Journal of the South African Institution of Civil Engineers (Oct 2010)
WIM calibration and data quality management
Abstract
Weigh-in-motion (WIM) scales are installed on various higher order roads in South Africa to provide traffic loading information for pavement design, strategic planning and law enforcement. Some WIM systems produce anomalies that cannot be satisfactorily explained even by highly experienced professionals. Much of the problem relates to the difficulty in determining the appropriate calibration factors to correct systematic measurement error for WIM systems and the inadequacy of data quality management methods. The author has developed a post-calibration method for WIM data, called the Truck Tractor (TT) method, to correct the magnitude of recorded axle loads in retrospect. In addition, it incorporates a series of data quality checks. The TT method is robust, accurate and adequately simple for use on a routine basis for a wide variety of South African WIM systems. The calibration module of the TT method (i.e. the procedure to determine the calibration factor, kTT) has been accepted by SANRAL and incorporated into the model it uses to quantify the cost of overloading on toll concessions. Some of the data quality checking concepts are also being considered for further use and threshold values for tests are being refined by SANRAL for this purpose.
