For many industries, a scale is a vital piece of equipment. It’s also easily susceptible to damage and malfunction if used incorrectly. The following tips will help ensure your scale functions optimally for a long time. Here are 10 things not to do with your scale.

Load it unevenly.

If you don’t centre objects on your scale, the readings will likely be inaccurate. This can also damage the load cells over time, which will require repairs and recalibration.

Overload it.

This is the most common cause of a scale malfunction. Whether you’re using a floor scale or an outdoor truck scale, overloading it will almost certainly result in irreparable damage.

Expose it to water.

Unless your scale is designed to be used in humid environments, any exposure to water or moisture could damage the electronic components. Use it carelessly.

Even if the object weighs less than the scale’s maximum capacity, dropping a heavy load on your scale rather than placing it carefully can cause significant damage.

Leave it out in the cold.

Unless your scale is designed to be used in low temperatures, it likely won’t react well to constant exposure to cold weather.Weigh excessively large objects.

If an object is too big for the weighing plate, it won’t be weighed accurately. In addition, the uneven load could damage the load cells.

Weigh awkward objects improperly.

To reduce the risk of inaccurate readings and damage, try to hold unstable objects in place when they’re on the scale.

Skip on maintenance.

Scale maintenance isn’t optional. In fact, failing to have your scale regularly inspected and calibrated can turn a small problem into a serious issue down the line.

Fail to stabilize it.

All scales need to be placed on a level, stable surface to ensure they function properly. Additionally, if a scale is placed on an uneven surface, there’s a higher risk of a heavy load warping the scale or causing other serious damage.

Use an unreliable power source.

Faulty power adapters can cause a scale to give inaccurate readings. This can have serious consequences, especially if you use your scale to weigh products, measure dosages and bill clients.

Scale experts in Alberta

Whether you operate a warehouse or a laboratory, you can count on Accurate/Western Scale Co. Ltd. We provide a full range of services, from sales to repairs. We’re also certified by Measurement Canada to calibrate your scale. We serve customers all over Alberta, including Swift Current and Red Deer. For more information on our services and the models we carry, contact us today.

Whatever the season, regular maintenance of your truck scales is a must. However, Winter weather tend to take the biggest toll on outdoor weighing systems. That’s why it’s crucial to stay on top of maintenance during the winter. Here are some tips for keeping your truck scales in good shape over winter.

Keep your truck scales clean

Ice, snow, water, dirt and debris can find their way into cracks and build up around the load cells. This can compromise the accuracy of the scale and cause components to degrade. Notably, the copper wires in the load cell cables can corrode when exposed to moisture. Moreover, load cells and their suspended components need to be able to move freely in order to work properly. A buildup of dirt, debris, ice or snow will impair their functioning.

Check the foundation

Even the best quality scale won’t function properly on a poor foundation. Cracks or chipped edges on the concrete foundation supporting your scale will end up causing calibration issues. Concrete foundations are particularly vulnerable to cracking in winter due to freezing temperatures, high levels of moisture and the freeze-thaw cycle. So it’s important to check your foundation regularly to spot developing cracks. By detecting and repairing small cracks early, you prevent them from becoming large and affecting the functioning of your scale.

Get your scale professionally inspected

Truck scales should be professionally inspected at least every six months. Winter inspections are especially important, since your truck scale is more vulnerable to problems in this season. Calibration by a professional will ensure that your scale is accurate and, crucially, will reveal potential issues. Moreover, a scale technician will inspect the foundation, weighbridge, load cells, junction boxes, wiring and terminal, all of which are at risk of incurring damage as a result of winter weather.

For greater convenience, be sure to work with a scale technician who is able to inspect, recalibrate and repair your scale, so that these tasks can be performed in the same appointment.

Truck scale installation and inspection services in Alberta.

Accurate/Western Scale Co. Ltd. in Calgary, Alberta, offers a range of superior quality fixed and portable truck scales. In addition, our Measurement Canada-certified technicians offer inspection, calibration and repair services for a wide array of weighing systems. For a free quote on a truck scale, or to learn more about our products and services, contact us today.n for cracks

Even the highest quality scale won’t give accurate readings forever. Many factors affect the scale’s accuracy over time, causing readings to “drift.” That’s why it’s important to calibrate them regularly. In many cases doing so is mandatory, for example if your scales are used to price products and need to be legal for trade. Here’s how to do it.

Calibrating a digital scale that isn’t legal for trade

If you have a digital scale that doesn’t need to be accurate down to the decimal, you may choose to calibrate it yourself. The first step is always to test your scale to see whether calibration is required.

