Weighing up the benefits
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It costs about £2,000 to fit on-board weighers which not only keeps a vehicle street legal but it also saves valuable time queuing for weighbridges. Steve Banner asks users to weigh up the advantages of checking their own loads.
Brick Transport Services
It's rare to see an on-board weigher fitted to a brick carrier, but William Cusack doesn't mind being a pioneer. Transport manager of Brick Transport Services, a subsidiary of Glasgow Brickyards, and based close to Glasgow fruit market, he has had one retrofitted to one of his five 38-tonne ERF artics.
His main aim is to minimise the risk of overloading while distributing bricks throughout Scotland.
"Bricks vary in weight, and when it rains your load can increase in weight by up to 7% because of the way bricks absorb moisture," he explains. And it rains a lot in Scotland!"
He chose an Axtec package, which is based on suspension deflection. It measures either the distance between the chassis and the axle or the pressure in the airbag on airsuspended vehicles; all Cusack's York semitrailers ride on air.
Suspension deflection packages can usually be fitted quickly and easily. And although they are not as accurate as load cells, they will indicate both gross and axle weights. Axtec itself admits that suspension deflection is not the best means of maximising payload or of measuring out part deliveries of feed, although Cusack is already reporting productivity gains from his package.
On one regular run the truck does, he has discovered that he can get another pack of bricks on board, and still remain legal, "If you can do that four or five times a day, and multiply that up over the year, you'll soon see the benefit," he says.
The drivers will see the benefit as well, Cusack adds, because they are paid a bonus which equates to 10% of the annual profit of their vehicle. The more profitable the truck, the fatter the driver's pay packet.
There have been no reliability problems to date, says Cusack, and he says he's delighted with his purchase: "The driver of the truck concerned is over the moon too."
He intends to have on-board weighers fitted to his entire fleet, including his three ERF rigids; one 30.4-tonner and two 32-tonners.
The one he has already bought and had installed set him back £2,200.
"It's costly, but in my opinion it's worth it," Cusack states. "When you think about it, it works out at 2p to 3p per day per vehicle; and that's nothing."
All Axtec systems include an overload warning device as standard. Fitting usually takes no more than eight hours.