LOUISVILLE, KY. The Cat Scale Co. plans to roll out a free weighing application or “app” for Android smart phones and tablet computers in June that will allow drivers to weigh their truck at one of the company’s 1,450 locations and receive the applicable paperwork all without leaving the cab.
The “Weigh My Truck” app will allow users to weight their truck, pay for the $10 scale transaction via PayPal, and then get their truck’s weight displayed on their smart phone or tablet. The app will also email a PDF copy of the scale report or weight information text file automatically to up to five emails chosen by the driver, noted Eric Rund, Cat Scale’s equipment systems manager, during a press event here at the 2013 Mid America Trucking Show.
However, drivers can still get a paper ticket within an hour after using a Cat Scale at the fuel desk if needed using the “Weigh My Truck” app as well, he said.
Rund added that drivers will need to create an online account to store basic truck information and email preferences before using the app; an account that will also keep a record of past weigh transactions as well.
“Our research indicates some 40% to 50% of drivers have smart phones now,” he explained. “They use them for everything so felt it was time to offer an app that would simplify the weighing process for their truck.”
That “simplification” really revolves around eliminating the wait time for the traditional paper ticket, not the weighing process itself. “Using the scale takes about 5 minutes, but if a truck stop is busy, it could take an hour to get a paper ticket from the fuel desk,” he pointed out. “This app streamlines both the purchasing process on the front end and receiving the scale report on the back end.”
Cat Scale said it expects to have a similar app developed for Apple iPhones and IPads by the end of 2013.
