Besser technology nets operators real-time plant optimization

Sources: Besser Co., Alpena, Mich.; IQity Solutions LLC, Pittsburgh; CP staff

Besser and cloud-computing specialist IQity have announced Besser Connector, a technology platform to maximize efficiency and returns by enabling manufactured-concrete producers to proactively manage operations throughout a day’s schedule.

“Connector collects and unifies critical data from all plant work centers,” says IQity Director of the Concrete Products Practice Kevin Duggan. “Data is instantly correlated into real-time visual pods of intelligence that inform the operations team about actual performance levels and the root causes of variation from expected values. This visibility allows the producer to act immediately to positively influence the quality and throughput levels of the current shift.”

Besser Connector delivers intuitive visuals via IQity’s flagship intelligence tool, IQ-Fusion, accessed via any web browser. Its user-friendly graphics illustrate where the most costly production mistakes—or the most profitable practices—are happening. The real-time data empowers operators and managers to make immediate plant adjustments by focusing on the right things at the right time, Duggan contends.

“The last several years have been brutal to our industry,” says Besser CEO Kevin Curtis. “We found ourselves in survival mode, we realigned, refocused and are now operating leaner than ever; the question became how do we help plants operate as smartly and profitably as they can. The answer came when [we] partnered with IQity Solutions on the Besser Connector.”

We’re investing in the technology, notes Director of Sales John Reedy, “because we see the potential it has for improving the performance of new or existing plants, regardless of the brand of equipment operating. Simply by unifying all the data and processing it through the Connector, we reveal the most critical issues in the plant, so we can address what is and isn’t getting done.” Block, hardscape, pipe and precast plant operators will benefit from Connector’s capability to provide real-time visibility into the plant’s performance, he adds, and instantly calculate the financial impact of each element of the production process.