Onboard weighing combats fraud and boosts efficiency

PM Onboard has been flying the flag to promote how onboard weighing equipment is re-defining the waste management sector of events around the country. Most notable was the one-day roadshow the company ran at Kempton Park Racecourse earlier in the year where demonstrations, presentations and training workshops were held throughout the day.


A major contribution was made by Hugh McElvaney, General Manager of McElvaneys Waste & Recycling, who has successfully introduced variable rate charging (DVR) in Ireland. His company, based in Monaghan, Eire, weighs 6,000 wheeled bins every week, using the PM BinWeigh system.

PM, which is showing its new 1300D in cab display at the CIWM Exhibition at Torbay, has also been getting its message across at a series of conferences countrywide. In one particular presentation on the theme of “Examining how on onboard vehicle weighing equipment is re-defining the waste management sector”, the company has come up with some fascinating information.

Outlining the benefits weighing systems offer in terms of optimising payload and preventing overloading, PM also recounts how unauthorised and fraudulent collections can be prevented.

The PM Onboard paper says that the company’s “experiences working with operators have revealed a number of unorthodox practices.

“It is not uncommon,” PM relates, “for a truck to deviate slightly from its round to collect from a ‘friend.’ PM installed a waste container identification system to one operator and discovered an additional 168 waste containers, which were not being charged for.

“Drivers simply collected waste from three containers when the contract was for one. Another council estimated that up to 20% of its waste was unauthorised, which included householders running businesses from home and small businesses taking waste home.”

On a less startling level the use of weighing equipment aids better route planning and improved vehicle utilisation. Accurately collecting from all customers allows historical data to be analysed to improve route planning. It also allows management to predict and then plan for cyclic variations, reducing the need for second half loads.

In what could prove to be a significant trend, PM Onboard reports that local authorities are beginning to specify onboard weighing in their collection tenders.

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