When PalletForce, a national and international palletized distribution network with many depots located throughout the United Kingdom, decided to improve its process for weighing loads, it tested 7 different designs of forklift truck scales before selecting scales from Avery Weigh-Tronix.
PalletForce offers a network of over 3,000 vehicles and 4 million sq ft of warehousing space. Trucks from various distribution companies bring their freight to the PalletForce central hub in Lichfield, Staffordshire. Here, an unloading crew uses forklift trucks to unload the pallets and sort them in staging areas with a common destination. Then the pallets are loaded onto trucks that will transport them to their final destination points.
Since most deliveries require drop-off within 24 hours, unloading and loading must occur quickly. But it is essential that forklift operators keep track of pallet weights to ensure the trucks are loaded evenly and within weight limits for safe travel.
Many of the trucks are fitted with a double racking system to accommodate maximum freight; however, if weight is distributed unevenly on the racks, the truck is more susceptible to rollovers in strong winds or sudden side movements. For safety, and to avoid hefty fines and equipment damage, heavy pallets must be placed on the bottom with light pallets on top.
A Better Weighing System
Typical weighing systems require the forklift truck driver to make repeat visits to a floor scale that is often remote from the loading area. Like many companies, PalletForce estimated the weight of each pallet to avoid any additional steps in its streamlined process -- until the company implemented scales from Avery Weigh-Tronix with patented WeighBar® weight sensing technology.
PalletForce purchased 29 scales for the Lichfield location, with one scale fitted to the forks of each lift truck. An eye-level display is located in the cab so drivers can easily see the weight of each pallet and judge how to stack them in the trucks.
When all of the pallets for a specific destination are loaded, a ticket printer located on the lift truck provides a paper copy of each pallet weight, with reference identification, and the accumulated amount. This allows truck drivers to provide a record of the weight and position of each pallet in the event of a roadside vehicle spot check.
PalletForce also chose to include fully programmable Avery Weigh-Tronix SimulCast WI-130 instrumentation with its scales. WI-130 can store more than 750 records, which can be downloaded at the end of a shift via infrared communication, radio frequency, Ethernet or network connections.
This weighing solution is much more reliable than PalletForce's previous weighing process because operators can pick up, weigh, load, and record data all in one operation.
"Having a reliable guide to the weight of each pallet is a huge benefit to our hub operation in terms of safety and efficiency," said Carl Worgan, operations director at PalletForce.
With solid, single-piece construction, scales are built specifically for continuous operation in rugged warehouse environments. They will not bend or break under strain and have no moving parts to adjust. In addition, the scales are bolted rather than welded to the fork carriage, avoiding damage to the truck and making it easy for PalletForce to reinstall the scale onto a different lift truck at any time.
Track-and-Trace Monitoring
Satisfied with equipment performance, PalletForce recently decided to upgrade its forklift truck scales with a complete track-and-trace system for monitoring progress of freight throughout the entire hub.
Developed in conjunction with Erwin SICK Ltd, the system combines an Avery Weigh-Tronix forklift truck scale with a bar code scanner so that forklift operators can collect pallet weight and data simultaneously during loading or unloading, without having to leave the cab. The bar code scanner uses proprietary auto focus technology, enabling it to read data at varying distances and on uneven surfaces.
An onboard SimulCast WI-130 indicator guides the driver through the scanning and loading process and downloads data at the end of the shift for easy analysis.
PalletForce has the option to collect data on each pallet's weight, time of unloading and reloading, origin and destination, contents, and total number of pallets in consignment. The system can also be used to record employee names for accountability purposes.
"The Avery Weigh-Tronix system has proved itself under demanding conditions," Worgan said, "and we have been impressed with the support and advice received from the company."
