June 18, 2014

Trust, but Verify

Author: Stockpile Reports

Trust, but verify is advice recommending that while a source of information might be considered reliable, one should perform additional research to verify that such information is accurate, or trustworthy.

If you just bought 6 truckloads of material, how do you verify that you’re actually receiving the billed volume?

Our team works with several clients who also use our service to ensure they are actually getting what they are paying for. They use the Stockpile Reports service to quickly double-check the accuracy of material volumes delivered by truck.

Truck Volumes and Capacity

Traditional methods of determining loose volumes include:

• weighing trucks
• weighing bucket-loads
• counting bucket-loads
• counting truck-loads

These methods are often inaccurate in determining cumulative bulk volumes:

• A truck or trailer capacity may be determined by manual measurement.
• Often trucks and trailers are not loaded exactly to capacity every time.
• There are known issues with counting buckets as a way to determining truck volume. Operators may not load each bucket consistently to the same level. Often the loader operator is unable to see the scoop very well and it is not practical nor safe to get out and level every bucketful.
• Many operators have ‘their own way’ of loading, so there are inconsistencies between individual operator practices.
• Unfortunately there is also the abuse of systems by operators.

The other end of the measurement spectrum includes a variety of more sophisticated systems available for volumetric measurement of bulk material truck loads. These systems range in prices and can be initially expensive.

Whatever method is used to determine the truck volume when initially loaded, the delivery may still be less due to moisture content.

Surface moisture on fine aggregate can cause considerable bulking.  Bulking is the increase in total volume of moist fine aggregate over the same mass dry. Most fine aggregates are delivered in damp conditions, so wide variations can occur in batch quantities if batching is done by volume.

This means that a company may be paying for water content, not aggregate.

Most operators are honest and want to make sure that measurements are fair for all, and wish to avoid disputes.

Enable Your Business to Become More Productive and Save Money

Reduce third party expenses related to measuring. Periodically measuring your stockpiles using our iPhone Stockpiles Application is an easy and fast way to verify that your company is getting the actual material volume.  You can make sure that your faith in an operator’s integrity is not misplaced, and breathe a little easier during inventory.

If you are interested in seeing how easy and accurate our system is, please contact us.