Land & Water – Weighbridge Installation with Automation & Software
A fully automated, cloud-based weighbridge system, installed by Weightron Bilanciai, is bringing significant efficiency benefits to Land & Water Group’s operations at Rainham Silt Lagoons in Essex.
Land & Water have been sole operators for the lagoons since 2017 and have planning permission to operate the site until 2042, allowing the placement of liquid and solid materials for the construction of an enhanced wetland habitat. The lagoons are strategically placed to accept materials from both capital and maintenance projects in the Thames and Medway and other water bodies within these catchments. The site is a habitat creation scheme managed by Land & Water on behalf of the Port of London Authority (PLA) for the RSPB*.
Weightron had already installed a 9 metre, 40 tonne Titan weighbridge at the site in 2019, which has been used bi-directionally for weighing vehicles entering and leaving. To handle the increased volume of material now being brought to the site, the weighbridge capacity has been doubled with the addition of a second Titan weighbridge. This arrangement now provides dedicated weighbridges for entry and exit. Weightron have been building the Titan side-beam weighbridge design for over 40 years and the robust fully welded, drive-through steel structure is designed to withstand very high concentrated loads and continual use.
As part of the automation, both weighbridges are fitted with Weightron’s DD2050 Driver Operated weigh terminals, automatic number plate recognition cameras (ANPR) and traffic barriers. This automated system removes the need for a manned weighbridge office, thereby significantly increasing overall site efficiency and allowing the 24 x 7 working capabilities required from August 2021.
This application is one of the first to implement Weightron’s cloud-based Nexia Dashboard. This acts as a versatile back office management tool, providing Land & Water with remote, real time information relating to key site data including weighings taking place, materials delivered and vehicle movement. The users can view and download a wide range of reports and, depending on the permissions set, share certain data with third party contractors.
Land & Water’s Project Manager Tom Melhuish is extremely pleased with the updated weighbridge system: “The versatility and modular nature of Weightron’s weighbridge systems ensure we can keep pace with demands over the next 20 years and beyond. The installation was carried out quickly and efficiently with Weightron Engineers working closely with our team. The cloud-based Nexia Dashboard portal gives our users instant clarity of what’s going on at the site, wherever they are based. We can also allow our contractors to share information if required.”
*Footnote: Land & Water is working closely with the RSPB, Natural England and the Environment Agency to safeguard the operational function of the site, whilst providing and maintaining its SSSI status. The site complements the adjacent, well-established, RPSB nature reserve at Rainham Marshes and is part of the strategy to construct a stepping stone series of improved wildlife habitats across the UK. These habitats will be formed by reusing dredged sediments and other soils to re-engineer a string of redundant waste sites, turning wasteland into beautiful and much-needed wildlife havens.
