Turkey Weighing Systems

Overview

A complete system will comprise a grading scale, a labelling scale and a host computer.

The grading scale weighs the plucked birds and estimates the final processed weight. This can then show the result on a remote display or print a label/tag. The data will be recorded in the memory of the scale for later upload to the host computer.

The labelling scale processes customer orders, printing a label from an attached printer and recording the details of each consignment on the host computer.

The host computer has a database to store all of the data and an interface program for user interaction. From the program, the user can send source data to the scales, log or extract data from the scale, review production data and obtain reports such as delivery notes, invoices and analysis.

The system is designed so that the grading scale runs independently and the host computer is only connected periodically (for example at the end of each day) to upload the data, whilst the labelling scale relies on a permanent connection to the host computer.

Grading scale operation

From an idle condition, press the Start key to enter grading mode. Note that if the scale is programmed to operate in either mode of operation, the screen will show "Grading".

 

When entering or exiting grading mode the number of records in memory and the amount of free memory available is displayed. When entering grading mode, the free memory is checked against two limits; a warning level and a minimum level – messages are displayed if either are exceeded and the user will not be allowed to continue if below the minimum level.

 

The grading scale has two lookup tables; one for bird types and the other for weight bands. For each bird type an estimated final weight factor is defined. The bird type is selected by pressing the ID key or an external button. For each press the next bird type in the list is selected and shown on screen.

 

When a stable weight is detected on the scale then the weight will be recorded automatically, the estimated final weight calculated, the weight band determined and the data recorded in memory. The results will be displayed on the screen of the indicator.

 

If a printer is attached then a label or tag will be printed and if a remote display is attached then the estimated weight will be shown.

To reprint without adding to the totals then the Units key can be pressed.

From grading mode, press the Stop key to return to idle mode.

The grading scale is intended to be operated without the need to be connected to a computer. However, a computer will need to be connected periodically to upload the data and free the memory.

Labelling scale operation

The labelling scale is intended to be operated whilst connected to the host computer running the database system. The operation is based around the concept of a consignment – each consignment is for a specific customer but can consist of different products at different prices.

As each consignment is started and each item is weighed, the data is recorded in the database on the host computer. Before starting to use the scales to process consignments, the program on the host computer should be started, the scale connected to it and the program set to start logging data.

From an idle condition, the user can either press F1 to start a new consignment or F2 to resume an existing consignment.

 

 

Starting a new consignment

On pressing the F1 key, the user will be prompted for the consignment date:

 

The previous date will be displayed and to accept this for the new consignment the user can press the Enter key. Otherwise, to specify a new date the value must be keyed in. Note that a decimal point must be used to separate the day, month and year.

 

The user will then be prompted to enter the customer ID. If the ID is known then this can be keyed in and the Enter key pressed. Otherwise, if the Enter key is pressed without a value then the list will be displayed on screen and the user can select the required entry using the cursor keys. The left and right keys can be used to move the selection a page at a time. Once the required entry has been selected the user can press the Enter key. The Clear key can be pressed to exit back to idle mode.

 

At this point, the scale will attempt to connect to the host computer. If no acknowledgement is received then the following message will be displayed:

 

 

The reason for this behaviour is that if there is some catastrophic failure of the PC or the connection to it, then the scale can continue to run and produce labels whilst disconnected and store the data in memory.

IMPORTANT NOTE: If the reason for the failure to connect is trivial, such as the user forgetting to start the program on the PC or connect the scale, then the option to continue disconnected should be cancelled. It is not recommended to run disconnected; the facility is provided only as an emergency measure to cope with a failure of the host PC. Refer to the section on sending saved data to the host PC for more information.

Resuming an existing consignment

On pressing F2, the user will be prompted for the consignment ID:

 

The scale will attempt to communicate with the host computer to look up the consignment details. If the consignment details are retrieved successfully then processing of the consignment will be resumed on the scale. If the consignment is not found or the scale is not connected to the PC then an error message will be generated. Not that a consignment cannot be resumed if the scale is not connected to the PC.

Consignment processing

When a consignment is started or resumed, the details will be shown on the indicator display:

 

Additionally, on the host computer, the main screen will be cleared and a text message will be displayed to indicate that a new consignment has started.

Selecting a product

A product must be selected before weighing any items. The user can press F1 and will be prompted to enter the product ID:

 

The user can either key in the ID value of the product or press Enter alone to pick from a list on screen. Once selected, the product name will be displayed on the screen.