If you don’t require a high degree of accuracy, you can use an object with a known weight, such as a dumbbell, to test the scale. If you need fairly exact readings, you should use calibrated weights. These may have been included with your scale.

If you’re using calibrated weights, a good way to ensure correct calibration is to use three weights that have a ratio of 1 to 2 to 4 and a cumulative weight that represents a substantial part of the scale’s capacity. Place the calibrated weights on the scale in different combinations to see if the sum adds up to their combined weight.

If the reading isn’t accurate, recalibrate the scale. Most digital scales have an easy-to-use calibration function. The process typically involves inputting the weight of the test object, putting the item on the scale, then allowing the scale to electronically recalibrate. For precise instructions, refer to your owner’s manual.

Having your scale calibrated by a professional

Any legal-for-trade scale needs to be certified by a scale inspector accredited by Measurement Canada. This requires precise calibration.

Calibrating scales so that they’re accurate and legal for trade requires professional expertise. Calibrations performed by the user using the scale’s built-in feature don’t guarantee sufficient accuracy.

Even if your scale doesn’t need to be legal for trade, you may still need a high level of accuracy that only a professional calibration can guarantee, for example if the scale is used in a laboratory setting.

Scale inspection and calibration in Alberta

Accurate/Western Scale Co. Ltd. is accredited by Measurement Canada as authorized scale inspectors. Our highly skilled technicians can inspect and calibrate your scales to ensure that they adhere to strict industry regulations. For more information about our scale certifications in Calgary, Red Deer, Swift Current and across Alberta, contact us today.

Service calls by an Authorized Service Provider like Accurate/Western Scale Co. Ltd. involve a range of tasks aimed at keeping your scale in optimal working condition. These include inspection, testing, calibration, repairs, part replacement, cleaning, inspection reports and scale certification. Here’s why regular maintenance is crucial.

It helps your business survive and grow
Regular maintenance is necessary to ensure that your scale consistently provides accurate readings. No matter how high-end it is, over time various factors will cause its readings to drift or jump around. These include, notably, regular wear of the equipment’s components and humidity changes in the environment.

Inconsistent readings from your scales hurt your business. They lead to inaccurate data, unfair transactions that undermine confidence in your company as well as under- and overloading. In addition, they can make your products unusable, for example, in circumstances requiring high levels of precision, such as mixing ingredients.

In addition, preventative maintenance extends the lifespan of your equipment, allowing you to get the most out of your investment.

It ensures that you avoid closures and fines
Service calls by an Authorized Service Provider include inspection, calibration and scale certification and therefore help ensure that your scale is legal-for-trade. Under the changes made to Canada’s Weights and Measures Act in 2014, all weighing and measuring devices used for trade must be certified and must have their continued accuracy and precision monitored. Industries in which scale certification is mandatory include the dairy, oil and gas, mining, grain and field crops, forestry and fishing sectors.

If one or more of your business’s scales fail to meet scale regulations, they will be taken out of use until the issue is resolved, which can result in costly downtime in your business operations. In addition, your company could be subject to fines or even closures, which could hurt its reputation.

Accurate/Western Scale Co. Ltd. has been accredited by Measurement Canada as authorized scale inspectors. This means that we can inspect and certify trade devices on behalf of Measurement Canada. When you sign up for our optional pre-scheduled maintenance program, you ensure that your scale provides correct reading, remains in optimal condition and complies with all industry regulations.

Industrial scale maintenance in Alberta
Count on the highly trained technicians at Accurate/Western Scale Co. Ltd. to keep your industrial scales in top condition. To learn more about our pre-scheduled maintenance program or our scale inspection, calibration and certification services, contact our team.

One of the most important metrics for any mining, aggregate and quarry business is payload weight. In a highly competitive environment, the best tool at your disposal to ensure accurate and efficient payload weighing are on-board loader scales, and here’s ten things you should know about them.

1. They fill a crucial need. Precise payload weighing isn’t a luxury. Even small errors in weight can translate to substantial financial losses down the road and on-board loader scales are the best way to ensure accuracy.

2. THEY’RE ACCURATE. SOME MODELS CAN GUARANTEE A MARGIN OF ERROR BELOW ONE PER CENT REGARDLESS OF VARIABLES SUCH AS TEMPERATURE AND OPERATOR TECHNIQUE.

3. THEY HAVE VALUABLE FEATURES. MODELS ABLE TO PROVIDE A MACHINE’S TOTAL PAYLOAD FOR THE DAY AND SPECIFY TARGET BUCKET WEIGHTS WILL INCREASE EFFICIENCY EVEN FURTHER.

