Avery raises benchmark for weighing equipment uptime

Warehousing and logistics is one of the key focus areas for the company.

Divisional manager for logistics Stewart Campbell says: “This is a groundbreaking service initiative, backed by investment from our parent company ITW. This will be used to ensure properly balanced lorry loads for road safety. We know that while overall weight of load is important, so too is weight on axles. We have also found that safe loading on double deck trucks is especially important. Logistics firms want to keep their operating licences.”

As well as boosting safety, Uptime Select is designed to help to maintain throughput in the warehouse.

Campbell continues: “Weighing needs to be integrated into logistics processes. These applications cannot afford to slow down just to weigh stock. Equally, many applications cannot afford downtime, and we suggest Uptime Select is the best solution in this case.”

Avery will match the package to how critical the equipment is to the customer.

Pam Shields, business unit manager at Avery Weight Tronix continues: “There are no hidden charges but this approach needs to be in partnership with the customer. We offer guaranteed uptime with the all inclusive option and will pay financial penalties if we don’t meet it. We will be very clear with clients up front and create a full list of expectations pre contract, what we expect, and what you can expect.”

Proactive maintenance is key to the packages. If an Avery technician spots a potential issue, he will make a report, and advise the client to address it.

Paul Hines, innovation director at Avery Weigh-Tronix, adds: “Our new Uptime Select offer is a radical shift for the industry.  We spoke to our customers and designed a solution which reflects what they really want and need from service agreements. Our new products are completely transparent: customers can see instantly what is and is not included, and what (if anything) may be chargeable.

“Most importantly, since engineering teams become familiar with their customers’ sites, we can ensure even faster call-to-fix times to keep downtime to an absolute minimum.”

Designed to safeguard operational weighing performance, Uptime Select spans routine preventative maintenance, recalibration, reverification, emergency call out and product repair or replacement.

Three discrete Uptime Select product groups meet the different service cover needs for major categories of weighing equipment: weighbridges (with BridgeCare Total and BridgeCare); heavy-capacity integrated scales (with Weighcare Total and WeighCare); and standalone, light capacity scales (with ProCare Total and ProCare).

For business-critical equipment, Care Total agreements give the assurance of up to 99% uptime through fully-inclusive service and maintenance cover – a promise backed by a proportional refund of the annual premium if the agreed service level is not met. For other equipment, Care agreements offer 8-hour/next-day response and market-leading comprehensive cover. All customers are assigned a named team of engineers, ensuring detailed operational familiarity and service continuity.

Deploying 150 engineers, a 24-hour National Response Centre will co-ordinate field service calls. Any UK postcode sits within 26 minutes’ travelling time of a qualified engineer, while the UK’s largest fleet of ten strategically-placed weighbridge test units ensures reverification equipment is typically less than an hour away. 

THE PACKAGES IN DETAIL

Service cover for weighbridges

For many industrial operations, including waste and recycling, mining, aggregates and construction, operation of heavy-duty weighbridges is business-critical. Service needs extend beyond simply catering for breakdown or failure. With an uptime guarantee of at least 97% per weighing system (tracked through an online asset portal) BridgeCare Total provides rapid, fully-inclusive cover to ensure equipment is maintained, diagnosed, repaired and reverified quickly.

Where weighbridges aren’t part of a revenue system, preventative maintenance ensures uptime and availability. Competitive BridgeCare provides a generous level of cover to keep weighbridges properly serviced. The agreement includes calibration by one of Avery Weigh-Tronix’s fleet of ten test units and preventative maintenance. Customers enjoy an 8-hour response and discounts on parts and repairs.

Service cover for heavy-capacity integrated scales

Many production, formulation and distribution environments rely on within-tolerance weighing to support continuous operation. WeighCare Total minimises the risk of weighing equipment failure and guarantees the fastest possible time-to-fix should a breakdown occur. The agreement guarantees at least 97% availability for integrated, in-situ scales. All call outs, parts (including load cells) and repairs are included. Cover can include a stock of on-site spares to further minimise call-to-fix times.

Where other weighing equipment is available in the event of failure, WeighCare offers a more cost-effective alternative, combining generous preventative maintenance with access to reduced-cost repairs. The service includes dedicated Avery Weigh-Tronix engineers, with an 8-hour response UK-wide.

Service cover for stand-alone, light-capacity scales

Logistics companies and production lines often use multiple, lighter-capacity, stand-alone scales. When a failure occurs, it’s faster and more convenient to simply replace the unit. ProCare and ProCare Total service agreements provide the ability to swap out faulty equipment such as balances, checkweighers, bench scales and counting scales affordably and sustainably.

ProCare Total offers a contingency stock of boxed, tested scales on site allowing staff to make an instant replacement in the event of a fault, guaranteeing 99% availability.
It includes fully inclusive calibration visits and return-to-base collection. Where immediate replacement is not needed – for instance, where several bench scales are available – ProCare offers a next-day replacement by an engineer, removing the need to hold stocks. Basic diagnostic review and labour is also included.

Avery Weigh-Tronix
We are one of the world’s leading suppliers of weighing solutions and service. With more than 250 years of combined experience, we draw on the latest research and technology from around the globe to design, manufacture, install and service a range of high quality, industry-leading weighing systems.

Avery Weigh-Tronix is owned by Illinois Tool Works Inc., a globally diversified industrial manufacturer with 100 years of history. The company trades under the New York Stock Exchange as ITW and is a Fortune 500 company.