Think an axle weighbridge is an unnecessary expense? Think again!

As we're exhibiting at the Recycling & Waste Management Show at the NEC this week, it seemed appropriate to mention how we helped one of our customers in the waste industry.

D & E Roberts are a well established skip hire company based in Leatherhead covering large parts of Surrey. In recent years they have developed their site to incorporate a waste transfer station as well.

They are also within about a mile of the VOSA axle weighbridge at Junction 9 of the M25 and regularly had to drive past it in the course of their daily work. Any truck operation needs to run legally and being stopped for overloading can be costly.

Not simply in terms of the fines. But an overloaded vehicle will be prohibited from moving until the load has been reduced. That usually means finding another vehicle and driver and sending him to the prohibited one. Not an easy thing to do when every vehicle is out earning it's keep. And all the while there is an expensive vehicle and driver parked up at the weight check not earning a penny.

There are also knock on effects. You may be late for a pick up or collection because your're vehicle is prohibited from moving. And what happens to the customers who are awaiting the 'spare' vehicle you've had to find at short notice to take some of the excess load?

The repercussions can be serious too; a black mark on the 'O' licence, a poorer OCRS score probably leading to more vehicles being stopped, checked and delayed and possibly a court appearance.

Overloading is to be avoided.

Whilst it's true that some investment is needed to avoid the problem, it can also bring positive benefits as well.

D & E Roberts were deliberately underloading their vehicles to ensure they weren't caught in the weight checks at Junction 9 but it wasn't until they'd installed the axle weighbridge that they found out by how much and how much it was costing them.

The company discovered were wasting up to a third of their vehicles payload in trying to prevent overloading. Wasting huge amounts of fuel, drivers time, tyre wear and making far more trips to the tip than they needed to.

D & E Roberts - the axle weighbridge paid for itself in a matter of weeks.

The axle weighbridge cost in the region of £15,000.00 including installation but by their own calculations, D & E Roberts had paid for it in around twelve weeks. From now on, they're adding around £60,000.00 a year to their profits simply by running their vehicles at maximum capacity on every trip.

And as the system has been installed and working for around ten years now, that extra profit adds up to a tidy sum.

Think an axle weighbridge is an expensive luxury? It's more likely to be a highly efficient money making tool.