BITS Buys Static Axle Weighbridge

British and International Tyre Supplies (BITS), part of the County Tyres Group, recently bought a new static axle weighbridge from Axle Weight Technology Ltd (Axtec) in order to help it stay within strict axle load weight rules. According to the company, the increased weight of tyres has been making it more difficult to judge if the company’s delivery vehicles are within legal limits when they set off on their daily delivery runs. BITS wanted to achieve the maximum payload of around 1.2 tonnes on its 3.5 tonne Mercedes-Benz Sprinters, while also staying on the right side of the law.

Taking 10 kgs as an average weight per tyre meant that 120 tyres can usually be safely loaded onto the Sprinters. But this way of doing things is a bit haphazard as the product mix can change the weight significantly, especially if heavier 4 x 4 or ‘run flat’ tyres are being carried, leading to the risk of an axle or gross weight overloading.

Warehouse manager Matthew Martin felt that a more accurate system was needed and trials were carried out using Axtec portable weighpads. Following discussions with Axtec’s technical staff, it was decided that a permanent weighbridge should be installed at Bristol, where 15 vehicles are based, and that the portable weighpads should remain in use for carrying out spot checks at BIT’s other depots around the UK.

The choice was Axtec’s Static Single Axle weighbridge. The new weighbridge just 2 x 0.75 metres of floorspace. Each axle is stopped briefly on the weighing platform and individual axle and gross vehicle weights are then being displayed on a large LED display. This is positioned to be easily seen by the driver enabling immediate action to be taken to reduce or redistribute the load if required. The driver is told automatically when to pull forward and the system totals automatically too. He doesn’t even have to leave his seat to obtain his axle and gross weights.

“This is a very busy warehouse moving some 300,000 tyres a year and with a constant flow of traffic,” says Matthew Martin. “So we had to keep any disruption to an absolute minimum.”

Now as each vehicle prepares to leave the depot it passes over the axle weighbridge and the driver knows his vehicle weight instantly. A printout is then given to him showing both the axle and gross weights and this provides evidence that he was within the legal limits at the time of starting his round.

“With a payload of just 1.2 tonnes there’s not much margin for error,” says Martin. “This system is definitely helping make sure that we and our drivers are complying with the law and at the same time is enabling us to optimise the loads on our vehicles. The fact that the Axtec team installed it on time, on budget and without any significant disruption was a very welcome bonus.”