So how long can you keep YOUR vans off the road?

Another interesting exercise the other day and an opportunity to spread the axle weighing word once more.

We were invited to address the guys at one of the biggest vehicle leasing companies to explain to them the ins and outs of axle weighing –  how dangerous it can be affecting all the major components on the van, how the authorities deal with it, how the insurance companies might react to overloading.

The most relevant system to those speccing up vehicles of course is the Axtec OnBoard Axle Load Indicator.

As often happens with these sessions though, we learnt a great deal as well as bringing our hosts up to date with the latest in axle weighing.

One topic that came up that has clearly been an issue for them in the past when using onboard load indicators is the calibrations. Every weighing system will need calibrating from time to time but some are simpler than others.

Axtec OnBoard  Axle Load Indicator

The issue that caused such concern was the need to keep vans in the yard loaded up and waiting for a service engineer. That’s vans parked up, not earning their keep and waiting for an engineer to visit. An engineer’s visit that will be invoiced.

And what if all the vans aren’t available? Will the engineer have to come back another day followed by another invoice?

When we explained our customer reset facility to our audience, it was as if all their Christmases had come at once.

Axtec OnBoard has a unique and very simple reset facility. This means no keeping vans in the yard waiting for an expensive engineers visit. They can all be out on the road working.

And the resets can be done any time that’s most convenient. Miss one van today? Well catch up with it tomorrow at no expense.

In most cases the system can be reset without loading the vehicle at all.

So, no loading the vehicle, no keeping them off the road waiting for an engineer and no big bill for doing what is a simple routine job.

Which means that your vans are out on the road doing what you bought them for.

Two more for the scrapheap!

We’ve received orders this week to remove and replace two more of a competitor’s axle weighbridges that weren’t up to the job.

After struggling to get them to remain within calibration or, in one case, to even get it close to being calibrated, the decision has been taken to remove them and replace them with Axtec systems.

Both of them had the same issue; a load cell mounting design which although ideal in many applications is far from suitable for an axle weighbridge installation. Nothing inherently wrong with the load cell or its mounting but it was never designed to be placed under a weighing platform that is being driven across by heavy goods vehicles.

Both weighing platforms were installed in areas where they would be heavily trafficked by non-weighing vehicles heading for the exit gate. The load cell mountings in those circumstances basically just wore out simply by having vehicles drive across the platform and as a dynamic axle weighbridge is supposed to have vehicles driven across it, it is clear that the load cell and mounting design were just not intended for that type of application.

Coupled with the fact that one of the systems had never had any high tolerance concrete approaches laid, it was hardly surprising that the system was virtually impossible to calibrate.

We recently installed a system in East Anglia and, as part of the training procedure, we showed the customer the effect of changing a single 0.5mm shim under one load cell. The change in weighing accuracy was dramatic and illustrated starkly how varying the level of the platform relative to the surrounding area could affect the result obtained.

Axtec's Civils team  will get the approach levels perfect

The same is true if the approach levels aren’t laid to the correct tolerance. Getting the levels wrong can seriously affect the accuracy of weighing and whereas correcting the height of the platform can be done using shims, correcting poor approach areas is much more difficult.

They basically need to be dug up and re-laid at some expense and disruption to the operation.

We realised many years ago how important the levels and height of the platform are. Which is why we have our own civil’s teams to make sure they approaches are right and design a platform that can have the shims changed in seconds if necessary.

Coupled with the fact that the Axtec platform has been purpose designed to have vehicles driven across it, at speed when not weighing, means that once installed it will provide many years of service.

Which axle weighing system is the right one for me?

The registration figures for vans would appear to have hit record levels in 2015 according to figures issued by the SMMT.

One notable trend is that buyers are increasingly opting for larger vehicles. Is that to improve productivity or down to a possible shortage of drivers?

Professional operators will always opt for the right tool for the job and many have the ability to specify larger vehicles if their job demands it. But all operators need to maximise loads to squeeze profitability out of their vehicles but in so doing they may run the risk of inadvertent overloading.

Ensuring you get the maximum load on your vehicle is essential but the penalties for exceeding weight limits can be quite severe. The fine is only part of the cost. Sending another vehicle and driver to a prohibited vehicle is very costly especially if you have to hire them in.

