Sometimes the people on the front line have difficulty persuading management that there is a concerning issue.
It’s something we encounter often where those on the ground
actually operating vehicles on a daily basis are aware of an issue but those
with the decision makers fail to see what the problem is.
Ignorance though is no defence.
Recently we were approached by a transport manager worried
about potential overloads. The nature of their business meant drivers
frequently worked away from base and thus responsible for their vehicles
without any checks on their behaviour.
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| Axtec OnBoard Load Indicator |
He sent a report to his senior management expressing his
concerns. When he got a response form them it was - we don’t have a problem.
Frustrated at the negative feedback he asked if we could help.
So we provided some weighpads to run some trials. And the results were
astonishing.
Far from there not being a problem, several overloads were
discovered. In fact one 3.5t van weighed in at an alarming 5.5t.
That’s more than 50% overloaded.
An overloaded vehicle causes significantly more damage to
the road surface than a legally laden one. Damage that we all pay for through
our taxes.
But a vehicle that badly overloaded is seriously dangerous
too.
The consequences of that vehicle being involved in an
accident could have been catastrophic with the brakes, clutch and suspension
all affected by the excessive weight.
Vehicle weighing systems should not just be seen as an unnecessary
expense to avoid prosecution. The savings in tyre, brake and clutch wear and
the reduction in repair costs to the suspension will all mitigate the cost.
And in many cases over the years, operators have found they
can actually increase the load on their vehicles, improve efficiency and reduce
costs.
As for our client, armed with some real-life information
from some of his own vehicles, he has resubmitted his report and is planning to
fit the fleet with onboard load indicators.
Helping to gather evidence for hard pressed operators is all
part of the Axtec service.
