Overloaded heavy vehicles are a significant safety hazard, but they also have a negative impact on many other areas including the road surface, infrastructure and the environment.

For example, a bulk haulage truck that is overweight or has been loaded incorrectly is at risk of the following:

  • Greater likelihood of accidents, causing harm to humans and damage to infrastructure
  • Truck instability, steering difficulty and need for longer braking distances
  • Tyres can overheat and wear rapidly, increasing the risk of premature and dangerous tyre failure
  • Acceleration capabilities are compromised – impact ability to overtake safely
  • Higher maintenance costs and greater fuel consumption
  • Premature wear of brakes

The introduction of Chain of Responsibility legislation, or CoR as it is commonly referred to, has been a major step forward in trying to address these problems as it attributes responsibility to every individual in the freight supply chain. But whilst the new laws are welcomed, it should be incumbent on all parties to put safe work practices in place which eliminate the risk of breaches of the law.

For example, if transport companies install an onboard weighing system on their bulk haulage trucks, it will ensure compliance with COR legislation, plus deliver a host of other advantages including reduced administration costs and better load management control.

Onboard weighing and overload systems provide an effective and cost-efficient mass management solution and can play an important role in maintaining the integrity of the vehicle, expediting the loading process and improving real-time reporting and decision-making.

You can source weighing systems that are specially designed for the various types of bulk transport applications, including rigid trucks, semi-trailers, drawbar vehicles and bulk tippers up to 50 tonne GVW. These systems are built tough, so they’re able to handle the rugged and demanding operating environments of bulk haulage trucks, like off-road operations at mine sites, quarries and construction sites.

Here’s a brief snapshot of some of the countless benefits of onboard weighing systems for bulk haulage trucks:

  • Affordable
  • Easy to install
  • Deliver bottom-line benefits
  • Overload protection
  • High degree of accuracy ±0.5% full scale or better
  • Can be calibrated and certified legal-for-trade
  • Faster loading therefore improved turnaround times
  • Better vehicle utilisation
  • Enables vehicles remain within safe and legal operating tolerances
  • Protects safety of drivers and other employees and road users

Another key benefit is that these systems can be integrated with intuitive and versatile software which can be customised to suit any operation’s fleet and requirements. Having all this detailed information at your fingertips enables better decision-making and strategic planning and can be a powerful competitive differential.

When choosing an onboard weighing system, you should also consider the following:

  • Does the system display axle weights and have an alarm alerting the driver to potential overload infringements?
  • Does it offer a stability programme whereby the driver is alerted by an alarm when there are potentially unsafe tipping conditions, such as when the truck is on uneven ground or there is uneven load distribution?
  • Does it have an audible alarm and on-screen message to alert the driver when the body is still raised and the truck is in motion?
  • Does the system automatically recognise the different onboard weighing systems if there are shared components, i.e. if tractor and trailer combinations are swapped?
  • Is the system waterproof to marine quality standards?

For onboard weighing systems that answer ‘yes’ to all the questions above, you should investigate BulkWeigh, the first choice onboard weighing system for bulk transport applications. BulkWeigh is one of the many quality, affordable and versatile precision weighing systems available from leading Australian supplier, AccuOnboard which deliver a range of benefits that go far beyond ensuring legislative compliance. If you want to find out more about anything to do with onboard vehicle weighing systems, get in touch with the friendly experts at AccuOnboard at their head office on 1300 367 861 or visit their website, www.accuonboard.com.au.