Container Weighing on Straddle Carriers
No need for a weighbridge
A container terminal wanted to weigh all containers as part of their existing workflow - without installing traditional weighbridges. This made perfect sense, weighbridges can be impractical in port environments. Straddle carriers must detour to the weighbridge, wait inline, and risk confusion between container and weight data. The weighing process itself is often inaccurate as the weighbridge also includes the straddle carriers weight, adding unnecessary tare.
Weighbridges also increase fuel consumption and carbon emissions due to detours, and they require valuable space - something that was both limited and costly at this terminal. Time spent by straddle carriers was another limiting factor. It is no surprise the port was looking for a smarter solution.
The TEKFA solution
TEKFA installed a system that weighs containers directly on the straddle carrier. The weighing process takes about 5 seconds on average. The system transmits the weighing result wirelessly to the customer's server, where it is stored for later use.
The terminal also requested a live display in the driver's cabin, showing whether the container's weight was unevenly distributed across its four corners. This requirement was fully met.
A successful implementation
Today, nearly all straddle carriers at the terminal are equipped with TEKFA's weighing system. This includes:
- Real-time corner weight display in the driver's cabin
- Wireless data transmission to the server
- "Live" reporting to the terminal operating system (NAVIS N4)
SOLAS and VGM compliance
It was key for the customer to comply with the SOLAS convention (Safety Of Life At Sea), which requires accurate verified gross mass (VGM) for all containers.
While shippers are responsible for knowing the VGM, ports are best positioned to install and operate an efficient and accurate weighing system, like the one delivered in this project, by TEKFA.
