Telematics technology manages axle-weight

TruckWeight recently introduced TruckWeight FleetLink, a telematics device that gives fleet managers the ability to electronically capture and communicate axle-weight data generated by the company’s Smart Scale wireless scale for commercial vehicles. “Traditionally, onboard scales produce results that have to be manually interpreted, logged and reported by the truck driver,” said Peter Panagapko, president of TruckWeight. “As a companion to Smart Scale, TruckWeight FleetLink helps replace these manual processes. It creates an accurate electronic record of axle-weight data that can be read by an onboard computer and sent home by satellite- or cellular-based mobile communications systems. Dispatchers and fleet managers can monitor payload capacity while the truck is in the field, eliminating the latency and errors associated with paper-based reporting.” TruckWeight FleetLink integrates with Smart Scale through its sensors that monitor subtle changes in air-ride or mechanical spring suspension. An RF transmitter sends the data to the TruckWeight FleetLink receiver which is connected to an onboard computer, onboard communications device or cellular phone via Bluetooth, RS-232 or USB. From there, the data can be used by a wide range of fleet management programs, including dispatch, compliance and accounting.