Buying · 1 Nov 2026

Questions to ask before buying weighbridge automation

Ask how the system keeps your bridge legally compliant, how it protects each weight from capture to bill, and what the gate does when something fails. Then make the vendor prove those answers at your own bridge, with your vehicles, before you pay in full.

Decide what you are buying first

Weighbridge automation can mean several things: a direct link from the indicator, RFID or token capture, boom barriers and position sensors, cameras, or a full unmanned setup. Each solves a different problem.

Write down your top three problems before you meet vendors. Common ones are disputes with farmers, queues at the bridge, manual entry, and slow billing. Weigh each answer below against those problems.

Legal and metrology questions

Section 22 of the Act requires model approval before a weight or measure is manufactured or imported. Ask for the documents and read them. Do not rely on a sales statement.

Ask	A good answer sounds like
Does anything you install change the instrument or its sealing?	A clear yes or no, with the exact items listed
If you replace load cells or the indicator, what model approval documents do you provide?	Copies of approval and verification papers for those items
Does your work trigger re-verification?	A plan agreed with the Legal Metrology Officer, since rule 27 requires re-verification before use after repair or reinstallation
Who arranges verification, and how will downtime be covered?	Named responsibility, dates before crushing and a fallback for the gate
Do you read the instrument or adjust it?	The software only reads the indicator and has no route to change calibration

Data integrity questions

Can an operator type or edit a weight? If so, under what permission?
Is a weight accepted only after it has held stable, and who sets that rule?
Is the raw reading stored with device ID and time?
Do corrections keep both versions, with a reason and an approver?
Can a vehicle hold more than one open weighment?
Is there a tare history per vehicle, with tolerance alerts?
Can a database administrator change a weight without leaving a trace?
Who at the vendor has remote access, and is every session logged?

Gate operations questions

How does the system handle tractor-trailers, trucks and bullock carts in the same queue?
What happens if an RFID tag is missing, damaged or moved to another vehicle?
How long does one complete weighment take at peak, measured at a working site?
How many bridges can one plant run, and can vehicles shift to another bridge when one is down?
Which local languages can the slip and operator screens use?
What happens during a power cut, a network failure or an API outage?
How are paper slips numbered, and how are they entered later and checked for duplicates?

Integration and data questions

How does weighment data reach cane accounting, and can a person alter it on the way?
Do you offer a documented API or only a file export?
Who owns the data, and in what format do we get it if we leave?
How long are records and images kept, and are they enough for audit and dispute periods?
Do you depend on the internet at the gate? If yes, what is your minimum connection?

Support and cost questions

Do you offer support at night and on holidays during crushing, with a named person?
What response time is written into the contract, and what is the remedy for missing it?
Which spares must we hold on site?
What are the costs for licences, tags, annual maintenance, upgrades and new bridges?
Can we speak to two sugar mills that have run the system for a full season?

Test before you pay in full

Tie the final payment to a site acceptance test before crushing. Agree the test in writing.

Run known weights and compare them with the system record
Try to enter a weight without permission
Move a vehicle during capture and confirm the system waits for stability
Issue a second token to a vehicle with an open weighment
Pull the network and run the paper fallback from start to finish
Reconcile a day's weighments to bills, line by line

Ask us the same questions

If you are looking at SugarOS, apply this list to us too. Your bridge's API would need its own test.

Frequently asked questions

Does automation remove the need for annual verification?

No. Verification concerns the instrument. Rule 27 of the General Rules applies however the weight reaches your software.

Should we buy an unmanned weighbridge?

That depends on your vehicles and your queue. Unmanned setups need reliable identification for each vehicle, so a mixed fleet of tractors, trucks and carts needs careful testing first.

Can we automate an existing bridge?

Vendors often offer add-ons for existing bridges. Ask what your indicator can output, and whether any work on the bridge would need re-verification.

When should we buy?

Leave enough time to install, train staff, test on site and complete any verification before crushing starts. Avoid changing the gate system in the middle of a season.

Is a reference from another industry useful?

It shows the technology works. Sugar mills have seasonal peaks, mixed vehicles and payments to many farmers, so a reference from a working mill tells you much more.

Sources

Talk to SugarOS