People whose businesses involve shipping bulky raw materials, such as sand and gravel, need to be meticulous about how they conduct truck scale calibration. Proper calibration will save them from several risks. This article discusses some of the risks of neglecting truck scale calibration.
Fines for Overloading
Most jurisdictions have weight limits for the different categories of trucks that move on the roads in those jurisdictions. Weighbridges are often stationed at different points on the roads in order to ensure that all the trucks on those roads are conforming to the weight limits set. Your trucks are therefore likely to receive tickets or fines for carrying cargo that exceeds the weight limits for those trucks. Such fines would have been avoided if you had calibrated your scales so that those scales can give accurate results when trucks are weighed before they leave the loading area or your yard.
Delivery Delays
The authorities may hold any truck that has been found to be overloaded until another truck is dispatched to reduce the load in the detained truck to the acceptable magnitude. The time that the truck takes as it waits for the relief truck can affect how quickly the consignment that you dispatched can reach its destination. Such delays can affect your business because you may develop a reputation of being unreliable among your clients. Avoid such delays by ensuring that all your truck scales are properly calibrated so that all trucks that leave your yard are within the weight limits set.
Lost Revenue
Another big issue that you should be concerned about when your truck scales aren't calibrated correctly is the loss of materials. It is very easy for you to deliver more cargo than was ordered because your scales may under-weigh what has been loaded onto the trucks. It can then become very difficult for your business to stay profitable if you are essentially giving away some of your products inadvertently.
Increased Operational Costs
Poorly calibrated truck scales may also cause your operational costs to skyrocket. For example, the overtime pay that is incurred when a relief truck is sent to take on some of the cargo from an overloaded truck can add up. Dealing with detained trucks also ties up your staff and fleet because attention must be devoted to addressing the problem of the truck that has been found to be overloaded before other matters, such as dispatching new consignments, can be attended to.
As you can see, improper truck scale calibration can have both short and long term effects on your business. It may therefore be advisable for you to hire an external entity to take on the role of calibrating your truck scales in case you lack the in-house capacity to handle this important role.
Share14 September 2017
If you are involved in measuring anything, be it a human body, an industrial weight or something else, the chances are, you will use a scale of some kind. All scales have one thing in common. They need to be calibrated. Without regular calibration, they will give imprecise readings which could cause you all kinds of trouble later on. I am not an expert in this field, but I have learnt a lot about it from observing my father at work. My dad services various types of equipment such as industrial and medical scales. I hope you find my blog useful.