Product category:
Materials Handling
News Release from: Weightron Bilanciai | Subject: Weighbridges
Edited by the Buildingtalk Editorial
Team on 12 March 2004
Weighbridges In Control At Heathrow
Three weighbridges supplied by Weightron Bilanciai are playing a pivotal role in the smooth and secure running of the huge construction site for Heathrow Airport's new Terminal 5.
Three weighbridges supplied by leading weighbridge manufacturer, Weightron Bilanciai, are playing a pivotal role in the smooth and secure running of the huge 'T5', as it is affectionately known, is currently the largest, and arguably, most prestigious construction project in the UK Main Civils Contractor Laing O'Rourke is primarily involved with the construction of the central terminal building, the first satellite terminal, air traffic control tower and the management of site logistics
This article was originally published on Buildingtalk on 6 Oct 2005 at 8.00am (UK)
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When the project is completed in 2008, 'T5' will be one of the most advanced integrated passenger terminals in the world, increasing Heathrow's capacity by 30 million passengers a year.
It is interesting to note that more of Terminal 5 is being built below ground than above, including two underground rail platforms, extensions to the London Underground Piccadilly Line and Heathrow Express, baggage handling facilities and service tunnels.
The main terminal itself will be 5 storeys each an equivalent area to ten football pitches.
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Civil engineering work alone involves a staggering 6million m3 of bulk excavation, 500,000 m3 of substructure concrete (including 170,000 m3 in the piling), 425,000 m3 of paving concrete, 140,000 tonnes of reinforcement, 50,000 m2 of curtain walling and 100,000 m2 of roofing.
Work includes the boring of around 13.5 kilometres of tunnels, the construction of new roads, a 600 space multi-storey car park, and other airport related facilities.
Monitoring the weight of raw materials entering the site is an important part of the overall site management logistics.
Laing O'Rourke, together with BAA, set three key criteria for the weighbridges, based around security, vehicle throughput speed and reliability.
Weightron won the contract against strong competition, having shown their ability to configure the weighing systems to meet stringent technical and security requirements, whilst still meeting the cost targets.
Given the proximity of the site to the existing airport, it is clear that site security is a major priority.
The three 18 metre, 60 tonne capacity, pit-mounted Eurodeck weighbridges are installed in the middle three lanes of the Entrance Plaza.
Their operation is fully automatic and each one is controlled via a Weightron Selfbox weight terminal.
The weighbridges are fitted with entry-exit security barriers and before vehicles can pass through the weighing checkpoint, vehicles and drivers have to meet the criteria of four separate checks.
Weightron have worked closely with BAA security to provide a fully automatic and secure weighing procedure, which is fully integrated and compliant with BAA's own security system.
Each bulk delivery vehicle is supplied with its own vehicle identity card linked to the Project ID card system.
Once the vehicle is on the weighbridge the driver uses this vehicle "identity" card to activate the Selfbox terminal.
Once the weighing transaction has taken place the driver then uses his personal ID card to activate the entry barrier onto site.
While this is taking place, an overhead CCTV camera checks the contents of the vehicle.
If covers are used, these have to be removed prior to entry to the weighbridge.
Only when all the pieces in the security jigsaw have been put together is the vehicle allowed to pass through the exit barrier onto the site.
Reliability and speed are key factors for the weighbridges.
Strict planning restrictions have been placed on contractors delivering to the site.
To avoid any additional congestion on the roads around Heathrow during rush hour, vehicles are not allowed to deliver between 7 and 9 am.
or 5 and 7 pm.
As a result, the bridges have to cope with an increased flow of vehicles after the 9 o'clock deadline and on through the shortened day.
With a peak traffic throughput in excess of 120 vehicles an hour, any delays would inevitably cause major disruption and congestion.
The Eurodeck design has a proven track record for reliability in the most arduous of applications.
Prior to installation the weighbridge decks are fully tested in-house.
The weighbridges use Weightron Bilanciai's own fully weld-sealed, stainless steel, rocker pin digital load cells.
The base plates have insulating discs, which provide electrical isolation to minimise the effects of lightning.
An important feature of the Eurodeck is the innovative, yet simple, restraint system.
When vehicles drive onto a weighbridge considerable end-to-end forces can be generated.
The Weightron restraint system limits both front to back and side to side movement without affecting performance.
The installations at Heathrow are covered by Weightron's 'Telemaintenance', dial in technical support contract.
This has the capability of automatically flagging up any problems and allows engineers to access the weighbridges remotely via through a fully secure modem link.
Most situations can be resolved without going out to the site, but if required, a Weightron engineer will respond within two hours.
Weight and security data collected by the Selfboxes are sent to the central D800 weight terminal in the Entrance Plaza offices.
The D800 acts as the central server for the three weighbridges, allowing the data to be logged on the adjacent standalone PC.
From here the data can be downloaded in spread sheet format and securely emailed to the designated recipients.
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