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WasteAdvantage
The Advantage in the Waste Industry
The righT scale sysTem will help you maximize your loads, reduce cosTs associaTed wiTh overloading, and help you realize the full potential of your vehicle and fleet to make a profit.
ElEctronic on-board scalEs arE not nEw. thEy were introduced more than 30 years ago into trucking applications where monitoring gross vehicle or payload weight was necessary; however, platform scales were not readily available. Over the years, improvements were made to these early electronic on-board scales. Load cells were improved and specialty load cells were developed for fifth wheels, center hangers, single points and most other types of spring suspensions. Strain gagebased air sensors were added for an increasing number of air ride suspensions and suspension transducers for spring suspensions. Hydraulic sensors were designed for vehicles equipped with hydraulic lift cylinders. Today, on-board scales can be installed on any truck or trailer with air, spring or mixed suspensions.
monitoring gross vehicle weight to avoid overweight fines. Given the high cost of time and equipment, onboard scales have a dramatic impact on the efficiency and profitability of operating a truck. On-board scales allow you to: Optimize residential and commercial vehicle efficiency by hauling the maximum legal payload on every trip to the landfill or transfer station without going to a platform scale Eliminate overweight fines Load transfer trailers to the maximum legal weight quickly at the loading point, without waiting in scale lines or driving to the nearest platform scale Eliminate travel to certified scales Reduce maintenance costs and increase vehicle life by hauling loads that the vehicle was designed to carry Increase safety by keeping weight within legal limits and allowing braking distance to remain constant and tracking around corners to be more predictable
Eliminate liability exposure due to increased braking distance from overweight vehicles Measure commercial or recycling pickup weights to optimize pricing or recycling rebates Improve customer service by providing individual pickup or container weight information to better ensure your commercial customers that they are being billed fairly Increase revenue by more accurately charging individual customers on heavy load pickup and delivery operations Increase driver retention by assuring a safe load, no exposure to overweight fines and reducing the amount of time it takes to get a correct load Improve operation efficiency by recording weights, load cycles, dump cycles and route/service times. With the increasing use of on-board computers, wireless communications and GPS equipment, weight information can be collected and transmitted real time back to the home office When waste operations consider the previously mentioned benefits obtained from on-board scales, they typically calculate their payback to be from three to 12 months. This will become increasingly important in the future as the cost to haul without on-board scales increases due to the following industry trends1: Increasing competition and the need to improve efficiency and reduce costs Increasing enforcement of overweight regulations Increasing need to reduce liability exposure Increasing difficulty finding and retaining competent drivers Increasing demand for more information Increasing use of on-board computers, wireless communications and GPS equipment
to outside influences and therefore require specific loading operation and maintenance practices.
Body Scales
Body scale load cells are a tried and true method for measuring the gross vehicle, net payload and individual pickup weights. They have been used for years on tipping and fixed refuse bodies. They require little maintenance and after calibration provide a high degree of accuracy without driver involvement.
Roll-Off Scales
The roll-off and dump truck scales use a combination of shear pin load cells and a hydraulic sensor to weigh the load. These systems are extremely reliable and durable, providing accurate weights with little maintenance.
Deflection Transducers
Deflection transducers are a low cost option to load cells for measuring gross vehicle weight. They are mounted on the axles or suspensions of the vehicle and measure the deflection of the axle or suspension under load to achieve the weight. Under the right conditions and depending on application objectives they can provide a useful measurement, but are susceptible to outside influences including loading environment and driver performance. They also require more maintenance due to their mounting locations and a more systematic calibration schedule to maintain accuracy since they are approximating weight via a secondary measurement.
WasteAdvantage Magazine
April 2012
both. These solutions allow the vehicles to maximize their load before they leave the pit. This saves the operation time lost on vehicles being overloaded or underloaded when crossing the platform scales requiring the vehicle to repeatedly return and reload.
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