Image Designed by Freepik
As a business owner, whether buyer, seller or a manufacturer you may already know how important weighing scales are for businesses to succeed and thrive. Weighing scales are used in almost all industries and have become inseparable part of trade operations. These scales are robust, easy to use, has greater load bearing capacity and are specially developed to withstand harsh conditions. Moreover, along with weighing scales, diverse measurement methods have been used for decades in order to adhere to quality control standards and improve efficiency. All these weighing methods ultimately contribute towards business's profitability.
Starting from laboratories where overall quality and precision is accepted as a part of the process, to manufacturing industry where weighing ensures maximum efficiency, or chemical and drug businesses where smallest deterioration in quantity can result in catastrophic results, weighing scales are an integral part of the processes.
Moreover, weighing scales help in ensuring safety and highest quality in the food industry, where ingredients are weighed every step of the way right from growing the produce in the farm to bringing a finished meal on your tables in restaurants. Therefore, proper weighing is integral for continuous adherence to predefined standards, consumer safety, achieving the highest productivity and to remain competitive in the marketplace.
Today several types of weighing scales are available in the market, and they exist in various configurations based on various applications.
Here's a quick guide to help you in finding the most appropriate weighing scale for your organization.
The first point of consideration prior to anything else is what the scale will be weighing. Furthermore, knowing where the scale will be used is the quickest way to narrow your options down. For example, for veterinarians as well as farmers platform scales provide a perfect weighing solution, in both cases scale needs to weighing heavy load. Meanwhile, the food and packaging industry requires scales that are rust proof, dynamic, and have greater accuracy. Therefore, the requirements of each industry can be matched by selecting appropriate weighing scales.
Accuracy is defined as being able to produce results exact or close to specified values. Accuracy also corresponds to repeatability, reproducibility and the degree of variance in achieving desired results. Deviation from specified weight can render or break profitability for many industries. For example, jewelers, need accurate jewellery scales as weight inaccuracy directly leads to major financial losses. Whereas in the pharmaceutical industry inaccurate weights can potentially put lives in danger. To satisfy the needs of both types of industries, today, digital as well as analog scales are available in the market. Depending on your requirement you can choose a scale that produces desired results within permissible standards. Despite the obvious advantages, industries where the permissible deviation is of greater value, do not need high precision scales.
It is important to determine your maximum and minimum weighing capacity before planning to buy a scale, which will also help to determine if the scale will need protection against overloads. Weighing capacity dictates how much maximum load it can accurately weigh. Additionally, determine the weighing increment you will need in day to day operations. If you do not require increment as close as 0.1 milligrams you can choose scales which weigh more loosely with increments of 100g. Depending on your requirement you can choose industrial scales with suitable weighing capacity.
The physical size of items weighed is another detrimental factor that affects scale selection. Warehouses, manufacturing facilities handle items with variable sizes on a daily basis. Therefore, it's important for them to have a scale that comfortably occupies their largest and smallest items. Having such flexibility is not only sustainable for businesses but also saves their cost in the long run. For example, warehouses can use floor pallet scales for weighing heavy trucks or other vehicles.
The operating environment determines longevity of the scale. Weighing scales specifically built for operating in harsh conditions will last longer in similar environments, and will require much lesser attention. Commercial outdoor conditions are often dusty, exposed to harsh sunlight, may have uneven surfaces or are severely damp. Businesses must choose scales that are able to withstand these conditions while accurately producing weighing results and is also safe for the operator. For example, a horse weighing scale is a robust scale available in the market which is used to weigh livestock. It is waterproof and easy to move.
Depending on your requirement you can choose a digital or analog weighing scale. Digital scales have automatic functioning but have batteries that may require replacing those batteries after a certain period of time. Whereas analog weighing scales are much less accurate but are easy to handle. The price for both significantly differs due to number of operations it can perform with accuracy.
Ultimately business' overall budget also plays an important role in the selection of the required scale. There are scales available in the market which will help you in attaining the right balance between budget and quality of the scale. However, investing in a good quality scale is always a good option.
