Hauliers - The benefits of on-board weighing systems

The detrimental impact of overloading or underloading vehicles can be significant, regardless of which industry you operate in.

With hefty fines for exceeding weight limits when transporting goods by road, and the responsibility for adhering to the restrictions resting with the driver during transit, it is essential that companies take all the steps within their power to ensure they comply with these regulations.

Laws aside, an overloaded truck poses a serious health and safety risk to your drivers and to other road users. The driver will find the vehicle more difficult to control, particularly when driving downhill, and may have trouble stopping in time due to the unexpected additional braking force required.

The cargo on an overloaded truck is also more likely to move around during transit, increasing the likelihood of improper distribution and the risk of damaging individual axles, and the truck being off balance. This can cause collisions with other vehicles, and can even cause trucks to roll over.

It is equally important to ensure that trucks do not go out underloaded. For a commercial haulage company, optimising truck weights can have a huge impact on profitability. In the world of quarrying and civil construction, several underloaded trucks will very soon significantly decrease productivity.

It is clear that the need to have certainty about the weight of a truck’s load is crucial. Maintaining accurate records of fleet weights enables your team to continually monitor performance and ensure that your business is operating within your specific parameters. On-board weighing systems can provide this vital information in situ.

With accuracy being crucial, there is a need to correctly capture this information in a quick, easy format that can swiftly be shared with all the required parties. The incorporation of a compatible thermal printer within an on-board weighing system is the ideal solution to this.

A printed confirmation of the exact weight of a vehicle streamlines the monitoring process and provides instant confirmation that the vehicle is loaded within legal limits, or indicates whether adjustments need to be made.

Able Systems provide a range of portable printers, each with different features that support various weighing requirements. The Ap1300 range is portable and ultra compact whilst maintaining high quality output, which is ideal when remote access is required.

The Ap1400 and Ap1200 ranges can be built in to host equipment, providing a neat on-board solution. The Ap1400 has an extended voltage range and comes with USB connectivity.

For more information about the thermal printers available from Able Systems that are compatible with weighing systems, including the Ap1300, Ap1400 and Ap1200, please visit http://www.able-systems.com.