Rock Products is the aggregates industry's leading source for market analysis and technology solutions, delivering critical content focusing on aggregates-processing equipment; operational efficiencies; management best practices; comprehensive market
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14 • ROCK products • May 2016 www.rockproducts.com Stockpile Reports, an online image- based stockpile inventory management system, announced a new industry initiative called Project Acumen. The company will be working with its exist- ing customer base, aggregates industry partners, and tech-friendly groups such as the National Stone, Sand and Gravel Association's Young Leaders to address the challenge of reducing inventory write-off risk associated with pile man- agement practices. David Boardman, CEO of Stockpile Reports, said, "Too often measurement technologies are built upon the assump- tion of the mythical stockpile. We've all seen it – the beautifully stacked conical pile on flat ground, free from obstruc- tions and vegetation. You just use a simple tool to 'click-click-click' and magically you have a risk-free perfect volume. That's just not the real world." Boardman continued, "Due to real estate constraints, environmental reg- ulations and less-than-ideal pile man- agement practices, the mythical stock- pile is very rare in the real world. We all know some of these issues cannot be avoided. However, many can. Technol- ogies and best practices need to be uti- lized to help companies automatically deal with these real-world issues while identifying, quantifying, and managing the associated risks." Stockpile Reports is releasing the fol- lowing capabilities to jump start the initiative: • New patent-pending Base and Sur- face Confidence Scores in stockpile measurement reports. The Base Con- fidence score quantifies how much of the stockpile toe was visible during the measurement process. The Sur- face Confidence score quantifies how much of the pile's surface was visible during the measurement process. Every score's result is derived using algorithms that compute visibility issues related to obstructions. • Automated identification of issues impacting scores including vegeta- tion, stackers, machinery, debris and snow. These details allow manage- ment and employees to jointly under- stand and manage specific risks impacting stockpile measurements. • A customer configurable Verified Stamp for report results. Reports receiving a Verified Stamp are based on risk thresholds for factors that impact the stockpile and base sur- faces used to compute volumes. This will give management and employ- ees a valuable tool to jointly, and actively manage inventory risks. • Enhanced company, region and site dashboards enabling senior man- agement to actively manage compa- ny-wide risks remotely. Current Challenges Industries with stockpiled products such as construction materials have the greatest challenges maintaining an accurate inventory. Material doesn't come in neatly packaged boxes with barcodes or RFID tags. The way stock- piled material is stored generates challenges that make it difficult to con- sistently perform a physical inventory count. Stockpiles can be combined with other stockpiles, submerged in water, or spilling off of high walls. Obsta- cles such as vegetation, stackers and machinery can make it problematic to measure. To maximize inventory count, consistency and accuracy, these envi- ronmental and storage risks must be identified, quantified and managed. Historically, corporate finance and auditors have received the results of an inventory count in a spreadsheet with- out assurances that risks to the count have been minimized. Based on expe- rience performing physical inventory counts at over 1,800 locations in 21 countries, Stockpile Reports believes that these risks can impact counts by as much as 10 to 15 percent. That's $240,000 to $500,000 per location for an average aggregates producer. "We've been working for the last cou- ple of years to develop patent-pend- ing advanced algorithms that take the guesswork and inconsistency out of stockpile measurements," said Dr. Bri- an Clipp, senior research engineer for Stockpile Reports. "Even two profes- sional surveyors can generate signifi- cantly different results for the same complex stockpile, based on how each of them apply their best professional judgment to address unknowns and risks. Our new Base and Surface Confi- dence Scores leverage advanced image processing and mathematics. This ensures more consistent volumes and identification of any risks to finance and management." For more information about the compa- ny, visit www.StockpileReports.com. High-Tech Inventory Management