ISRI Entrance Examination case studies
ISRI Entrance Examination · Put your knowledge to work in context.
The ISRI Entrance Examination is the entry assessment used in the scrap recycling industry to gauge whether a candidate has the foundational knowledge to work competently in a scrap yard, brokerage, or processing operation. It is aimed at people entering the trade - new hires, career changers, and staff moving from adjacent fields such as logistics, manufacturing, or waste management - rather than at seasoned veterans seeking an advanced credential. The ISRI Entrance Examination case studies are 5 cases and about 2,478 words.
1The Overweight Railcar and the Mill's Chemistry Limit
Your yard has loaded a 4,000 lb (net) gondola of shredded auto scrap for a mill whose spec sheet caps copper at 0.25% and requires a minimum bulk density of 60 lb/ft³. The shredder's eddy-current separator has been running with a widened split since Tuesday because the belt tracking drifted; the operator compensated by increasing air flow.
581 words, about 3 min2The Aluminum Turnings That Wouldn't Settle
A machine shop delivers 38,000 lb of mixed aluminum turnings and chips, oil-wet, in gaylords. Your buyer quoted it as "mixed aluminum turnings" at a price assuming 88% metallic recovery and no moisture deduction.
494 words, about 2 min3Shear Feed Rate vs. the Downstream Baler
Your yard runs a 1,000-ton shear feeding a 400-ton baler. The shear operator has been pushing throughput by feeding longer, heavier bundles - up to 20 ft and 8,000 lb - to reduce cycle count.
448 words, about 2 min4The Dust Complaint and the Baghouse Differential
A shredder yard in a mixed industrial/residential fringe receives a neighbor complaint about dust on parked cars. The baghouse differential pressure gauge reads 1.2 in.
454 words, about 2 min5The Locked-In Price and the Falling Market
On March 1 you sold 500 gross tons of #1 HMS to a domestic mill at 380/GT, delivered, for shipment in the last two weeks of April. Your purchase side is not locked: you are buying from peddlers and small yards at prevailing market, which has fallen since March 1.
501 words, about 3 min