Carrying out logistics operations involving heavy transport carriers like trucks is a demanding job but can be done effectively with proper resources and equipment from a trusted supplier having noteworthy industry knowledge and experience in heavy haulage.
Dealing with heavy industrial equipment, mostly from mining, aviation, rail, and road industries, requires rigorous work and discipline. One of the severe concerns that arise with heavy haulage of industrial equipment from these aforementioned industries is overloading; avoiding it is beneficial in all ways possible. There’s a limit to how much load a truck can carry, calculating both axle weight and the total weight of the truck.
Risks of Overloading Trucks
When the gross truck weight and axle weight are stretched, the vehicle is considered overloaded. The axle weight is the total weight sitting on one axle. There are certain limits for axle weight and gross weight, which include the total weight of the vehicle, including the load it carries and the people on it.
- Exceeding trucks’ loading capacity is highly risky, and there are many damages it causes to the vehicle.
- When the maximum weight limit is exceeded, trucks become less stable and take longer to stop. They will be difficult to steer, resulting in fatal accidents in some cases.
- Overlading results in tyre blow-outs; tyres overheat when they carry an excess load and wear easily.
- Overloading puts extreme pressure on the suspension system, and over time it results in the failure of the suspension system.
While there are grave risks of overloaded trucks, some find it tempting, nonetheless. Overloading vehicles means exceeding the weight limit, so more goods/ equipment will be fitted on the truck. This seems both cost and time-saving. When goods are loaded on trucks exceeding their weight limit, it reduces the number of carriages required for a specific shipment – less carriage means less fuel consumption and less time for the job. These facts seem to benefit logistics companies, but the risks are far greater down the road.
False Economies of Scale from Overloading of Trucks
Overloaded trucks save time and money when considering short-term benefits, but it does more harm than benefit in the long run. This apparent financial benefit which leads to greater expenditure in the long term, is regarded as a false economy. Exceeding payloads can save some money on fuel costs and transportation costs, but it damages the vehicle. The cost of repair and modification will be greater than fuel savings.
There are certain truck overloading rules mandatory to logistics companies under the Heavy Vehicle National Law and Regulations act, and violation of any heavy vehicle rules is finable.
Overloaded trucks damage not only the vehicle itself but also the road and nearby vehicles and other properties. In case of such infrastructure damages, a penalty notice over $2000 or a court penalty over $3000 will be issued. Other fines due to overloading include repair costs.
Along with fines, human casualties are one of the major concerns that arise from the overloading of vehicles. Truck overloading poses a serious risk to truck drivers and other individuals on the road. Truck overloading accounts for over 188 deaths annually in Australia.
The many consequences of truck overloading bring a huge loss of finances for transport companies, and, unfortunately, not even a single penny from overloading loss can be covered by using truck insurance. Overloading is a legal offence, and insurance becomes ineffective given illegal scenarios.
The easiest way to avoid false economies of scale arising from the overloading of trucks is to simply avoid overloading. Companies can invest in truck weighing technologies like truck scales to govern overloading. Truck weighing scales, both static and portable truck scales from Trakblaze, make weighing heavy vehicles efficient and effortless.
Truck scales from Trakblaze are reasonably priced, considering the use of high-end tech in their static and portable truck scales. The use of a weighbridge eliminates any possible consequences of truck overloading discussed above. Weighing scales from Trakblaze are easy to use and do not require any prior knowledge of weighing scales.
Their Force 1 truck weighing scale addresses the need for highly accurate weighing scales in the transport industry. It requires minimal space and provides faster data readings with fewer errors. Force 1 is both time efficient and highly accurate in reading real-time data. The use of weighing scales such as a weighbridge makes heavy haulage as safe and legal as possible for both manufacturing and logistics companies.
