Weighbridge control gets stone company rolling

Stafford, UK - Stone products company Ennstone Johnstone is now processing trucks eight times faster at its Cloud Hill site following the installation of a weighbridge control system from Avery Weigh-Tronix. The company had needed to increase the throughput of trucks in and out of the site after opening a new asphalt plant.

Previously, wagons checked in and out at the same weighbridge station, which meant long lines at busy times. While the actual filling time only took five minutes, it took nearly an hour to get a truck in and out of the site due to the bottleneck. Critically, asphalt would reduce in temperature by up to 50% while waiting to leave the site.

Ennstone Johnston moved to upgrade their existing weighbridge station and dedicate it to outbound traffic, while installing a completely new inbound station. Following the installation by Avery Weigh-Tronix, wagons now spend as little as seven minutes on site once they check in.

The new inbound system includes two bays, both with communication consoles to link the driver to the operations hub. The first features a new Bridgemont surface mounted weighbridge. The system records the tare weight at the start of the day and the driver receives a bar-coded ticket with his order and delivery information. The second bay also dispenses tickets and is used for subsequent visits as the tare weight is already known.

After receiving the load of aggregates, concrete or asphalt, drivers now proceeds to the refurbished out station. Avery Weigh-Tronix replaced an existing bridge with a new Bridgemont XT, capable of handling even the largest of quarry vehicles. Two remote driver operated consoles were also fitted.

At either station, the driver weighs the truck and scans the barcode on their ticket. If the truck is either overweight for its classification or if it didn’t weigh in prior to loading, a red light shows and the vehicle is prevented from exiting. The barcode is unique and expires once it is scanned, which reduces fraud by up preventing repeat or unscrupulous filling.

Once the vehicle is approved to leave, the system prints a three-part ticket for the driver. They sign the first one and leave it, as a record for Ennstone Johnston, while taking the other two with them for the transport company’s and end customer’s records.

The entire weighbridge system seamlessly integrated with Ennstone Johnston’s existing quarry management software with minimal operator training time, said Avery Weigh-Tronix. The new system, it added, manages the company’s data efficiently while optimising turnaround time as well as providing overload and fraud protection.