Own a Transport Business? Weighbridge Investments to Scale New Heights
For a transport business, learning how to avoid fines and cutting expenses are just a few of the many benefits you will gain by investing in a weighbridge
Freight transport is such a critical part of Australia’s economy that the government recently committed $16.5 million to establish a national freight data-sharing network.
As a transport business owner, you know the importance of staying competitive in this dynamic sector. A weighbridge can give your business a competitive edge.
Find out more about the benefits of investing in a weighbridge. You’ll be ready to take the next step.
Improved Safety for Your Transport Business
One of the main reasons to invest in a weighbridge for your transport business is to improve safety. You can be sure your vehicles aren’t overloaded.
Overloaded trucks are dangerous on the road. They need more room to come to a stop. They’re more likely to overturn.
Consistently overloading a truck causes additional wear and tear.
The brakes will wear out sooner. Overloading can damage the steering system. The risk of a tire blowout is higher.
Overloaded vehicles can damage the roadway. This makes driving less safe for everyone on the more than 877,000 km of roadways in Australia. In a worst-case scenario, an overloaded truck could make a bridge collapse.
A weighbridge helps keep your trucks within their weight limits, which makes the working and driving environment safer.
Better Regulatory Compliance for a Transport Business
A weighbridge helps ensure your fleet is compliant with Australian law. The Heavy Vehicle National Law sets out mass limits for vehicles over 4.5 tons gross vehicle mass. Trucks need to comply with regulations for total mass and mass per axle.
A mass overload offense results in a fine. The amount of the fine depends on how overweight the truck is. For serious offenses, the responsible party must go before a court magistrate.
You can avoid the expense and hassle of dealing with weight violations. A weighbridge will verify the weight of your vehicles before they go on the road. This prevents unpleasant surprises later.
Increase Efficiency and Productivity in a Transport Business
A weighbridge can help you increase efficiency and productivity. You can get the most out of each truckload. You can weigh and record data more quickly with fewer errors.
Optimize Each Truckload with a Weighbridge
An overweight truck can lead to penalties, but an underweight one increases your costs through inefficiency.
Using a weighbridge ensures that each truck leaves your facility with the optimum amount of cargo. You cut down on the cost of unnecessary transport.
Modern weighbridges come with advanced software capabilities. You can compile weight measurements and other data more quickly.
The weighbridge software integrates with your internal systems. Human intervention isn’t necessary to transfer the data. This reduces the chance of operator error.
Reduce Fraud with a Weighbridge
Weighbridge features and software can help you reduce fraud. The most common types of fraud include:
Altering the vehicle weight
Operational manipulation
Tampering with weighbridge electronics
Manipulating the software
You can install features like guide rails, sensors, and security cameras. This helps prevent altering the vehicle weight through poor positioning on the weighbridge. Security cameras help you prevent other types of fraud as well, by giving you visibility into what drivers and operators are doing.
Systems that photograph each vehicle as it weighs prevent double-weighing. License plate cameras ensure you always know when each truck was on the scale.
Weighbridge security software notifies you of any abnormalities in real-time. For example, if a truck crosses the weighbridge but doesn’t complete a transaction, you’ll get a notification.
The software records each transaction. You can check the information for anything that looks suspicious. You can see data like how many times an operator reprints a ticket.
Weighbridge monitoring software lets you control who has access to the system. You can see any attempts to manipulate the software.
Weighbridge Automation for a Transport Business
Weighbridge automation brings additional advantages to your transport business logistics. As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to affect Australia, an unmanned weighbridge reduces physical contact. Your drivers can complete the entire weighing operation without needing to interact with an operator.
An automated weighbridge can help you process incoming and outgoing vehicles more quickly. A driver-operated terminal can reduce the time each truck spends at the weighbridge. The operation is more streamlined.
Automation can be more reliable in some cases as well.
Driver-operated weighbridge terminals bring additional cost savings to your truck company. You don’t need an employee at the weighbridge all day. You can operate the weighbridge for extended hours if necessary.
An automated weighbridge system will regulate traffic through the site. Typical features include traffic signals, boom gates, and license plate cameras. You can control how many vehicles can enter and exit.
This lets you avoid congestion and reduce problems. It also improves security.
Weigh-In-Motion Weighbridges
A weigh-in-motion system is another way to bring additional value to your industrial transport business. With a weigh-in-motion system, drivers don’t need to stop on the weighbridge. Trucks drive across at a slow and steady speed, and the weighbridge records all the necessary data.
The software captures the weight of each axle. It can also calculate axle group weights and gross vehicle mass. You get accuracy of +/- 2%.
Many unmanned weighbridges use weigh-in-motion technology.
Weighing in motion improves productivity because the process is more efficient. You avoid processing delays.
A weigh-in-motion system can sometimes integrate into your existing pavement. These weighbridges usually only need a shallow pit, which is more cost-effective.
Choosing Your Weighbridge Investment
A weighbridge gives your transport business a competitive edge. You improve security and compliance. You increase efficiency and productivity.
A weighbridge is an investment, and choosing the right system is important. Weigh-More Solutions is one of Australia’s largest and most respected industrial weighing supply specialists. We offer a range of weighbridge options to meet the needs of your transport logistics.
Contact us today to find out how a weighbridge system can take your transport business to the next level.