4. THEY SUPPORT MANAGEMENT SOLUTIONS. MANY LOADER SCALES OFFER POWERFUL DATA COLLECTION AND INTEGRATION OPTIONS, ALLOWING YOU TO TRACK PAYLOADS ALONG WITH FUEL CONSUMPTION AND MAINTENANCE HISTORY.

5. THEY’RE CONNECTED. WI-FI AND CELLULAR CONNECTIVITY ALLOW YOU TO MONITOR PRODUCTIVITY IN REAL TIME. THIS PROVIDES A NEW LEVEL OF CUSTOMER SERVICE AND EFFICIENCY AND THE ABILITY TO REMEDY UNDERPRODUCTION ISSUES IMMEDIATELY.

6. THEY’RE LOW-MAINTENANCE. MOST LOADER SCALES ONLY REQUIRE SIMPLE, REGULAR CHECKUPS. SETTING UP PRE-SCHEDULED MAINTENANCE APPOINTMENTS IS EASY AND WILL ENSURE YOUR FLEET’S SCALES ARE IN TOP SHAPE.

7. THEY’RE HARDY. THESE SCALES ARE BUILT TO WITHSTAND A RANGE OF TEMPERATURES AND THE ROUGH CONDITIONS OF A MINE OR QUARRY.

8. THEY’RE A SMART INVESTMENT. EQUIPPING YOUR FLEET WITH LOADER SCALES WILL LOWER YOUR OPERATING COSTS BY ELIMINATING THE NEED FOR CONSTANT TRIPS TO WEIGHING AREAS OR FLOOR SCALES. THIS WILL ALLOW YOU TO SAVE ON FUEL AND FLEET MAINTENANCE, AS YOUR MACHINES WILL HAVE TO COVER LESS GROUND IN THE COURSE OF NORMAL OPERATIONS.

9. THEY BOOST PRODUCTIVITY. SIMILARLY, FEWER WEIGHING TRIPS MEANS OPERATORS LOSE LESS TIME GOING BACK AND FORTH BETWEEN WEIGHING AND WORK AREAS.

10. THEY’RE FLEXIBLE. LOADER SCALES CAN BE INSTALLED ON ANY VEHICLE, SO THERE’S NO NEED TO GO THROUGH THE EXTREMELY EXPENSIVE PROCESS OF UPDATING YOUR ENTIRE FLEET.

COMMERCIAL AND INDUSTRIAL SCALE EXPERTS IN ALBERTA

If you’re interested in increasing your productivity and lowering your operating costs,contact us at Accurate/Western Scale today. In addition to helping you with loader scale installation, we provide full support and maintenance for all our products and we can also certify and inspect your scales.

Hopper scales and all other measuring equipment used in trade must be approved and inspected by a scale inspector accredited by Measurement Canada. This ensures fair business practices and is a requirement under the Weight and Measures Act. Keep reading to learn more about why inspections of hopper scales are important and what the inspection process involves.

Why are inspections needed?
In order for your hopper scale to be properly certified, it needs to pass an inspection from a certified scale inspector. This ensures, first and foremost, that businesses don’t short-sell customers. There are penalties for short-selling, even when it’s inadvertent. When this activity occurs, or when businesses otherwise fail to comply with Measurement Canada’s regulations, they can face the following consequences:

• Fines of up to $50,000
• Equipment being taken out of service until modifications or repairs are made, resulting in a loss of productivity and revenue
• Damage to the company’s reputation

How often are inspections required?

The timeframe for mandatory inspections varies between industries. For example, in grain elevators licensed by the Canadian Grain Commission, hopper scales need to be inspected yearly; in the mining industry, hopper scales need to be inspected every two years.

In certain industries, scale inspections are recommended, but not mandatory. The onus is therefore entirely on businesses to have their scales inspected and to ensure their accuracy.

Consult the Measurement Canada website for more precise information on the timeline for mandatory inspection or recommended inspection for your hopper scale.

What’s involved in a hopper scale inspection?

The inspection process for a hopper scale, as outlined by Measurement Canada, involves the following steps.

Visual examination of installation and location

The inspector ensures, among other things, that the device is installed in accordance with restrictions and conditions listed in the notice of approval and in accordance with manufacturer’s instructions.

Visual examination of marking

The inspector ensures that the device is properly marked.

Visual examination of indicating element and recording element

The indicating element (the display) and the recording element (the printer) are inspected for accuracy and readability.

Device configuration

The functionalities of the device, such as the tare mechanism and zero setting mechanism, are inspected.

Performance

Tests are conducted to evaluate the device’s performance

Hopper scale inspection in Calgary

Accurate/Western Scale is a Measurement Canada authorized service provider. Count on our professional technicians to perform a comprehensive inspection of your hopper scale and ensure that it’s legal for trade. For more information about scale inspections, reach out to our team today.