The late delivery of your products won’t endear you to your customer possibly leading to loss of business, and the affect on your reputation and your ‘O’ licence shouldn’t be underestimated.

Vans may not be on the ‘O’ licence but if you operate larger vehicles as well, any offences down to your van fleet will affect it.

Axtec OnBoard Load Indicator prevents van overloads

Keeping a close watch on your vehicle weights, including vans, is essential if you are trying to maximise payloads.

But no single type of axle weighing system will solve every problem.

For example, vehicles on multi-drop work could be weighed at the depot, but what happens when the load changes during the day? How does the driver know that when he’s made his first drop from the back of the vehicle, that the front axle hasn’t become overloaded?  What about vehicles which collect rather than, or as well as delivering?

That’s why we provide the full range of systems; dynamic, static, on-board and portable. We work with operators to find out if there is a problem to solve, lend or hire equipment to evaluate, and advise on the best technical solution. 

Regardless of fleet size, we can provide a full support service.

So if you’re trying to squeeze an extra pallet, case, box or anything else onto your vehicle but worried about overloading it, maybe we might be able to help?

Because the costs of getting it wrong could be enormous.

It's nearly our birthday!

Axtec will celebrate 25 years in business in 2016.

That’s a quarter of a century of Axtec making and installing axle weighbridges. And inevitably a lot has changed since then.

Not only have some of our customers, and indeed old friends, come and gone but many companies who thought axle weighing was easy have done the same.

Throughout our 25 years we’ve learned an awful lot as well. We’ve spent much of the time and considerable sums of money on researching axle weighing. It’s led to a number of firsts.

The first and only weighbridge test vehicle specifically designed for calibrating axle weighbridges.

The first and only OnBoard Load Indicator that customers can calibrate themselves.

The first and only dynamic axle weighbridge which can be offered as a Public Weighbridge.

The first and only OnBoard Indicator which can show views from cameras.

The list goes on.

And because we know what does and doesn’t work, we’re not afraid to tell people that certain types of system won’t suit their needs. More than once we’ve walked away from a project when we haven’t got the right solution or the customer insists on the wrong solution.

Some, like the weighbridge test vehicle, we’ve discovered are essential for ensuring an axle weighbridge is installed and calibrated correctly. It’s not possible to get an accurate installation without it.

Others, like the dynamic weighbridge being Approved for Public use, mean that our customers can get a direct cash benefit by being able to charge other hauliers for using it. And thus adding to their bottom line.

A lot has changed since we introduced this in 1991!

The fact that so many companies have entered this field and then vanished again over the last 25 years shows that the investment in research was no wasted. Only when you to fully understand what is going on when weighing axles and applying that to customer’s needs can you make a product that is accurate and built to last.

And knowing what you are doing also means you know when to walk away from a job and when your product isn’t the right one.

Which means we’ve turned down plenty of opportunities over the last 25 years as well. All we want is a successful installation and a happy customer.

 Those companies no longer with us didn’t fully understand the complexities of what they were doing, probably made promises they couldn’t keep and paid for it in the end.

So, here’s to another 25 years of making and installing axle weighbridges and, of course, even more research.

Another interesting weighing execise

As mentioned a number of times in this blog, weighpads are frequently enquired about but rarely the right system for the job. 

Sometimes though they really are the best product for the job as long as the user is aware of what they can and cannot do.

Recently we were approached by a customer who had been trialing weighpads from other manufacturers and been disappointed with the results. The reliability of one product was an issue but what was concerning them most was the lack of accuracy.

We decided that the best way to assist would be to visit them and show them how to do it properly. Not only would this demonstrate the correct procedure for using weighpads but it would also illustrate how time consuming and labour intensive it can be to get an accurate weight.

Using our contacts with DVSA, arrangements were made to visit one of their enforcement sites so that we could ensure accurate weights on the perfectly flat concrete approaches but also so that we had a calibrated axle weighbridge for comparison purposes.

Portable Weighpads - ideal for some jobs when used correctly.

The whole exercise, weighing just one vehicle, took a whole morning with five people on site. As a minimum three people are needed; one to drive the vehicle and two to manoeuvre the weighpads,  but at least the exercise was done correctly and accurate, repeatable weights obtained.

