Time was of the essence when Taunton based Westco Bilanciai were asked to replace an aging mechanical 5107 Avery pit weighbridge operated by Devon Waste Management Ltd (DWML) at their Exeter Waste Transfer Station.
DWML provides key waste management services to both the private and public sector within the region. Originally a local authority waste disposal company, DWML was
incorporated in 1991 and sold to the private sector in December 2003. The weighbridge at the Exeter transfer station is used to weigh incoming Exeter City Council refuse vehicles and outgoing Viridor operated vehicles taking waste to landfill and recycling.
Although the mechanical weighbridge had given good service over the years, a routine check by Trading Standards revealed that wear in critical mechanical parts had caused
it to go out of calibration, resulting in an immediate suspension of the legal for trade certification.
Westco Bilanciai had serviced the weighbridge for a number of years and they advised DWML that although they had the skills to carry out the repairs to bring the scale back within calibration, this would be relatively expensive and the long term prognosis for the mechanical weighbridge was very limited. However DWML were concerned that alternative solutions could cause major disruption to waste services in the region and needed the weighbridge to be operational again as quickly as possible.
Westco have developed a tried and tested procedure for upgrading existing imperial mechanical pit weighbridges, without the need to make time consuming and costly changes to the pit structure itself. As a result, they were confident they could meet the tight time restraints and it was agreed that the most cost effective long term solution would be to replace the Avery weighbridge with a bespoke version of their fully electronic pit mounted Eurodeck.
The Eurodeck is ideal for such replacements. Its low profile, modular construction means that non-standard imperial pit sizes and depths can be accomplished with minimum changes to the weighbridge structure. In this application the length of the standard 15 metre Eurodeck weighbridge was reduced to the required 45 ft and its width increased to 10 ft. The height difference within the sloping floor of the pit was accommodated using specially designed steel support columns, thereby ensuring the new weighbridge, together with the load cells, fitted exactly flush with the surface.
Having fabricated all the key components off site, Westco engineers were able to remove the old weighbridge, fit the new deck and then commission and verify it for trade use within the required time frame.
The Eurodeck design has an excellent reputation for strength and durability in the harshest of environments. The weighbridge features fully welded stainless steel load cells and a special restraint system to minimise the damaging effects of harsh vehicle braking. The main structural beams, which support a robust durbar deck, run length ways, consistent with traffic flow and have sufficient depth so that they do not need stiffening plates. This gives a consistent, well-drained weighing surface, avoiding any build up of condensation. The unsupported span between these beams is only 165 mm, which means that with maximum loading in the centre of a standard module, there is minimum deflection.
Westco’s Director, Dave Clark, is clear on his company’s philosophy and as he explains: “Although we offer a wide range of standard weighbridges, we know that in the real world ‘one size doesn’t fit all’. As a result we maintain the flexibility in-house to build exactly the right weighbridge for any particular application, based on our proven designs. We hold stock of the key modules, allowing us to react rapidly to meet our customers’ out of the ordinary requirements within very short time frames. Many of our competitors do not have this versatile manufacturing capability combined with the requisite engineering skills.”
DWML’s projects manager, Colin Brown, has been very impressed with Westco’s
professional approach to the project and, as he concludes: “We were very pleased how quickly Westco responded to our needs.
From the time I placed the order, it took them little over a week to manufacture the new weighbridge components, remove the old weighbridge and complete the new
installation. Disruption to site operations was kept to an absolute minimum.”