Setting the tare value

The scale has a lookup table of tare values to store the tare weights of different box types. There is also a dummy entry with an ID value of 0 to allow the user to use the current weight as the tare value. During consignment processing, when the user presses the Tare key they will be prompted for the tare ID:

 

The user can either key in the ID value or press Enter alone to pick from a list on screen. Once selected, the tare value will be displayed on the screen.

Weighing items

Depending on the configuration, processing of each item will be initiated by either an external button or when a stable weight is detected. The weight will be used to determine the price band, the unit price and the price to pay and a label will be printed. The totals will be updated on the indicator display and the user will be prompted to clear the scale. The data for each item will be transmitted to the host computer and the details shown on the screen.

 

The weight on the scale must go below a pre-defined threshold weight before another item can be weighed.

If the label is spoiled then a repeat label can be printed without adding to the totals by pressing the Units key.

If there is an error transmitting the data to the host computer then an error message will be displayed and the user will be prompted whether to continue disconnected (Enter for Yes, any other key for No). If the option to continue is chosen then data will be recorded in the scale memory and the consignment can be continued, otherwise the system will exit to idle mode. If the consignment needs to be resumed later when the connection to the PC is restored then this can be done by pressing F2 from idle mode.

Sending saved data

When a new consignment is started, the scale checks to see whether there is any data that has been saved from any previous consignments that were processed when the scale was disconnected from the host computer. If so, the user is prompted to send the data to the PC:

 

The user must either press Enter to attempt to send the data to the PC; any other key will bypass this step and the scale will continue to operate disconnected from the PC and saving the data to the scale memory.

If the data is sent to the scale successfully, the user will be prompted to delete the data from memory (press Enter for Yes or any other key to indicate No). If there was any error in sending the data then the user will be prompted as to whether they want to continue disconnected or not.

To delete data in the scale without sending it to the PC, use the facility in the PC program to clear the scale data.

Dual operation

For some systems, the indicator can be configured to operate as either a grading scale or a labelling scale. The Scale Select key will switch from one mode to another.

Note that the PC software will refer to the grading scale or the labelling scale. Information for both modes of operation will need to be downloaded from the PC to the scales.

Database system

Startup

When the program is started it will test the database connection. If successful the screen will show "Connected" and the user will be able to click the close button to continue.

If there is an error connecting then this is most likely to be a problem with the configuration; refer to the Advanced configuration section for more information. If this is correct then check that the SQL Server database is running under Services in Windows (refer to Windows documentation for more information).

Main screen

The main screen provides a user interface to the underlying database and the operational functions.

Start logging

The "Start logging" button will open the specified port on the computer and set the system to monitor the labelling scale. If an error is generated when the button is clicked this is most likely due to a problem with the specified serial port.

The main screen will be cleared when a new consignment is started on the scales. The basic information for the consignment will be shown and then an entry for each item weighed. A message will also be displayed when the consignment is completed and depending on the autoprint settings despatch notes may also be printed.

Note that whilst logging, data will be written to the underlying database.

Get grading data

The "Get grading data" button provides the means to upload the data from the grading scale to the database. When the button is clicked the PC will connect to the scales and request the data. The screen will show each record as it is received and then when complete will prompt the user to delete the data from the scale to free the memory.

Autoprint

The autoprint settings will determine whether the associated despatch notes will be printed automatically when a consignment is complete.

Clear scale data

The labelling scales have the ability to store data in memory if there is a problem connecting to the host computer. When connection is re-established, the scales can upload the data. However, if this data is not required (for example if it was just for test purposes) then this data can be cleared from the scale memory using the "Clear scale data" button.

Source data

The database includes several tables containing source data essential for the operation of the system. The forms under the "Source data" menu provide access to these tables for the user to add and edit data as required.

Note that data in the various tables is inter-related. If an attempt is made to delete an item that has related data that would be orphaned an error message will be generated: "The DELETE statement conflicted with the REFERENCE constraint …".

The editing screens for the source data enable the user to change the sort order of any columns to help view the data. Note that for columns that contain lookup values in drop down boxes, the sorting will be by the underlying ID value and alphabetically by the displayed text value. Some screens will provide an additional "A/Z" button to sort data alphabetically.

Sending data to the scales

Some of the source data is only intended for use in the host PC database; other data also needs to be transmitted to one or both scales. In the form for each of the tables there will be a button "Send to grading scale" and/or "Send to labelling scale" to enable transmission of the table data.

When the data table is first created and each time the data is modified, the data will need to be sent to the relevant scale(s).

Once data has been sent, the system checks for any errors. If no error has occurred, a prompt with "DB OK" will be displayed.