One of the most interesting elements of the task was taking the weighpads off the perfectly flat concrete approaches and using them on an adjacent piece of ground with a slight incline. We did this as, having proved the pads were accurate in ideal conditions, it was useful to try them in a more typical working environment.

The difference in results was quite marked. Using the weighpads correctly on a perfectly flat concrete approach produced good results but using them on a piece of ground on an incline meant that weight distribution was changed and different axle weights recorded.

It was a very good method of not only demonstrating how accurate weighpads can be when used properly but also the limitations of them as a product.

This particular customer was delighted that we’d taken the trouble to demonstrate not only the pros but the cons of using weighpads and, now they are fully aware of what is involved in doing it right and what the pitfalls are of doing it wrong, an order is on its way to us.

Weighing containers? A dynamic weighbridge can help.

Container weighing has been in the news lately.

The International Maritime Organisation have amended their Safety Of Life At Sea (SOLAS) convention so that from 1 July 2016 all containers being loaded onto ship must be weighed.

The amendment is designed to prevent accidents when containers fall overboard due to the centre of gravity being too high. But it’s also been known for a stack of containers to collapse due to incorrect loading or even for a ship to break in two.

The consequences don’t bear thinking about so the new amendment makes perfect sense.

With the need to weigh containers comes the requirement to invest in equipment. But which is the best method and how much will it cost though?

There are numerous ways to weigh a container; some loaders at the ports have built in weighing devices and if the tare weight is known, the weight of each individual item can be measured as it is put into the container. The latter method preferred when a container is made up at the port itself with items from numerous shippers.

Another quick and easy method is to weigh the truck using a dynamic weighbridge. We weigh many container trucks on their way to the port on the axle weighbridge in our yard.

It takes 40 seconds to weigh on a dynamic axle weighbridge

It takes about 40 seconds to obtain a weight from a dynamic axle weighbridge and to an accuracy of 0.5%. So even if the empty truck needs to be weighed first to get a tare weight, it’s not a long procedure.

Having invested in a dynamic axle weighbridge though there is scope to make money from it.

As the Axtec system is the only one of its type which can be Approved as a Public Weighbridge, other hauliers can be charged for using it. And the axle weighbridge thus becomes a source of income, between £6-£10,000.00 per annum in the case of our own system.

Which means, in this case at least, the investment needed to weigh containers pays for itself in about three years. And the accuracy is more than enough to satisfy the needs of the new regulations.

Where's the best place to buy an axle weighbridge?

Buying everything you need from one source is a great idea. 

We all go to, or in many cases these days, order online from a supermarket. And it makes perfect sense when you’re buying a standard product which is always the same week in, week out.

The manufacturers pride themselves that their baked beans or loaves of breads will be to the same high standard a very single time you buy one. And for them an outlet that stocks a large range of generic products is ideal.

But what if you want something a bit more specialised? Something made to order? Something that needs to fit your exact requirements?

In those cases you’re better off visiting a specialist. Someone who knows the product inside out and is used to making them to suit rather than churning out hundreds of the same for mass consumption.

There are some scale companies who work a bit like a supermarket. Showing every weighing product imaginable on their website and leaving the customer to decide what’s right for their needs. That can work fine if all you need is a bathroom or kitchen scale which will just come out of the box and work.

A correctly specified and installed axle weighbridge

But is that the best way to buy something that can be influenced by outside forces such as approach levels or vehicles suspension? That needs to be properly operated and needs specialist installation?

Is it such a good idea to just buy something from an online ‘supermarket’ without getting the specialist knowledge needed to ensure you get the best from your purchase?

Unfortunately, we have come across many sub-standard installations where customers have been persuaded that buying an axle weighbridge is as straight forward as buying a tin of beans. Poor or often no advice is given and thus poor results are obtained.

Most customers wouldn’t dream of buying a piece of highly technical equipment from a company which wasn’t a specialist in the field but there will always be some people who are tempted by the apparently low up front price available from a ‘supermarket’.

The results in the long term though are usually more costly than having invested time and money in sourcing an axle weighbridge from a specialist who will not only ensure that you buy the right system for your needs but make sure it is installed and operated correctly as well.

A supermarket, despite being excellent at many things, just isn’t geared up to offer that level of service.