows, with easy-to-use reporting functions. Hanson Contracting plans to also digitise its timesheets, risk assessments, plant inspections, holiday requests and other manual processes.
Business manager Chris Harrison said “There is a lot of excitement from our business improvement team for Causeway Ermeo. We are always looking for any efficiencies and lean improvements to make in the business, and we see this solution as a key one." He added “We want data and technology to be at the heart of everything that we do. It gives us better operational and commercial performance on-site and also aligns us with our key customer’s vision for the future, in line with the National Highways Digital Roads strategy.”
HeidelbergCement acquires minority stake in Command Alkon
29 September 2021Germany: HeidelbergCement has invested in a 45% stake in Thoma Bravo’s supply chain software subsidiary Command Alkon. The group says that the companies’ collaboration can help advance heavy building materials supply chains’ digital transformation. It said that this will entail more transparent industry standards for seamless connectivity, improved solutions to customers’ everyday pain points, an increased pace in innovation and an acceleration of sustainability efforts. HeidelbergCement will continue to autonomously operate its proprietary digital product suite HConnect.
Chair Dominik von Achten said “As part of our Beyond 2020strategy, our clear goal is to become the first industrial tech company in our sector.” He added “We have made significant progress in our independently developed HConnect digital customer experience since its development in 2018. The investment in Command Alkon and the partnership with Thoma Bravo now allows us to monetise the hidden potential of our assets and translate it into a new growth path for HeidelbergCement. Together, we will build the digital ecosystem of the future for the heavy building materials industry.”
Lafarge France to implement Inform’s transport optimisation software
07 September 2021France: Lafarge France has awarded a contract to Germany-based Inform for the supply of its transport optimisation software across its 160 aggregates locations and 900-truck fleet. The software uses algorithms to analyse scheduling decisions in real-time and identify those that are ideal for minimising costs and maximising service and on-time performance.
Supply chain projects head Kevin Perrault said “We have been using Inform’s transport optimisation software for over 25 years in our aggregates business.” He added “We pride ourselves in delivering the best possible service to our customers, and upgrading our operations to the latest version is a key element to help us achieve our goals and to remain competitive in the industry.”
LafargeHolcim US launches CementDirect
26 August 2021US: LafargeHolcim US, part of Switzerland-based Holcim, has launched its CementDirect ready-mix concrete delivery mobile and web application (app) on the US market. The app consolidates ordering, tracking and shipping records for customers. Plant operators will be able to sign-off on deliveries and access bills of lading remotely.
Supply chain senior vice president Kristin Beck said “More than ever, ready-mix producers are operating under significant constraints. CementDirect allows for easier access to delivery information and removes the daily burden of managing and storing paper.”
Colombia: Cementos Argos has signed a contract with Klaveness Digital for the supply of the latter’s CargoValue cement terminal logistics platform throughout its supply chain. The move follows a successful trial project carried out by the parties during the second quarter of 2021. Cementos Argos says that it solidifies its digitisation agenda to preserve its strong market foothold in the Americas.
Trading and business intelligence senior director Gabriel Ballestas said “Our business model is focused on the customer and on creating added value for our stakeholders. CargoValue has enabled us to digitise existing processes to improve visibility and make better decisions throughout the supply chain towards that goal.” He added “This wider rollout will improve collaboration between stakeholders and allow us to identify and improve supply chain efficiencies between sites.”
US: Testing technology supplier Forney has named Jennifer Galligane as its new Product Development Manager, with the task of ‘driving the company's technological and commercial advances.’ Galligane will be responsible for overseeing the Forney Software as a Service (SaaS) team, driving Forney SaaS technology advancements and ensuring strategic alignment of customer needs with the SaaS roadmap, leading the overall delivery process and collaborating with customers, sales and marketing, and engineering.
Galligane has 25 years of software industry experience and extensive knowledge of SaaS and eCommerce product development. Prior to joining Forney, she was Law firm Fragomen’s technical delivery senior manager, having previously held product management, eCommerce and engineering positions with a variety of companies, including Westinghouse Electric Co., Smith Micro Software, Coventry Health Care and Highmark Health. Galligane has a computer science degree and an information science master’s degree from the University of Pittsburgh.
Forney’s CEO Jeff Dziki said "With ForneyVault technology now in five countries and more than 100 labs, Jennifer will help us meet market demands and seize opportunities to continue to grow." He added "Jennifer's experience as a product management leader at a number of companies, large and small, will be extremely important for advancing ForneyVault products."
US: ForneyVault has partnered with Command Alkon to improve the quality control process for a mutual customer, Titan Virginia Ready-Mix. The concrete producer, a subsidiary of Greece-based Titan Group, previously relied on both suppliers’ products separately. Now, ForneyVault has integrated Command Alkon ‘s quality control technology into its own data collection software. It says that the integration will benefit the concrete producer’s testing capabilities. Titan Virginia uses Command Alkon’s CommandQC software product to validate the quality for its own internal ready-mix concrete products.
Command Alkon software product owner James Shilstone said “Forney’s decision to place their data in the cloud makes it easy to interface with CommandQC. Sharing data between the two programmes eliminates the need for double entry and makes the test results available to the QC manager more quickly.” ForneyVault vice president, platform development Scott Grumski added “Integration with Command Alkon’s software allows Titan’s quality control technician to lose the clipboard and pencil... The integration partnership reduces risk and advances compliance for Titan’s quality assurance programme.”