The Illinois Association of Aggregates Producers (IAAP), along with the Grain and Feed Association of Illinois, the Illinois Fertilizer and Chemical Association and the Illinois Asphalt Pavement Association met with officials from the Illinois Department of Agriculture (IDOA) on October 16 to discuss a potential change to the department’s interpretation of a rule to require that all vehicle scale weight indicators be positioned so that they can be read from the driver’s seat of the vehicle during weighment.
IDOA has adopted NIST Handbook 44 which reads that the indicator “shall be positioned so that its indications may be accurately read and the weighing or measuring operation may be observed from some reasonable “customer” and “operator” position. The permissible distance between the equipment and a reasonable customer and operator position shall be determined in each case upon the basis of the individual circumstances, particularly the size and character of the indicating element.”
IDOA indicated that this requirement has been loosely interpreted in the past and that there have been complaints from customers about difficulty in viewing the scale readout.
During the meeting, the IAAP and other associations raised concerns that the potential rule change is unnecessary and requiring scale operators to retrofit or replace existing scale equipment presents significant logistical and cost concerns.
IDOA agreed to delay further action on the proposal to allow additional information to be gathered. The IAAP previously surveyed members about their scale operations; however, members should expect IDOA scale inspectors to request additional information, IAAP warned.