Karen Wilde takes a look at weighbridge evolution and the modern tools available to enhance your weighing operations.
Some days, I look down at my ever expanding waistline and think I’m going to need a weighbridge instead of scales soon. Middle age spread is no fun. But weighbridges are. Stick with me now...
Those glorified bathroom scales that we call weighbridges have evolved over the years. At one time full of levers and counterbalances and hard to use; best not to mention accuracy too loudly either. Today, things are different. Weighbridge technology has vastly improved, and a good weighbridge can become the central hub of your business.
A variety of types and sizes means you can find just the right one for your particular business needs. As you can imagine, these needs vary from company to company. So much so, that finding an industry standard is almost impossible. It gets worse when you start to examine the software these companies use. Each business is unique in its application of this equipment and it isn’t unusual for software to be fully customised, or even made to order.
TYPES OF WEIGHBRIDGE
Surface Mounted
Surface mounted bridges, as the name suggests, are fitted directly on top of the road. It goes without saying that you will need a good flat surface to fit this type, although some weighbridges can accommodate an angle of up to 5°.
These bridges are supplied in sections, and can be anything up to 24 metres in length and take weights of up to 100 tons. Big enough for most skip yard applications. Fitted into the main deck are a set of components that actually do the weighing, load cells, instead of the old levers and counterbalances. New digital cells are very accurate and hard-wearing; they can even be connected to the Internet and will automatically notify an engineer if there is a problem. Troubleshooting becomes a breeze when you don’t need to start digging and dismantling to handle repairs and recalibration.
Surface mounted weighbridges do require ramps on either end so that your vehicles can ride up onto the weighing deck. This means not only is the bridge very long, but will also need a good bit of space beyond this to position yourself for your run up. Because of this, it can be a good idea to fit them near the entrance to your yard.
One of the major plus points with surface decks, is that they are easily taken up, relatively speaking. If you should ever move to a new yard, for example, you can take your weighbridge with you.
Portable
Doing this is even easier with one of the many portable decks that are available. These mini bridges are great for spot checks or for filling in while you are waiting for the installation of your full size bridge. Using them is slightly different though, as you are weighing each axle separately, instead of the truck as a whole. To do this you have to drive over them at a slow, steady speed. The cells then weigh each axle as it passes over to get a total weight. Not as accurate as a full size bridge but they serve a useful purpose.
Pit Mounted
Pit mounted bridges, on the other hand, are fitted flush with the road surface. This is done by digging a trench to the required size and lining it with concrete. Load cells can then be dropped in and the main weighing deck fitted on top. Handily, many of the old lever based bridges were also built into pits. So, if you are stuck with an old bridge, it can be updated quite easily.
Because they don’t need mounting ramps at either end, pit mounted bridges can fit into a much smaller space than surface mounted. No more run up problems. They don’t even need to be full length, just full width. Using it this way creates a much more accurate axle weighbridge, especially if your truck has self-compensating axles. Take these over a surface mounted bridge and you find the weight shifting about as you ride up the ramp. This will inevitably affect the weighing and give you an inaccurate reading. Dynamic weighing of this type can be done over a pit mounted deck; the flat surface means that the load won’t shift as it goes over the bridge. Making it smooth and accurate, like a Beckham free kick.
On the downside, pit mounted bridges can be prone to flooding. This makes choosing the right bridge for your yard especially important as you must take drainage into account. And digging that pit in the first place could increase the cost of your installation.
Portable versions of the pit mounted weighbridges have not yet been developed. I am told that manufacturers are still waiting for ACME Industries to perfect the movable hole.
On-board Weighing
Fines for an overweight truck on the public highway are no laughing matter and a small business could be hit hard. There is no excuse. With this in mind, load cells on trucks make a lot of sense. Besides letting the driver know he is overloaded, modern cells can also be trade approved. This now makes it possible for the driver to pick up a skip, weigh it there and then and print off an invoice in the cab. How much better to be able to charge by weight instead of volume?
SOFTWARE
A good bridge is only half as useful as it could be without some good software to back it up. True, your bridge will probably come with its own rudimentary software and a basic controller as standard. But, various companies now provide bespoke software for weighbridges, and the controllers can be easily replaced, meaning you don’t have to struggle to find an off-the-shelf package with just the right combination of functionality for you. And with more of us being affected by LATS, recording the amount of waste being diverted from landfill will be easy and pain free. The right software will keep track of all the relevant details without slowing down other aspects of your business.
Your software could do more than just operate the bridge. Packages are available that can track skips and lorries so you will always know where everything and everyone should be. Don’t worry though; this isn’t a Big Brother thing. It’s all a matter of knowing which customer a particular load is for, or where it’s returning from. For instance, if a driver is going to collect a skip, you will know where he is going. Weighing him when he gets back allows you to match up that truck and skip with the relevant customer. Billing the client is made easier too as any software worth its salt will connect directly and seamlessly with an accounts package like Sage. As soon as you have weighed the skip, an invoice can be ready within minutes.
Things can be even easier with some clever electronics to replace the simple control box normally attached to your bridge. Companies such as Weightron and Avery Weigh-Tronix have developed Number Plate Recognition Systems (NPRS). With these, your computer can now control who has access to the bridge, or even the yard. It is a simple set up then for the computer to know who is leaving the yard, where they are going and how heavy they are when they return.
Weight in and weight out is simply done. Now, thanks to the wonders of the internet, more complex systems can be set up. You could track the movements of trucks around the country (or a very large yard) with a network of weighbridges all linked to a central computer; all of which can be linked to accounts for invoicing the right people at the right time, or recorded for LATS.
HEALTH & SAFETY
In a large yard, it just makes sense to have as few people as possible wandering about around heavy plant and trucks. Driver operated control boxes keep bums on seats. There’s no real need to have drivers leave cabs, and these boxes give your bridge a huge safety boost. Each driver is issued with a swipe card that is read by the box. Visiting drivers can have bar-coded tickets printed at the bridge as they come in which they swipe again as they leave. So, there is no excuse for anyone to be wandering around. Of course, with NPRS there is no need for swipe cards either. Your bridge can act as “Guardian of the Yard” and record the movement of every truck and its load.
Twin bridges can be an expensive option for controlling vehicle movements but they do lend themselves to a health and safety conscious one way system. Many companies find they more than pay for themselves because they allow more trips to be made with no unnecessary, expensive and potentially dangerous queuing.
Whichever type of weighing system suits your organisation depends on many factors. Weighbridges can be a lot more important, and useful, than you might have thought – not just for weighing your staff after the Christmas party. But used correctly, and with thought, can really streamline virtually every aspect of your business.
