Demand Batching

User Guide
COMMANDbatch V1.7.3.0 & Later
7/30/12

Command Alkon Inc.

5168 Blazer Parkway
Dublin, Ohio 43017
1.800.624.1872
Fax: 614.793.0608
Part Number: 25604
 © 2003-2012 Command Alkon Incorporated. All rights reserved.
Command Alkon Incorporated believes the statements contained herein are accurate as
of the date of publication of this document. HOWEVER, COMMAND ALKON
INCORPORATED HEREBY DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES EITHER EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED,
INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION ANY IMPLIED WARRANT OF MERCHANTABILITY OR
FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. In no event will Command Alkon Incorporated be
liable for any damages, including any lost profits, lost savings, or other incidental or
consequential damage arising out of the use of or inability to use any information
provided through this publication, even if Command Alkon Incorporated has been advised
of the possibility of such damages, or for any claim by any other party. Some states do
not allow the limitation or exclusion of liability or consequential damages, so the above
limitation may not apply.
This information is not intended to be an assertion of future action. The contents of this
document are for informational purposes only and are subject to change without notice.
Command Alkon Incorporated expressly reserves the right to change or withdraw current
products that may or may not have the same characteristics listed in this publication.
Should Command Alkon Incorporated modify its products in a way that may affect the
information contained in this publication, Command Alkon Incorporated assumes no
obligation whatever to inform any user of the modification.
This publication may contain technical inaccuracies or typographical errors. Command
Alkon Incorporated assumes no responsibility for any errors that may appear in this
manual. This publication is intended only for the direct benefit of users of Command
Alkon Incorporated products. This manual may not be used for any purposes other than
those for which it is provided. Information disclosed herein was originated by and is the
property of Command Alkon Incorporated, and, except for rights granted by written
consent, such information shall not be disclosed, disseminated, or duplicated in whole or
in part. Command Alkon Incorporated reserves all patent, proprietary, design,
manufacturing, use, and reproduction rights.
www.commandalkon.com
Command Alkon Incorporated
1800 International Park Drive, Suite 400
Birmingham, AL 35243-4232
(205) 879-3282
5168 Blazer Parkway
Dublin, OH 43017-1339
(614) 799-6650
For a list of all Command Alkon locations, go to:
http://www.commandalkon.com/locations.asp
COMMANDseries (and the names of its components, such as COMMANDconcrete and
COMMANDnetwork), Spectrum, Eagle, and COMMANDbatch are registered trademarks of
Command Alkon Incorporated. All rights reserved.
Windows is a registered trademark of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and
other countries.
Hydro-Control is a registered trademark of Hydronix Limited, United Kingdom.
Verifi is a registered trademark of RS Solutions, Cincinnati, Ohio, USA.

2 7/30/12
 Contents

Contents ........................................................................................ 3

Introduction .................................................................................. 4
Purpose ................................................................................................ 4
Audience ............................................................................................... 4
Revision Summary ................................................................................. 4

Demand Batch Form ....................................................................... 5

COMMANDbatch Setups for Demand Batching ............................................ 6
Operation of Demand Batching ............................................................... 10
Fields on The Demand Batch Form .......................................................... 10
Plant ................................................................................................ 10
Demand ........................................................................................... 10
Water Trim ....................................................................................... 11
On ................................................................................................... 11
Code ................................................................................................ 11
I/O .................................................................................................. 11
Priority ............................................................................................. 11
Mix .................................................................................................. 11
Load Size ......................................................................................... 11
Sequence ......................................................................................... 11
Re-read Status .................................................................................. 12
CR ................................................................................................... 12
CD .................................................................................................. 12
LR ................................................................................................... 12
LD ................................................................................................... 12
Reactivate ........................................................................................ 12
Reset Counters .................................................................................. 12

7/30/12 3
 Introduction

Topics in This Section

Purpose
Audience
Revision Summary

Purpose
This guide explains how to set up and use the Demand Batching feature in
COMMANDbatch.

Audience
This guide should only be used by Command Alkon installation and service
personnel, or plant/management personnel specifically authorized to
configure COMMANDbatch.

Revision Summary

CMDbatch
Date Version Revision
Jul. 2, 2008 1.7.3.0 Document created.
Oct. 14, 2008 1.7.3.0 Changed version number on the title page to
read “V1.7.3.0 & Later”.
Nov. 13, 2008 1.7.5.0 Correction to Operations section:
Check Continuous Run on Plants form.
Correction to description of Demand field:
Removed statement about BatchOnReceipt flag
being changed on Plants form - gets changed in
the RTC but not here yet.
Feb. 25, 2010 1.7.10.0 Corrected the information in the Setup section
about the flags that are automatically set on the
RTC Imports & Initializations form when a
demand record is saved.
Jul. 30, 2012 1.8.4.3 Regenerated this manual because the PDF was
misplaced.

4 7/30/12
 Demand Batch Form

The Demand Batching feature enables loads to be started automatically when

a station sends a call. For each station that will receive product, a demand
record must be created on the Demand Batch form.
Demand batching is typically used in products plants that produce concrete
blocks or other precast concrete using the same mix design over and over.

Topics
COMMANDbatch Setups for Demand Batching
Operation of Demand Batching
Fields on The Demand Batch Form

7/30/12 5
 COMMANDbatch Setups for Demand Batching
1. On the Demand Batch form, select the Plant.

