Ports play a crucial role in facilitating maritime trade and ensuring the safe and efficient movement of ships and their cargo. RDS MME provides weighing solutions for a range of industries, including the ports industry.

Onboard Weighing in the Ports Industry

In this highly regulated industry, onboard weighing systems have become increasingly important for ensuring compliance with weight regulations, enhancing safety, and improving operational efficiency.

They allow for accurate, real-time weight measurements of cargo directly on vehicles or vessels, reducing the need for additional weighing stations and thereby minimising delays.

Container handlers, including forklift trucks and reach stackers, are used to help maintain the flow of goods through a port. Onboard weighing systems are installed directly onto this machinery to measure the weight of the load they are lifting.

SOLAS Regulation Compliance

The SOLAS (Safety of Life at Sea) Regulations are an international maritime treaty established by the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) to ensure the safety of ships, crew, and passengers at sea.

SOLAS regulations extend their influence on the port industry following the Verified Gross Mass (VGM) requirement being introduced in 2016. This mandates that shippers must provide an accurate weight of containers before loading them onto a vessel.

Many ports use forklift trucks to load containers and reach stackers to move them. However, overloading can be a safety risk. Ports often have weighbridges to check container weight, but if these are placed at the entrance or exit, they may not be in the best location. Onboard weighing systems offer a great solution by allowing weight to be measured directly on the loading equipment.

Using the Loadmaster Alpha 100

RDS MME provide the Loadmaster Alpha 100 as an onboard weighing solution for equipment operating in these environments. It can be used when:

• fitted onto a forklift truck that is loading materials into a container,
• or fitted onto a reach stacker that is lifting shipping containers and weighing the entire container.

The Loadmaster Alpha 100 meets the SOLAS method 2 requirements, which is required for use at British ports.

The system is an automatic catch weighing instrument, MID class Y (b) type approved. It features an SQL database with XML data output for integration with Terminal Operating Systems.

You can contact the RDS MME team by calling 01249 479356 or sending a message to sales@rdsmme.co.uk.