Computer says.... yes, no or maybe?

As usual we had a number of very interesting chats with clients at this years CV Show. Incidentally, you might want to put next year’s dates, 25^th, 26^th, 27^th April, in your diary now.

A subject that came up once or twice was computer loading programs and how they ought to make weighing vehicles unnecessary.

In theory that’s correct. A computer that knows the weight of every product ought to be able to produce a manifest that ensures vehicles do not leave the depot overloaded.

But as is common knowledge, the output from a computer is only as good as the information that’s put into it. And does the computer know everything.

A real life example from a couple of years ago came when a customer with an expensive computer loading program found that he was still being pulled for overloading his vans. Upon investigation, it was found that the marketing department had decided to increase the number of items in a packet by 20% as a promotion.

Do you need an axle weighbridge as well as a computer?

But no one had told the computer which unknowingly carried on producing manifests telling the transport manager his vehicles were legal when in fact they were nearly all on the brink of a prosecution. The installation of an axle weighbridge to check weigh suspect vehicles before they left the yard solved the problem.

Another computer in the field of vehicle manufacturing apparently knew the weight of every nut, bolt and washer on a vehicle chassis. And it was only by check weighing some vehicles that the client discovered there was actually quite a wide margin of error and the installation of dynamic axle weighbridges allowed them to significantly tighten up the specifications on the computer and then check that it was now right.

There can be all sorts of variables that the loading computer might not know. How heavy the driver is, how much fuel is in the vehicle, will the vehicle be doing collections as well as drops or will some drops be missed?

So the sure fire way of ensuring your vehicles aren’t overloaded is to install the appropriate axle weighing system for your needs with details on our website.

After all, it’s you that might have to appear before a magistrate to answer an overloading charge not the computer.