On-board vehicle scales improve the accuracy of your billing, reduce costs and improve driver performance. The relatively low initial investment and cost of installation and training make the return on investment of vehicle scales very high.
Michael Ferguson
Every overweight bin your company collects represents disposal costs you aren’t recouping in customer billing, and overweight vehicles can be an expensive hazard. Front-load scales address the problem where it begins—at the curb—while axle scales prevent the many costs and inconveniences associated with overloading. By accurately measuring and tracking your bin and vehicle weights, scales provide a cost-effective, powerful and easy-to-use tool to help you increase your revenue, decrease your costs and improve driver performance.
Increase Accounts Receivable
While the occasional overweight bin might not seem like a big issue, the unrealized income and added disposal costs can add up fast. The answer has traditionally been to outfit a single vehicle in your fleet with front-load scales to measure individual customer bins. Yet designating a single audit vehicle has major shortcomings: readings on any given day may or may not be representative of a customer’s average, and some customers may intentionally cheat the system by withholding waste on audit days. Further, outfitting even one vehicle with front-load scales was cost-prohibitive for many companies in the past.
New technologies have increased competition in the marketplace, and arm-based front-load scales are now available for a fraction of the cost of standard fork-replacement systems The result is a fleet that can continually provide you the feedback you need to make informed pricing decisions.
By measuring individual bins at pickup, front-load scales allow you to accurately and fairly bill your customers for their true usage amounts. Front-load scales measure bin weights automatically and dynamically with few or no additional steps required of the driver. Once a lift is completed, the scale system stores the lift information and displays the bin weight for the driver. Most scale systems also offer the capability to transmit bin weight information to an on-board computer or route management system for reconciliation with your customer database.
Analyzing bin weight data over time can help you identify over- and under-served customers and provide justification for rate changes where appropriate. The more often individual routes are audited, the greater the integrity of the bin weight data gathered. Full-fleet systems provide the most accurate and up-to-date information.
Avoid Costs Associated with Overweight Vehicles
While front-load scales address overloading at the curb, axle scales help you prevent the many issues and costs associated with overweight vehicles, including accidents, increased maintenance and fines.
Already more likely to be involved in traffic accidents due to their size and limited visibility, overloaded refuse trucks require additional stopping distance that is often in short supply, particularly in urban settings. Accidents can be costly, resulting in expensive repairs, route interruption, worker’s compensation and damage to your public image, particularly if there are injuries involved. By providing real-time updates of the load weight, axle scales can help drivers adjust for the additional stopping distance needed as their trucks get closer to the maximum payload weight.
Trucks that are overloaded are also more likely to require additional maintenance and repair. Loads beyond the manufacturer’s recommended weight put excess stress on the engine, transmission, brakes and steering system and also significantly reduce fuel efficiency. Scales provide a more accurate and dependable measure of the weight of the load than driver estimation, and thus prevent unnecessary wear and tear due to overloading. OEMs are even increasingly requiring that trucks be outfitted with on-board scale systems to prove adherence to their guidelines when making warranty repair claims.
In addition, overloading trucks can carry considerable legal implications for both you and your drivers. Overweight trucks may be subject to significant municipal fines or impoundment, as well as overweight charges at the transfer station. Individual drivers can face costly tickets and marks on their CDLs, and even criminal charges if an overloaded truck is involved in a serious accident. Axle scales measure steer, drive axle and GVW weight, and when used alone or in conjunction with front-load scales, can prevent damage, headaches and expenses associated with overloading.
Reduce Driver Stress and Monitor Performance
In addition to the positive impact both axle and front-load vehicle scales can have on your bottom line, they are also a useful human resources tool. Scales empower your drivers by giving them accurate control over their own bin and vehicle weights. They are intuitive and easy-to-use, as they are designed to operate automatically requiring no change in the normal operation of the vehicle. Calibrations are required to keep scales accurate, but the calibration process is simple and typically takes less than 30 minutes. Driver training costs and down time are minimal.
Once they understand how to use them, drivers are able to use scales to maximize their capabilities while avoiding overloading and the associated infractions, fines and marks on their CDLs. The increased control scales give drivers over their work environment can translate to greater workplace satisfaction and improved morale. The data provided by scale systems can also inform driver employment reviews and provide a tool for monitoring and improving the performance of drivers for whom overloading is a problem.
On-board vehicle scales improve the accuracy of your billing, reduce costs and improve driver performance. The relatively low initial investment and cost of installation and training make the return on investment of vehicle scales very high.
Michael Ferguson is National Account Manager for Air-Weigh Inc. (Eugene, OR). In operation for more than 25 years, Air-Weigh’s mission is to protect the safety of drivers, reduce expenses for trucking companies and make communities better and safer for everyone. They work toward these goals by producing front-load and on-board scales and other weight solutions to trucking companies around the world. Michael can be reached at (541) 349-8584.