This includes monitoring the amount of waste collected, material input and output, and extracting energy. Weight data is not only crucial for your operational efficiency but also for compliance with state legislation.
Truck scales (also known as weighbridges) are proving the most accurate and efficient way to collect this vital data.
Why weighing is crucial
Weight is a vital piece of data in the recycling and waste management industry. Weight measures guide billing in the buying and selling of recycled items. Accuracy is crucial to optimise profits, ensure precise payments for materials purchased or deposited, enhance security and increase the operation’s overall bottom line.
There are various scale systems in use in the industry, including floor, truck and rail scales. However, these options differ in size and load capacity, making some better suited for other applications.
Waste is now viewed as a valuable resource. Revenue in the industry is reliant on weight data. Keeping track of weight in an operation is key to monitoring the waste collected, recovery inputs and outputs, energy extraction and waste disposal. This data is vital, whether it’s to process waste materials for environmental reasons or for commercial gain.
Truck scales allow you to obtain weight data without interrupting your operations. They are useful for:
- Weighing trucks as they haul materials into and out of the facility. Accurate weight data on incoming and outgoing materials will help you maximise your profits.
- Avoiding penalties for overloading. Accurate weighing of trucks leaving your facility will ensure you avoid hefty penalties for overloading.
- Maximising the vehicle’s capacity and fuel efficiency. Ensuring you accurately monitor weight at waste transfer stations helps to optimise the loading process. Weight data will help you determine the maximum load for your trucks for better fuel efficiency.
- Weighing the entire vehicle to comply with legal for trade requirements.
- Extended hours of operation without the need for extra manpower. Various truck scale designs allow for operation by the driver from her/his cab. Unmanned stations make it possible for extended hours of operation without the need for hiring extra manpower. These scales can process large volumes of information for extended periods of time.
- Improved health and safety in the facility, as no heavy lifting by personnel is involved. There is no need for unloading trucks or lifting heavy materials by personnel. Scales eliminate risks associated with the handling of materials during the weighing process.
- Saving of time and money. The scales allow you to weigh trucks in motion without the need for the driver to leave their cab or for the unloading of materials. Trucks don’t have to stop and wait for weighing, thus saving your operations a lot of time.
Reliable solutions
Weighbridges have become one of the most reliable and efficient ways to keep track of weight data. They offer:
- • An all in one solution. Weight data is vital in the recycling and waste industry. Weighbridges are an easy way to monitor incoming and outgoing materials on trucks as well as materials stored on-site. You can easily keep track of materials distributed, those stored on-site as well as those used.
- • Better performance. This is one of the foremost considerations in truck scale designs. They are designed for durability and accuracy. Truck scale accuracy and a low failure rate ensure accurate data and greater efficiency in your operations. The scales are more reliable for longer.
- • Unmanned terminal. The scales are designed to be operated by the truck driver from her/his cab. There is no need to hire and pay an attendant to operate the scale. The truck driver can obtain accurate weight data at the push of a button. This saves both time and money. The unmanned terminal also allows for longer hours of operation without the need for additional manpower. Information obtained from the scale is stored and transmitted by the software included with the scale. A large amount of data can be stored this way. Information on transactions can therefore be obtained when needed.
- Savings in time and money. Scales reduce the amount of time needed to obtain crucial weight data. They make the process easy and eliminate the need for employing extra manpower, saving both time and money.
Additional benefits include:
- Flexible reporting. Weighbridge systems provide for more flexible reporting to both customers and regulatory authorities. All weight information is stored centrally on software, allowing for customers and authorities to view accurate data on the waste collected, what it consisted of, who the customers were, the weight of recycled material produced and the weight of material disposed.
- The printing of invoices. All information is stored on the weighbridge’s software system. This makes it easy to print accurate and timely invoices for contracts with customers. Invoices can be printed on and off-site.
- Increased uptime. A reliable scale remains operational on-site and helps generate more revenue for longer. Weighbridge manufacturers offer after-sales services to ensure scales are maintained, including software support, technical advice and callouts in case of breakdowns.
Kevin Hill is a marketing professional at Quality Scales Unlimited in Byron, California.