Mining Companies Quick to Adopt New Load Scanner for Trucks

For greater part of the last few decades, the mining industry has been relying on heavy-duty truck scales and traditional weighing systems to determine payload weight and overall profitability of their work. Today, one pay load management systems company has taken advanced laser scanning technology and integrated into a volumetric "load scanner."

Developed by Walz Scale, the load scanner scans the truck bed to generate load volume measurements (and 3D load images), which can then be converted into weight.

The new volumetric load scanner (see more at WalzScale.com) offers a revolutionary, patent-pending truck bed scanner that determines the volume of haul truck bed loads on the fly. The functionality behind the system is really simple, plus Walz has developed software to make using the load scanner more efficient and data driven.

How it works

The load volume scanner is designed to be mounted on a portable pole so that trucks can drive underneath the scanner unit to scan and generate volumetric imagery. This data, which is immediately captured and recorded using advanced laser scanning technology, can be accessed by truck operators and miners. Before using the load scanner, empty truck bed scans must be made. This data is then stored into the system to be benchmarked for loaded trucks.

Once the truck has been loaded, it will drive underneath it once more so that the truck bed can be scanned a second time. This is to compare the final value with the corresponding empty scan that had been initially taken and stored into the system.

When the system subtracts the weight of an empty truck from the total weight when the same truck is loaded, the value is taken as the actual volumetric representation of the load carried by the truck.

Best investment for large-scale miners?

When operators invest in this revolutionary load scanner technology by Walz, they find that taking load data is fast and convenient. The complete 3D imaging system presents actual images of trucks as long as they drive underneath it. While this happens, it is also possible to generate tickets for every truck load that is scanned, and this has been reported to increase customer acceptance.

Again, Walz integrated their system with a special scale's property software platform known as the Payload Pro OS (Operating system). And because this software is compatible with almost all types of computers and smart devices, mining operators can utilize the advanced working of the system to monitor, truck and efficiently manage truck load data.

The issue of affordability is also addressed with Walz Load Scanner, and especially if compared with traditional weight systems like the use of weighbridges or portable truck scales.

An unconventional new industry standard

Industry experts now report that buying and installing a load scanner from Walz can cost less than fixing weighbridges. As a result, operators can make their job simple as they work in a more organized and simplistic mining/construction environment. Unlike the traditional truck scale alternatives out there, this system by Walz requires minimal maintenance, thus reducing the cost of re-calibration and repair.

The very fact that this system is accurate yet simplistic and efficient is something to marvel on when considering the returns of investing in it compared to traditional weighing systems. First, errors have been eliminated during calculations of volumes and weights, thus operators can be certain of working with a system that is 100% accurate.

And the fact that the system can communicate load data remotely over the cloud is something that operators still consider appealing. Since Walz Load Scanner is designed with multiple integral abilities, operators can relay data through WiFi signals and the Cloud itself, hence facilitating data access anywhere at any time. So it's very likely that those cumbersome truck scales will soon be replaced by this highly efficient, innovative technology by Walz.