In West and Central Africa, as well as Morocco, TopCon partners with SmartFleetDX, a subsidiary of BIA. TopCon provides innovative products to meet field needs, while SmartFleetDX brings its extensive network and experience of African markets. Together, they stand out for their focus on customer needs and local service, as explained by Jean-Yves Chouteau, Director of the Gécamines quarry (Vicat Group) in Diack, Senegal.
The Diack quarries produce 3 million tonnes of basalt rock each year, ranging from gravel to riprap for construction and maritime projects, as well as 500,000 tonnes of limestone for cement and lime production. These quarries employ local workers whose access to education may be limited. Jean-Yves Chouteau explains, "Our loader operators, who we have trained and continue to train, can currently for the most part barely read, write or count. We therefore came up with the idea of equipping our loaders with a very easy-to-use weighing system. TopCon was the only one to agree to accompany us in the development of a solution that combines a simplified version of one of their products with the weighing system specific to the Vicat Group and whose tests are carried out here in Senegal.”
The goal is to enable rapid truck loading through a simple process: scan a QR code and a beeper alerts the driver when the desired weight is reached. This ensures correct loading on the first attempt, allowing trucks to bypass the weighbridge and exit the quarry efficiently. Previously, most trucks were overloaded or underloaded, requiring multiple trips between the quarry and weighbridge for adjustments.
Test results show a 30-minute reduction in average truck processing time. Jean-Yves Chouteau highlights the benefits: "As we load between 250 and 400 trucks a day, the time saved is considerable, as is the saving in diesel. Even better, the system allows us to better comply with the WAEMU regulations, article 14, which aims to limit the overloading of trucks in order to extend the life of the roads. Thanks to the training of the loader drivers in a better filling respecting the axle weight, we are almost sure not to generate overloads.”