It is recommended that when data is sent, the scale indicator is in view as this will display progress (line 1, line 2, etc.) and if any errors do occur, the indicator may provide more detailed information such as the row and column at which the error occurred and the nature of the error.

Customer groups

Customers are placed in to groups to reduce the amount of information that needs to be entered for pricing. The pricing information is entered for a customer group and all customers within that group will adopt that pricing.

Note that a dummy entry is provided for internal stock. This allows a corresponding customer to be created and any items labelled as part of a consignment for a customer in this group will not be counted in the totals for items sold.

The customer groups table is not used on the scales

Customers

The customer list is used by the labelling scale for making up consignments. Customers can have different label types which will have been set up in the scale and each customer must be assigned to a customer group.

Products

The list of products is used by both the grading scales and the labelling scales.

The batch size is used by the labelling scales to group labelled items together for the delivery note and the invoice. If the value is set to one, every item will be listed individually, if it is set to a high number (greater than the number of items processed) then all items will be grouped together by product and price band.

The "estimated final weight factor" is only used by the grading scales to calculate the estimated final weight from the actual weight. For example, for an estimated reduction of 11%, enter a value of 0.89.

Note that all products are sent to the labelling scale but only products that have an estimated final weight factor specified will be sent to the grading scale.

Barcodes

The labelling scales have the ability to print a label with a barcode for use by the retailer. The value entered here can be either a fixed value or a prefix for an EAN 13 code with the remainder made up of the item weight.

The barcode values will be included in the data when the information is sent from the pricing screen.

Pricing

The pricing information is set for each customer group and each product. The pricing can be further subdivided by weight.

Note that each combination of customer group and product must have an entry with a minimum weight of zero; if there are no further entries then this will be applied for all item weights, otherwise additional entries will provide price banding.

There is a difference between the price banding and the weight bands used elsewhere. The weights specified in the pricing table are only used to calculate price and each pricing band could incorporate many (if not all) of the analysis weight bands.

If the system is to be used for invoicing, it is essential to enter the wholesale unit price before processing items because as each item is weighed the wholesale price is calculated; if the unit price is entered later the item prices are not calculated retrospectively. When an invoice is printed, if there are any items with zero wholesale item price then a warning message will be displayed. To rectify this, the data will have to be edited manually and the value for each item calculated and entered.

The data is only required by the labelling scales. Note that when the data is sent it is first processed to create entries by customer, so the number of records to be sent to the scale is many times greater than the number of records in the pricing table.

Tare values

The tare values are only used by the grading scales. During operation the user can selected one of the items in the tare value table.

Note that the scales will create a dummy entry with an ID of zero to allow the current weight on the scale to be used as the tare weight.

Addresses

The address information is not used by the scales but is used for the delivery notes and invoices.

Weight bands

The weight bands specified here are used to provide analysis of totals of birds within those weight bands to enable and assessment of the actual birds processed against those ordered. These weight bands are completely separate from the weights specified in the pricing table.

Every product should have an entry with a zero minimum weight. Where analysis is required then additional weight bands can be specified.

Production data

Items under the production data menu provide access to the data recorded during normal operation.

As with the source data, items cannot be deleted if there are other dependant records. For example, to delete a consignment, all items weighed in that consignment would need to be deleted first.

Consignment selection

The consignment selection applies to several screens. The customer must first be selected and then, depending on the data being accessed, further selection may be required to identify a single consignment or a group of consignments.

Consignments

The consignments list will show data from the labelling scales and will show all entries that match the selection. Data can be modified and saved.

The sales order ID is assigned automatically when the consignment is created by searching for the most recent sales order for the specified customer within the system date range.

The individual items for any consignment can be accessed by simply double-clicking on the relevant row.

Labelled item data

The item data screen provides access to individual items processed on the labelling scales.

Depending on how the screen is accessed, the consignment may first need to be selected. The refresh button is provided in case additional items have been processed for the selected consignment whilst the screen is open.

Grading data

The data from the grading scales is available and is filtered by date.

The estimated weight shown here is that calculated by the scales at the time it was weighed. The analysis figures use the current specified estimated final weight factor and may provide different results if it has been changed since the items were weighed. This enables the user to test out "what-if" scenarios and may be useful if it is found that the actual weight loss is different to that originally estimated.

Sales orders

The system allows for sales order entry. The quantity required can be input for each product/bird type and within the weight bands defined.

New order

To create a new order the customer and the date must be specified. A customer order reference and additional notes can also be added.

Once the order has been created then the item screen will be populated automatically with all combinations of product and weight bands that have been defined. The quantity can be entered for each.

