Weighing scales are a part of diverse industrial functions. Industrial scales are repeatedly subjected to heavy loading and unloading. Additionally, external factors such as environmental conditions, electricity fluctuations, everyday wear and tear etc. deteriorate the weighing efficiency of the scale. These factors cause the accuracy and precision of the scale to diminish with time. And in absence of regular maintenance and care, your weighing scale may sustain permanent damage. So, even if you own the most advanced professional-grade weighing scale, regular maintenance and calibration will still be needed to improve scale’s reliability for weight measurement.
Firstly, regular weighing scale calibration ensures consistency of readings. Furthermore, any inaccuracy in weighing instrument’s output reading may lead to legal implications. This is especially true for industries where weight measurement is considered as a basis for monetary transactions. For example, trading of precious metals, retail businesses involving consumer goods, where weight determines the exact cost of the final product. Industrial scales used in above-mentioned endeavours need to be calibrated regularly to satisfy statutory requirements.
Calibration is necessary to achieve accurate results. Subsequently, there are few other benefits of calibration and they are as follows:
Calibration is a process by which a certified technician use known weights or a reference weight to adjust weighing scale’s response, whether calibrating mechanical or electronic scales. Under the procedure weighing instrument must indicate an exact zero when it is not subjected to any loading. Additionally, an error is calculated by obtaining a difference between measured value and reference weight. As a result, the scale is considered as fit to use when it produces output results with negligible error and within specified tolerance limits.
At the time of purchase, weighing scales are often pre-calibrated and is known as factory calibration. However, scale’s accuracy might deteriorate during its transit from the factory to your facility. Hence, you must calibrate weighing instrument at your factory facility in order to eliminate the possibility of inaccurate weight measurement.
Furthermore, the scale calibration procedure varies according to the type of weighing scale you use. Medical scales & laboratory scales need to be calibrated with more accuracy and precision as these scales have very tight tolerance limits. Additionally, these types of weighing scales are calibrated in a controlled environment. On the other hand, industries which use analogue scales and their operation does not demand recording extremely precise weight readings can easily calibrate weighing scales at their facilities.
When calibrating weighing scales at your commercial setup, follow this procedure,
If you are not confident about performing calibration at your facility or you do not possess required equipment, you can opt for third party calibration services available in your area. With the help of these third party service providers, you can calibrate scales as well as perform complete-scale maintenance and scale repairs in Melbourne. It will not only restore scale’s weighing accuracy but will also improve its longevity.
Apart from these procedures, commercial scales are required to have legal-for-trade calibration. Those weighing scales used in commercial facilities need statutory approval that qualifies them to be used in a commercial setting. The respective trade governing authorities provide these approval certificates. Therefore, commercial weighing scales are required to be calibrated only from a licensed and professional calibration and scale repair company.
Determining the frequency of calibration can be a challenging task for enterprise owners. The calibration frequency depends upon the environment and how often the weighing scale is used. If your weighing scale is continuously subjected to loading and unloading for several shifts, then such scale will require shorter calibration intervals. However, it is always recommended by experts to use well-calibrated weighing scales to eliminate risks associated with faulty readings.