Field service in California: Addition of admix counters, buttons and switches for a 3rd cement silo
Some jobs requires you to travel. This one took our team to the foothills of the Sierra Nevada - a concrete and construction company operated by Myers & Sons Construction in the Yosemite area of California.
The request came through our partner Command Alkon: the plant needed modifications to two of its manual control consoles. Additional admixture counters, new switches, and extended control for a third silo. The existing system was working well — it just needed to do more.
What "Expanding a Console" Actually Means
The manual control console of a concrete plant is the direct interface of the operator with the facility — hopper valves, additive valves, displays showing material totals. When production needs increase, or the configuration of the facility evolves, these consoles must evolve with them.
For this project, the scope of work included:
- Modification of two manual consoles: P2294 and P2353. On each, a programmable scalable admix counter was installed, requiring precise measurement and cutting of the existing steel housing.
- Addition of feed and discharge switches on each console.
- Extension of the P2294 console to include control for a third cement silo, with an additional hopper valve (positions 1 and 2) and a new additive display with its own selector.
Working on consoles in active service means every modification carries real consequences. Cutting into an existing steel housing requires precision — the units were in use and could not be damaged. Every new component had to integrate cleanly with what was already there, and every connection had to be verified before the plant ran again.
Testing and approval
Once the work was completed, our technician Jean-Sébastien tested each button, switch, and counter on the modified consoles. For the admix that did not have material available during the visit, pulses were manually simulated to verify that each display would accumulate and show the correct totals in actual production.
The operator of the plant, Colby, reviewed the work done and confirmed his satisfaction before our technician's departure.
Total travel duration: 2 days of travel, 2 days on site.
The value of an on-site intervention
Sending a technician to the other end of the continent is not the right decision for every job. But for a system modification that affects the existing control wiring of an operational facility, remote support has real limits. It requires someone capable of tracing the wire, testing the signal, and handing the console back to the operator knowing it works.
That is what this job required, and that is what we delivered.
Solution Instrumentation performs panel modifications on-site, system expansions, and control console upgrades for concrete, asphalt, and aggregate production facilities across North America. We work with Command Alkon, Marcotte systems, and most major concrete plant control platforms.