MVO Articles
Dynamic Thinking
Now is a good time to invest in a new dynamic axle weighbridge, suggests Malcolm Bates after a visit to the Martin Group, the growing Derbyshire-based waste and recycling operator
A tough assignment this: testing some new truck, or item of hydraulic plant is far from easy - if for no other reason that there are plenty of things to go wrong, of which the weather is just one example. But a new design of weighbridge? As a species they just tend to sit out there in the yard and… well, even when they're in use they don't exactly get animated, do they?
Thankfully, a lack of drama doesn't translate into a lack of interest. I'm told the recently introduced Axtec "Series 4000" has a lot to offer the waste and recycling sector, not least of which is the fact that the Runcorn-based manufacturer claims it's the first dynamic axle weighing system to be accurate within 0.35 percent. The significance of this? Well, that could make a major difference to your economics, according to Axtec sales manager, Derek Hack, because behind a smooth and flush-to-the ground appearance, a Series 4000 installation could earn a large chunk of its purchase cost and installation expenses back within three years, thanks to being accurate enough to be granted public weighbridge status. We're talking an extra revenue bonus worth up to £5 000 per annum per unit, here.
Another added bonus? Well, unlike conventional plate weighbridges - which either need to be installed in a pit or awkwardly placed above the ground surface - the Series 4000 has a much-reduced maintenance cost, as well as being easier to install due to its compact size. How so? While trucks can be driven over it at up to 2.5mph (it is "dynamic", remember?) they still have to roll in a straight line, but trucks using a conventional weighbridge unit will need to keep straight for three times their own length, if nasty accidents are to be avoided on entry and exit ramps. In contrast, there is nothing to hit on a Series 4000 installation so, remember, if you do allow "outsiders" to use it, the installation shouldn't suffer. And also remember that "customer friendly" is essential for public weighbridge status.
The compact nature of the unit also gives it the added advantage of making installation easier on sites where soil conditions might leave something to be desired. While all weighbridge groundwork has to be very accurate for obvious reasons, the smaller the excavation and amount of concrete work needed, the more likely it is to have a long life. Derek reminds me that to make doubly sure, Axtec provides its own team of installation engineers, following some unfortunate cock-ups in the past where clients have engaged their own groundworks contractor. Make a note of that because a complete "turnkey contract" might be more cost-effective, he argues.
Let's Get Philosophical
Considering that, in many cases, the weighbridge is likely to be the largest potential cause of any hold-up in a waste and recycling site during busy periods, what I needed to find was a typical site with a Series 4000 installation and see how it worked in practice. One of Axtec's best customers for the Series 4000 so far - with four systems now in service at various sites - is the Alfreton-based Martin Group. Although it was not exactly what I'd call busy at the time of my visit (most of Martin's fleet was out on its rounds), the site helped illustrate why the Axtec design fits in so well with the requirements of our industry.
One of the biggest problems is that when "weight" and waste vehicles mix, constant management vigilance is required. Never mind the fact that a three-tonne overload on a 44-tonne gross bulker is unlikely to make any real difference to anything - honestly, it won't - the fact is that with mobile "snooper" vans, roadside cameras, sensor pads and all sorts of wide-ranging powers, VOSA officials can quickly spot any overload.
So why does the installation of a dynamic axle weighing weighbridge make such good sense? Well, how about the fact that this is the very same unit that VOSA specifies to catch overweight wagons out on the Queen's highway? Axtec is a major supplier to VOSA, so specifying the same kit in a preventative role has an ironic twist to it, don't you think?
Of course, one of the key problems with our industry is its diversity. Supermarket wagons? Easy Peasy. They all look much the same and are loaded with stuff that's already been weighed. Waste and recycled materials on the other hand can vary in weight from day-to-day. Looking around the Martin yard, I can confirm that very point. According to facilities manager, John Gorman, not only does the company have to be vigilant in keeping an accurate record of the weight of its own fleet, the increasingly widespread use of "subbies" to haul bulk loads of recyclable materials also requires an "eyes in the back of head" capability.
