Go to page in your own language
ARC saves time by digitizing processes
At ARC, 590,000 tons of residual waste were weighed in for incineration in 2023. All data for reporting to the Danish Environmental Protection Agency, invoicing, and other reporting is recorded in the software system ScanX.NET, which, through the automation of many processes, saves a lot of work time.
ARC/Amager Resourcecenter is a Danish, joint municipal company, owned by the municipalities of Dragør, Frederiksberg, Hvidovre, Copenhagen, and Tårnby, which operates the new waste-to-energy plant, Amager Bakke. Additionally, ARC operates ten recycling centers and ten near-recycling centers as well as a test facility for sorting plastic and is a co-owner of SMOKA, a reception station for hazardous waste, and AV Miljø, which handles landfill waste from the capital area.
In 2023, ARC environmentally processed approximately 590,000 tons of residual waste, converting it into electricity for about 94,000 households and district heating for about 87,000 apartments' annual consumption. During incineration, almost only steam and CO2 are released from the chimney, making ARC one of the world's cleanest and most energy-efficient waste-to-energy plants.
Fast processing
The trucks with the many tons of waste are weighed on the weighbridges, where recycling materials for transshipment, residual products, and consumables are also weighed. On a daily basis, this amounts to 280-300 weighings, so it is busy at the weighbridge. A weighing with identification using a card takes a maximum of 30 seconds, after which the truck can drive to unloading at the incineration plant.
To register and manage all data from the weighbridges, ARC uses the software system ScanX, which has a range of standard modules developed specifically for incineration plants and the environmental sector. The system is based on a series of master data directories and handles a number of tasks, including weight registration, reporting, traffic management, identification, and invoicing.
Complete data foundation
When weighing waste for incineration, weight data and ID are registered in the ScanX system and linked with master data such as transporter, agreement number, container, customer, item, producer, vehicle registration number, and municipality. These data now form the basis for invoicing as well as ADS reporting and other reports such as incineration reports, customer reports, and BI reports, which can be easily generated.
Automated reporting of waste data to the authorities
With all data registered in the ScanX system, ARC can now handle reporting of waste data to the authorities quickly and easily. Customer supporter Iben Schultz Moe, who is a ScanX.NET superuser and responsible for the reporting, explains; “Previously, it could be a very time-consuming task to check and correct the many lines in the report, which could contain up to 56,000 lines. Today, we have automated the reporting by extracting the existing data from the ScanX system’s ADS module using an Excel file. It is easy when our data is in order – so we save a lot of work time when we can get a quick overview.
She further explains; "Under Agreements, we create deliveries/containers, which are linked to customer, item, municipality, producer. Once we have ticked off waste data in the master data directories, the relevant data is automatically collected in the ADS module, where we can quickly generate the file with the number of tons, weighing date, weighing number, CVR and P number, EAK codes and waste fractions, etc. for reporting to the authorities at the end of the year."
Data for invoicing
All data for invoicing is managed in the ScanX system, Iben explains; "Under the agreement, we have registered all deliveries and/or containers. We have already entered which items should be weighed and which customer should be invoiced as well as which producer and where the material comes from. So we are quickly ready for the monthly invoicing, where we generate a file in the ScanX system to the Dynamics system, which sends the invoice with the associated weigh ticket and delivery note with all data to the customer.
Flexible reports
ARC uses the ScanX module Extended e-mails to generate reports with a total list of all related data, which is sent to the customer either daily, weekly, or monthly. The format can be in pdf, html, excel, or csv, so the customer can sort their numbers themselves.
Iben can also generate a range of other reports. She explains; “By 'reusing' fields in the item directory and combining items’ main fraction with fuel type, we can extract reports sorted by different fractions and fuel types. We can also generate reports on waste quantities from our own five municipalities as well as other municipalities and from foreign imports. In addition to this, we extract reports on whether the waste has a high or low calorific value according to the fuel classification of the foreign waste, which is an important parameter in relation to our procurement planning in our Optimus system.”
Reliable system
ARC has been using the ScanX system for more than 20 years and is now running on version 2.4. Iben Schultz Moe talks about the development; “In connection with the upgrade of the system in 2016, we moved from stationary PCs to four virtual machines, which are both more flexible and secure, so we avoid possible breakdowns. In the latest upgrade in 2022, we got a number of new features and improvements in several modules, which save a lot of work time and ensure that we now have a reliable system with high stability.
Faster weighing and significant time savings
ARC ensures that all master data in ScanX is up to date. Upon arrival, the driver only needs to scan their ID card and then select the agreement and container type – this ensures quick weighing and correct data. If the driver encounters problems with the registration, the waste reception is ready to help; “We have the function of monitoring the terminal screen in the ScanX system, where we can remotely take over the weighing registration and guide the driver with live viewing of the same screen they are looking at,” explains Iben.
She continues; “We also save work time for the driver using the ScanX module Valid choice – with this function, the driver can use the same ID card for multiple agreements, and they are only shown the deliveries linked to the specific agreement. The Pendulum weighing function also saves work time for the driver if they are driving with multiple fractions on the truck simultaneously – here they can weigh in and out on the same weighbridge without moving the truck from the weighbridge"
In administration, the ScanX system's features also save time on many tasks.
Iben elaborates with examples; “We can, among other things, copy entire master data cards, for example, container, producers, or agreements and then just adjust them. So we don’t have to start from scratch with new entries – this gives a significant time saving. Today we can also correct a route number on an already completed weighing and retain the weighing number, especially on import weighings it is quick and very relevant as they run with shipment numbers that must match their document from the authorities. So we think the system is really good today – it runs stably and provides many benefits.”
Constructive sparring partner for Scanvaegt
Iben Schultz Moe has been employed at ARC for 9 years and was responsible for restructuring the process to unmanned weighing. At the same time, she has also digitized many processes, so ARC saves resources and costs. She is a constructive sparring partner for Scanvaegt and is happy to provide input and suggestions for optimizing the ScanX system, ensuring high quality in our software development and a system developed in collaboration with customers within the industry.
ScanX.NET Softwaresystemer
Do you have questions or do you want us to call you?
Then send us an email – we are ready to assist you