IAP scales explained

IAP is the acronym given to NHVR’s Intelligent Access Program, which manages heavy vehicle access through the use of telematics. The scheme was developed in partnership with Australian road agencies.

Road agencies receive IAP data via 'in vehicle units' (IVU), which enables operators to access roads and bridges with greater masses.

Back in 1976, when Graeme Elphinstone first fitted a set of imported scales to a log truck in Tasmania, little did he realise he was about to revolutionise the Australian transport industry.

"You need to remember that the Seventies were incredibly tumultuous times for Australian road transport," Graeme says.

"Vehicle overloading was prevalent across the board. But one of the biggest problems for truck operators was accurately estimating the weight of their freight. For log truck drivers, this was especially difficult because the weight of each log varies proportionately to the moisture content in the log.

“For example, if the tree was felled that morning, it could weigh up to 1.3 tonnes per cubic metre, but if it spent a week or more stored at the log landing, the weight might drop to 1.0 tonne per cubic metre, as the tree lost moisture. Consequently, log trucks were more often overloaded than not.

"It was a time when clashes with transport inspectors often escalated beyond heated discussions," Graeme revealed. "Mind you, all of this was happening well before the famous Razorback blockade in 1979.

"Operating a trucking business in the Seventies was tough. It was a time when many operators believed overloading was the only way to turn a profit."

In early 1974, the management of Tasmanian Pulp and Forestry Holdings (TPFH), founders of the Triabunna chip mill, decided to implement a ‘Non-Payment Overload’ incentive on transport operators for portions of loads that exceeded the legal load limit.

Consequently, there was now no motivation to overload. In fact, some might argue that this collaboration between the Triabunna wood chip mill, logging operators and Transport Tas became one of the transport industry's first functional chain-of-responsibility (COR) practices.

But the most significant benefit for logging contractors was less roadside weighbridge enforcement because now, for the first time, logging transport had entered a new level of professionalism.

Toward the end of 1975, Graeme heard, via his brother Dale, who at the time was working on log truck engines in Canada, that Canadian trucks had some sort of weighing system fitted. Subsequently, they imported four examples of what he and Dale felt was the best system available at the time. It proved to be a good decision.

"The mill assisted logging contractors with $1000 funding (a considerable investment in the Seventies) to retrofit our onboard weighing system to their existing vehicles," Graeme explained.

"For businesses, the benefits of onboard vehicle weighing systems goe far beyond compliance.

"Being able to accurately and consistently load products to the maximum payload increases profitability. In addition, it greatly assists customers, manufacturers and suppliers who all benefit too, as units can be better spec'd as you do not have to allow for the overload factor.

"Hence lighter tare weights and lower operating costs, consistent fuel usage and lower repair costs, plus driver peace of mind as he has a legal load."

The pursuit of improving the onboard weighing systems for Australian applications is something Graeme's business has always strived to achieve. His no-nonsense approach to engineering led to the introduction of their in-house designed and manufactured electronics into the onboard weighing systems they supplied by the late Eighties.

"When we released the EasyWeigh Radio Remote indicator system in 1989, it streamlined the way drivers and loader operators monitored the weight of the load going on the truck," Graeme explained.

"For example, if a truck driver had to load themselves, they could take the hand-held EasyWeigh remote with them in the loader. Now they could see how much product they were loading without the need to return to the truck to check the weight. It was a huge productivity and safety boost. Furthermore, the unit can read any truck fitted with EasyWeigh Trucks, and trailers can interchange without re-calibration."

A few years later, Elphinstone Engineering commenced manufacturing load cells.

"The introduction of in-house manufactured components gave us great influence over quality control and improved the overall durability of our products," Graeme explained. "But importantly, it allowed us greater flexibility to introduce new technologies quicker and customise units to suit clients' needs better."

"Our EasyAir transducers provide a lower-cost option for onboard weighing where it is not practical to fit loadcells. Mind you, these EasyAir transducers are extremely clever units with high accuracy and are very simple to install. In addition, they automatically take into account changes in atmospheric conditions and temperature when calculating weights."

"By 2007, the evolution in our electronics enabled us to release the EasyWeigh Multi system, which can display up to 15 channels," Graeme continued. "In 2015 we released EasyWeigh Multi Reader. It's a display system suited to applications, where a driver can monitor all axle groups and total load of the combination on one screen.

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We also launched our EasyView application for Android smartphones and tablets.

"However, we're still working on an iPhone version. But EasyView gave operators the ability to view and log weights remotely. As a result, we have two reliable remote-read systems to suit varying operating conditions."

"With our onboard weighing system being spot on, every load is not guesswork," says Graeme. "It's easily achievable with a systematic loading procedure and monitoring the onboard scales.

"We stand by our statement that our weighing systems are the most accurate system available in the world today," Graeme states unequivocally.

"If the system is fitted and maintained correctly and the operational procedure adhered to, then our onboard weighing system tolerance is +/- 1 per cent of actual payload. We've certainly proven time and time again over 50 consecutive loads that our onboard weighing system can be within 0.5 per cent of the payload."

The evolution in technology is growing at an exponential rate. Thankfully for Elphinstone Engineering, its onboard weighing system will tick all the boxes for the TCA Smart OBM system (Category B), used with the NHVR Intelligent Access Program (IAP) for Higher Mass Limits (HML).

"Our current onboard weighing systems are 'upward compatible', which means that we can easily make software upgrades if and when they are required," Graeme adds. "Our systems currently communicate and supply raw data to in-vehicle units (IVU) like MT-DATA/Navman. So, for instance, if they make changes to their systems, we can adapt to suit their updates."

"In this current climate where equipment, parts availability and lead times are stretched out further than 12 months in some cases, our customers benefit because we manufacture our products locally and have a good reserve stock of spare parts on hand," Graeme said.

"We've got third-generation passionate employees working here, and they're fiercely proud of the products we make.

"If a log rolls and breaks a component on a customer's truck in Brisbane in the morning, we can have the replacement component in an airbag out that afternoon. We stock parts for everything we build."

It's been almost five decades since Graeme first pioneered accurate onboard vehicle weighing systems in Australia and maybe somewhat unwittingly ushered in the first incarnation of a chain-of-responsibility practice.