Huge new weighbridge to speed up convoys

7 BDE convoys can now be on the road faster, thanks to a new weighbridge opened at Gallipoli Barracks on 28 March.

CAPTION: An HX-81 prime mover and trailer is weighed on the newly opened vehicle weighbridge at Gallipoli Barracks. Story by Corporal Michael Rogers.

This will make it quicker for soldiers driving oversize and overweight vehicles to get out the gate quicker, thanks to being large enough to accommodate large trucks and their trailer in a single run.

Previously, portable scales were used to weigh each vehicle’s axle, which required significant time to set up and calibrate, depending on the vehicle and trailer configuration.

For the truckies at 7CSSB, this could mean more than 10 minutes to weigh each vehicle, with up to four HX-81 combinations requiring weighing at any one time.

The weighbridge takes less than a minute to calculate a vehicle’s total mass, needed for road usage permits, and will also calculate each axle weight to ensure compliance with heavy vehicle regulations.

Weighbridge planning and delivery was coordinated through the Army Estate Capability Program (AECP).

It was started in 2022 to tackle a growing issue of facilities not meeting Army’s evolving needs.

The program’s first iteration focused on rectifying problems arising from Land 121 medium and heavy vehicles.

It resulted in facility upgrades from minor road networks and workshop enhancements to accommodate Army’s fleet, to refurbishment and expansion of bulk fuel trailer parks protected from tropical elements.

Thirty-two AECP projects are in progress across 23 bases to address unit or brigade requirements.

Program creator and manager Gerard Viccars said the main goals were reducing capability risks to keep soldiers safe and make their jobs easier.

“The weighbridge, for example, is treating risks around 7th Brigade units being delayed leaving the base to respond to an operational requirement,” he said.

The program is addressing 203 risks impacting capability, and has rectified more than 20 projects already delivered by the Estate Works Program with Security and Estate Group.

“It’s an innovation in capability management seeking to reduce impacts to our people or capabilities in service,” Mr Viccars said.

The contracted team running the program for DGLOG-A work within Army HQ to understand which projects are a priority, then with Directorate of Estate Works Program Office (DEWPO) to deliver projects through their contractors.

Now in its second iteration, the program is focused on capabilities, with more projects in the pipeline, including a hot-refuelling station at 5 Aviation Regiment, a facilities master plan for 2 Brigade and new targetry for a Darwin range.

With so many projects underway, Mr Viccars said it was exciting to make a difference to soldiers’ day-to-day experience and it was only possible because Army and SEG worked closely together.

“We have been empowered by the leadership in Logistics Branch [Army HQ], who gave us a complex mission, with no clear answer,” he said.

“They challenged and validated our ideas, gave us a steer and then cleared the path for our AHQ/DEWPO team-of-teams to make it work.”

 

 

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