LAWR

WEIGHING TECHNOLOGY Weighing up materials Gloucestershire-based RDS Technology has launched a new Loadmaster a100 on-board weighing system, described by the hi-tech electronic monitoring and control systems specialist as being the new industry benchmark in terms of accuracy and ease of use in difficult conditions and terrains. RDS supplies its products to the mobile machinery industry. The new technology combines edge sensor technology and signal processing techniques. It aims to provide precise and weight information. On-board weighing scales are used in a wide variety of material handling applications where material is loaded into trucks, bays or processing lines. By measuring hydraulic pressure in the lift cycle, the RDS range of on-board weighing scales give a display in the cab of each bucket load and the total material loaded. According to the firm, its Loadmaster a100 is suitable for use with up to ten different attachments. For example, buckets or forks, the system can be retrofitted onto wheeled, telescopic and tractor type loaders. Business development manager Mark Evans tells LAWR that RDS' new product allows data to be shared across the world and has seen strong demand. RDS says that its Loadmaster has been designed to be operated within the fastest loading environments and toughest of conditions compensation for uneven, sloped ground and restricted loading areas, reducing cycle times and maximising tonnes per hour performance. It also has GPS recognition, whereby the instrument on the loader knows its position in relation to an individual product bay. Recycling firm Pearce Group uses the Loadmaster a100's sister product, called the Loadmaster 8000i, for its wheeled loaders. It also uses a Liftlog 100+ on-board weighing system for their fork trucks to speed up operations and enhance productivity. At the firm's St Albans headquarters, a fleet of forklifts is used to unload trucks coming back from customer collections. Waste paper is graded and the Liftlog 100+ is used to weigh each skip or container which is tagged. Once processed, clamp trucks, also fitted with Liftlog 100+, load bales onto trucks for shipping out to paper and plastic mills to be recycled. The site also handles tin cans, plastic, wood and glass. Pearce Group spokesman Robert Pearce says: "We can be sure the 30 tonne bulkers are loaded correctly first time before passing over the weighbridge negating the need to return back to the yard. It has made a big difference..." February 2014 Local Authority Waste & Recycling 17 Tel: 01527 526112 www.redforge.co.uk HOW MUCH MORE CAN YOU TAKE? Helping you carry the load. Vehicle overloading fines can be up to £5,000 per axle and GVW, meaning that a 3.5T vehicle could incur a maximum of £15,000! Advice and systems are available from Red Forge to help you know what your vehicle is carrying. RF.Howmuchmore86x125 27/3/08 17:11 Page 1

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