BEIJING, July 10 (Xinhua) -- The process of scanning a QR code followed by initial weighing, loading and reweighing, was completed within 20 minutes in the factory, allowing the aluminium products to be swiftly shipped out. This efficient and intelligent operation was conducted at a facility of China Aluminum International Engineering Co., Ltd. (CHALIECO) in the city of Zibo, east China's Shandong Province.

The unmanned and accurate operation process in the facility in Zibo was supported by a set of intelligent material measurement systems.

Material measurement, referring to the measuring and calculating of the quantity and weight of goods, is one of the basic tasks of daily production at the enterprise. These measured and calculated values must be accurate, reliable, uniform and comparable.

Measurement is an activity to ensure accurate and reliable quantity value and an important foundation for sci-tech innovation, industrial development and livelihood protection.

Traditional measurement methods of manual checking and hand-copying of data have the limitations of low efficiency and error-prone data, and can no longer meet the requirements of multi-types of measurement materials and large measurement tasks, said Wang Zhi, general manager of the company in Shandong Province.

The company uses QR code technology as replacement for manual input, image recognition to ensure the safety of vehicle access and infrared technology to maintain measurement operation standards.

Such technologies may not be cutting edge, but they have proven effective in upgrading traditional measurement methods.

The intelligent material measurement system was developed based on more than 6,800 survey feedback messages in 26 research reports from over 60 companies of the Aluminum Corporation of China (Chinalco) nationwide.

The group has applied the intelligent system in these companies and customized improvement programs for them according to different characteristics of production and operation.

In the city of Ningde, east China's Fujian Province, the China Copper Southeast Copper Co., Ltd. has combined the intelligent material measurement system with its port management system to achieve resource sharing.

In Zunyi, a city in the southwestern Guizhou Province, an aluminium company assisted freight drivers in using a WeChat mini-program to carry out self-service material measurement.

The intelligent material measurement system has been running stably and accurately for about six months.