Weightru (United Kingdom) - Buying a weighbridge is a big investment for any business in the logistics or transport industry.

Yet, it’s so important as it allows you to collect essential information needed to meet legislative requirements and charge your clients.

Over the years, weighbridges have also helped many businesses increase the safety of their workplaces and vehicles, reduce costs and improve efficiency.

Although the concept of a weighbridge is fairly straightforward, the practical aspects when it comes to installation is far from simple.

The reason being, weighbridges need to be fit-for-purpose and highly accurate to fulfil their function of providing precise measurements time and time again – even in harsh environments.

So, if installing a weighbridge is on your radar, here are 4 key things to consider:

1. Understand Your Needs:

Today, there are many different weighbridges available on the market, which all serve a range of purposes and industries.

To put it briefly, there are weighbridges that can be surface mounted, which have a small ramp, or pit mounted, where the platform is located below ground level.

Therefore, you must have a clear vision of your needs and requirements before making such an investment.

For instance, think about the kind of vehicles you need to weigh, the dimensions of these vehicles and the kinds of products you’ll be weighing.

Or, ask yourself: will there be a need for traffic control measures? Does the software need to be customised or operated remotely?

In addition, consider the benefits of a driver-operated docking station, which allows drivers to complete weighing transactions without having to leave their vehicle.

If necessary, some manufacturers can customise your weighbridge to meet your specific requirements.

All in all, you must understand your needs so that you can choose the best option for your business.

2. Location and Space:

Once you’ve nailed down what exactly you need your weighbridge for, you need to choose where it’s going to be installed on your site.

It sounds obvious, but quite often people will not leave enough room to maneuver, and weighbridges are installed too close to buildings where wing mirrors get knocked off or vehicles simply cannot access the bridge.

And after spending so much money to get it installed, that’s the last thing you want!

OK, so these may be extreme examples, but it’s definitely worth bearing in mind the turning circle of your longest vehicle.

It’s also necessary to consider the length of the weighbridge; this will be determined by the vehicles using it.

In most cases, weighbridges are far too long than what is actually required; you only need to consider the wheelbase, not the total length of the vehicle itself.

Lastly, health and safety is of prime importance, especially as the HSE highlighted accidents involving vehicles as an area of concern.

As such, the weighbridge should not be installed where it’s likely there’ll be any pedestrians, as well as thinking about how to avoid traffic queues if you’re thinking of putting it near the entrance or exit to a site.

3. Vehicle Size and Weights:

Before choosing a weighbridge, you will need to factor in the maximum vehicle size that it needs to accommodate.

Typically, weighbridges that use a single deck are better for weighing vehicles between 18 – 20 metres long.

On the other hand, multi deck or twin deck weighbridges are best suited in situations where longer trucks and trailers need to be weighed.

4. Supplier’s Reputation:

Your choice of supplier is just as important as the choice of weighbridge.

Simply because: after sales support is critical.

Essentially, weighbridges are huge precision instruments and it’s imperative that you feel at ease knowing you’ve invested in a reliable product.

And, that you have backup and support for when your weighbridge requires repairs, maintenance or if you need any technical advice.

Concluding Thoughts:

Whilst there are many factors that come into play when choosing a weighbridge, these 5 above are some of the key ones to consider before you make your investment.

Given some thought, and by taking professional advice, you can feel confident that your selected vehicle weighing solution will operate smoothly for a long period of time.