Note only items that have a quantity specified will be saved.

Edit orders

The basic details of an existing order can be edited, for example to add instructions or a customer reference.

To edit the individual items for an order, double-click on the order in the list and a new window will open with the existing items for that order. Quantities can be changed for each item and new items added.

Note that the item list will not be refreshed with the new items until all items have been added.

View order

The "View order" item allows an individual item to be printed to provide a hard-copy record. The order ID must be entered to display the required order. Note that this is the internal, automatically-generated ID and not the customer reference.

Order list

The "Order list" features provides a means of printing or exporting the order list. This will be filtered according to the date range set for the system.

Reports

For several of the reports, the consignment must be selected using the standard form also used for the production data.

Note that for all reports the export feature allows the data to be exported to an Excel spreadsheet or the report to be saved as a pdf document.

Delivery note

The delivery note is designed to be given to the customer at the time the goods are despatched and the system can be set to print this automatically when the consignment is completed on the labelling scales.

This is a simple list of items that form the consignment. Note that items will be grouped according to the batch size specified for the product.

 

Despatched weights

The banded weights report provides a list of all individual items grouped in to weight bands with the total number in each band.

Single invoice

The invoice will list all items with wholesale prices.

If a consignment is selected that has any items at zero price then a warning message will be displayed. The only means of resolving this is to manually set the wholesale prices for each item.

Invoice list

The list of invoices will be filtered by the date range specified for the system.

Analysis

The analysis report provides totals broken down by product and weight band. The estimated variance is the quantity ordered minus the quantity plucked and the actual variance is the quantity ordered minus the quantity sold (i.e. the number labelled for customer orders).

The expected sequence is as follows:

·         Sales orders entered; plucked and sold values will be zero and both variance values will show as the negative value of the sales quantity.

·         Birds plucked and estimated weights determined; the estimated variance will show the surplus (positive values) or shortfall (negative values) for each weight band of each bird type based on the estimated weights.

·         Birds boxed and labelled for customer orders; the actual variance is based on the difference between order quantity and actual quantity despatched and although the actual figures aren't really meaningful until all orders are processed it can give some indication of the situation.

Note that any birds processed for internal stock (see customer groups) will not be included in the totals.

Delete

A facility is provided to delete unwanted data. However, because the working date range can be specified, it is recommended not to delete previous valid data as this may be useful for reviewing at a later date (for example to check what a customer ordered the previous year).

Settings

The settings menu provides access to various system settings.

Com port

The com port menu shows a list of all active com ports on the PC and a text box to enter the number of the selected com port for the system to use for communication to the scales. Just the number of the port should be entered.

Company

The company details are used for printing on delivery notes and invoices, etc. The company name can also be used by the labelling scales as a variable to print on the labels. If the company name is used by the scale it will need to be sent by using the button provided.

Use by date

The labelling scales can print a use by date on labels. The easiest method of setting this date is to enter it into the use by date form and click the "Send to scale" button.

DSD reset

Some labelling scales use a DSD or "alibi" memory to record each weighing in a secure database in the indicator. When the amount of free memory is low a warning message is displayed and when it becomes full, older records will be over-written and a "Code 65 Over-write" message will be displayed for each weighing.

The memory can be cleared from the "DSD reset" menu item. It is recommended that this is done at the start of each season.

Date range

Many of the reports and data selection features will be based on data filtered by the date range specified for the system. This date range is specified by the user under the "Date range" menu item.

Database administration

Database administration can be performed using SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS) which is available as a free download from Microsoft. When SSMS is first started, the user will be prompted to connect.

The server name should be specified as ".\SQLExpress" and Windows authentication should be used. Note that the user may need to be logged on as an administrator and, depending on the version of Windows, SSMS may need to be "Run as administrator".

Database backup

To back up the database, in SQL Server Management Studio under Object Explorer, expand the Databases node and select the database for the program. Right-click, select "Tasks" and then "Back Up…".

In the back up window, ensure any previous backup locations have been removed and click on the "Add…" button

Specify a backup destination, making sure that the file name ends with ".bak".

In the backup form, select the specified backup location and click the OK button to create the backup.

Database restore

A database restore can be used in the event of a catastrophic failure or to transfer a copy of the working database to another PC.

In SQL Server Management Studio, right-click on the Databases node and select "Restore Database…"

In the restore window, enter the database name and ensure the source is specified as "From device" and select the location to restore from.

If the database already exists, the restore action may generate an error. If so, delete the database first (select, right-click and delete) and attempt the restore again.

Please contact us for more information.