2. In the Demand field, select “Demands On”.

3. Edit the Water Trim field if you want a different value than the
Default Qty (trim) entered on the Batch Setup tab of the Plants
form.
4. Check the ON box if you want to make the demand active.
5. In the Code column, enter a name for the demand.
6. In the I/O column, select the I/O assigned to the station that will
receive the blended mix from this demand.
7. In the Priority column, assign a priority (a number from 1 to 9).
A higher number indicates a higher priority, meaning a demand with a
priority of 3 would be batched before a demand with a priority of 2 if
there are loads pending (started but not batching because three loads are
already running).
8. In the Mix column, select the mix to be batched for the demand.
9. In the Load Size column, select the load size of batches created
for this demand. It cannot exceed the Max Load Size that was
specified on the Batch Setup tab of the Plants form.
10. In the Sequence column, select the Sequence to be used for loads
batched for the demand.
11. In the Re-read Status column, select the Load Status that
determines when the next load starts. For example, if you select
Load Start, the next load starts as soon as the current load is
started.

6 7/30/12
 12. To specify how many loads to run for this demand even after the
demand goes off, enter a number in the CR column.

Note: The read-only CD column shows how many loads have been
committed to start, even if the demand is deactivated before the
number of loads specified in the CR column is reached.

13. To set the total number of loads to run, enter that number in the
LR column.

Note: The read-only LD column shows how many loads have actually
run. To reset LD to zero, select the demand and click the Reset
Counters button.

14. Save your changes.

15. Repeat the above steps for each demand you want to enter.

Saving the Demand Batch form causes the “Mix Design” and
----->>>> “Demand” flags on the RTC Imports & Initializations form to
be automatically checked (see the screen examples below).

• The “Mix Design” and “Demand” flags are automatically checked on the
Inbound tab of the Import record.

7/30/12 7
 • The “Demand” flag is automatically checked on the Inbound tab of the
Initialize record.

• The “Mix Design” and “Demand” flags are automatically checked on the
Outbound tab of the Initialize record.

8 7/30/12
 • The “Demand” flag is automatically checked on the Inbound tab of the
Runtime record.

• The “Mix Design” and “Demand” flags are automatically checked on the
Outbound tab of the Runtime record.

7/30/12 9
 Operation of Demand Batching
Before you start demand batching for the day, make sure Continuous Run
(but not Continuous Discharge) is turned on in COMMANDbatch.
To do this:
• On the Batching tab of the Plants form, check the Continuous Run box.
• Click the CRUN button at the top of the COMMANDbatch screen (the
button will turn cyan blue in color).
For each active station (demand record), an incoming call activates the
associated IO point in COMMANDbatch and includes the mix design, load size,
and sequence. If calls for more than one station are received at the same
time, the station with the highest priority number is batched first, the station
with the next highest priority number is batched next, and so on. When calls
with higher priorities and/or earlier times have been batched, the latest call is
batched the number of times the demand input comes true.

Fields on The Demand Batch Form

This section describes fields on the Demand Batch form.

Plant
Dropdown list of plants. Selecting the plant populates the grid and remaining
fields with information for that plant.

Demand
Dropdown list of batch on receipt types. Choices are:

Demands On
— Enables Demand Batching.
— Hides fields on the Batch Setup form pertaining to tickets and
trucks.

Important!
To maximize system performance, the Batch Setup form should
not be open during demand batching. It is expected that this form
will be used during startup of a given demand but then remain
closed during normal operations.

Demands Off
— Disables Demand Batching.
— Displays fields on the Batch Setup form pertaining to tickets and
trucks.

10 7/30/12
 Demands On (Diagnostics)
— Enables Demand Batching the same way that Demands On does.
— Generates log data on the RTC for troubleshooting purposes.

Water Trim
This field defaults to the Default Qty (trim) that was specified on the Batch
Setup tab of the Plants form. You can change this value if necessary.

On
If checked, this box enables Demand Batching for the demand. If unchecked,
it disables Demand Batching for the demand.

Code
Name of the demand.

I/O
Dropdown list of I/O’s. Select the I/O assigned to the station that will receive
the mix batched for the demand. Once the demand is saved, this field
becomes read-only.

Priority
A number from 1 to 9. A higher number indicates a higher priority, meaning a
station with a priority of 3 would be batched before a station with a priority of
2 if there are loads pending (started but not batching because three loads are
already running) when the calls are received.

Mix
Mix to be batched for the demand.

Load Size
Load size of batches created for the demand. It cannot exceed the Max Load
Size that was specified on the Batching tab of the Plants form.

Sequence
Sequence to be used for loads batched for the demand.

7/30/12 11
 Re-read Status
Load Status that determines when the next load starts. For example, if you
select Load Start, the next load starts as soon as the current load is started.

CR
Abbreviation for Cycles Requested.
The CR field specifies how many loads to run for this demand. Loads continue
batching until the CR limit is reached, even if the IO point is turned off. Also,
loads continue batching as long as the IO point is on, even after the CR limit is
reached.

CD
Abbreviation for Cycles Done.
CD is a read-only field that displays how many loads have been committed to
run for this demand when the CR number is not zero. To reset the CD counter
to zero, select the demand and click the Reset Counters button.

LR
Abbreviation for Loads Requested.
The LR field specifies the total number of loads requested to run for this
demand.

LD
Abbreviation for Loads Done.
LD is a read-only field that displays how many loads have been committed to
run for this demand when the LR number is not zero. Batching will stop for
this demand when LD equals LR. To reset the LD counter to zero, select the
demand and click the Reset Counters button.

Reactivate
Demands must be reactivated after the RTC is rebooted. Select a demand you
want to run and click the Reactivate button. All demand rows that are set as
active will be reactivated.

Reset Counters
The CD and LD counters can be reset to zero. Select the demand and click this
button to reset these counters for the demand. The counters are also reset to
zero if the RTC is rebooted.

12 7/30/12