Why? For three reasons. One, as a company that values its own hard won reputation for professionalism, H W Martin Waste has a social responsibility for subbies as they use the same roads leading in and out of its various depot sites. Secondly, most recyclable materials are supplied and invoiced just as accurately as any freshly manufactured product, so any discrepancies have to be investigated. But considering the relatively low value, management time spent on double-checking can make a big hole in any profit margin in these difficult times. Even a short, sharp shower of rain falling on an open hooklift container can catch out the most experienced driver to the tune of half a tonne or more.
And thirdly? Well, that's one of the key reasons I'm here, because whatever the current business climate, like many privately-owned waste contractors, H W Martin Waste is looking to the future, and that means identifying new waste streams and services. And looking for ways to handle existing recyclables in a more efficient way. So, when the global economy finally does pick-up - as it will - Martins will be able to take full advantage.
As if to prove that point, once I've taken a few photos of the Series 4000 installation, I have to photograph the arrival of the first ISO container truck on site. This will be used for loading trials with bales of compressed cardboard. That might not sound exactly earth-shatteringly exciting but, trust me on this one, I can think of a lot of recycling yards where neither the weighbridge, nor the layout of the site would enable a 44-tonne artic to drive in, let alone reverse up to a purpose-built loading bank - at least not without causing some sort of drama. A "toot-toot" at the electric security gate tells me our container truck has arrived…
Keep It Simple
So how did it go? So smoothly, it robbed my story of a dramatic ending, but that's the whole point. The Axtec Series 4000 doesn't need "drama". With four R60-approved load cells it's all about simplicity. The system goes through an automatic calibration check before each weighing, so it doesn't need a computer boffin on the staff, either. Even the choice between internal office console or alternative external wall-mounted programmable (by truck drivers) keypad, or the various download and billing interface options all come under the "no problems" category. A large character LED weight indicator panel is also an option. For the record, Martin Group keeps all the electronic kit in the depot traffic office, but each driver is trained to use the system in case office staff are not on duty.
But the big advantage is that the Series 4000 can be programmed to read any number of axles. True, for weights and measures purposes seven is currently the maximum allowed by the regulations under one gross figure, but then I can't recall seeing a waste and recycling tractor/trailer rig running on more than that, can you? That's a four-axle rigid hooklift with tri-axle trailer. But nice to know that should British politicians ever be so bold, an Axtec unit could quite happily measure all the axles (with each and every axle independently checked in one pass) on a three or four-axle rigid pulling a 40ft tri-axle trailer on a two-axle dolly convertor running at 60 tonnes gross, just like those I've driven in Sweden.
H W Martin Waste determined that it could use four-axle hooklifts on certain contracts with tri-axle close coupled drawbar trailers, making seven axles. Unfortunately, the overall length of such a rig was greater than that available on most commonly used fixed plate weighbridges; and getting into "specials" was clearly going to be expensive.
My visit proved that point perfectly. Alongside special three-axle glass cullet collection tippers, artic bulkers, conventional RCVs and three and four-axle hooklifts, the depot also had a single four-axle hooklift - based on a DAF CF chassis - running with a tri-axle close-coupled trailer. Yet a few months down the line, that contract changed and the trailer was no longer required… so it got transferred to Leeds!
As the actual installation cost of the Axtec unit purchased to meet this requirement was less than a conventional plate unit, no harm was done. With a conventional plate weighbridge, however, it would have been another story.
Tea drunk, pics taken and cardboard bales loaded, all that remains is for me to do is photograph the container rig going back over the weighbridge fully loaded. Not a dramatic day, that's true, but a point well made: don't put off updating your weighbridge until business picks up. Because by then it might be too late.
Contacts
Axtec: +44 (0)7831 367784
