How Can Custom Axle Weighing Scales Benefit Your Business?

Just in time delivery changed the North American transportation system, putting pressure on operators and their vehicles to increase efficiency, and sometimes volume of materials delivered at a time. The immediate result was more accidents and dumped loads as the industry and regulators got a better handle on goods transport. A big part of that were inspections but, equally, a better understanding of load distribution per axle on trucks and trailers. This is determined by the vehicle’s or trailer’s gross axle weight rating.

According to the Ford Motor Company, a vehicle’s gross axle weight rating, or GAWR, is the specific weight determined by the manufacturer to be the maximum allowable weight that can be placed on an individual axle. Front and rear axles have individual gross axle weight ratings. A vehicle’s axles should never be loaded beyond the manufacturer’s listed GAWR.

Alberta Transportation’s Weight and Dimensions Regulations provides information for the trucking industry about the weight and dimension regulations in Alberta. Legal weights and dimensions are needed to balance the capacity and geometric capabilities of the vehicle’s infrastructure with maximum economic benefits while ensuring road safety. These provincial regulations concerning legal weights and dimensions in the trucking industry are available for purchase in paper and electronic format through the Alberta Queen’s Printer Bookstore under the Traffic Safety Act and the Motor Vehicle Registration Act.

Why Is Adhering to Regulations for Axle Weights Important?
Safety is the primary reason for manufacturers to place a limit on how much weight each axle can carry. Overloading a vehicle of any kind – including a trailer – is dangerous. Heavy loads are always difficult to control on the road, but if that heavy load is unevenly distributed between the axles or even overloaded on one side of an axle, the problem will only be magnified including:

  • The vehicle’s brake system will not be as effective;

  • Rear tires may not be able to handle the extra weight, potentially causing a blowout; and

  • Overloaded and overstressed components within the vehicle’s rear suspension system could bend or even break, causing you to lose control on the road.

Additionally, there are several rules for safe towing and hauling including:

  • Ensuring the gross average weight never surpasses the GAWR on any vehicle;

  • Balancing your load, keeping it as close to the cab as possible so the frame will distribute the load to both axles, simple physics;

  • Taking your time when fully loaded – braking will take you longer to stop, driving faster makes that distance even longer, and turning too fast can cause the load to shift which can mean a lost load or a rolled truck or trailer; and,

  • Securing your load.

Contact Accurate/Western Scales Co. Ltd. for Axle Weighing Scales in Calgary When axle weight distribution is essential to your business and the safety of your operators, Accurate/Western Scale Co. Ltd. has the easy to install and maintain axle scales you need. Scales are offered in permanent and portable designs. For purchases, maintenance needs, or questions about your industrial and professional scales needs call us at 403-250-3232 today.

How Are Scales Certified in Calgary and All Over Canada?

If your business and livelihood rely on any form of weight and measure, then you want to ensure that the equipment you use to do that weighing and measuring is accurate otherwise you’re leaving profit on the table or setting yourself up for a major financial loss – neither of which are desirable. To ensure a scale is accurate it requires routine calibration or to be calibrated, the oversight of which is managed by Measurement Canada.

Measurement Canada’s overall objective is to promote fairness in the marketplace by creating a level and fair playing field on which everyone plays by the same rules. Some of the strategies used by Measurement Canada to create this equality include defining units of measurements; maintaining standards of measurement; the approval of trade devices; the making and administering of regulations that govern the installation, use, and performance of trade devices like scales; developing specifications for trade devices; and finally, conducting inspections on trade devices and commodities. Certification Process for Scales and Weighing Equipment
According to Measurement Canada, the Weights and Measures Act (Section 8) states that “any (weighing) device for use in trade must have been approved for its class, type or design and have been inspected by an inspector who has certified that the device meets the requirements of this Act and the regulations. The inspector who inspects the device shall issue a Device Inspection Certificate to the owner or person in possession of the device, showing whether the device meets the requirements of this Act and the regulations, mark the device and attach seals, if any to prevent the making of adjustments to the device.” This certification is required by Measurement Canada each time a scale is moved or installed. This includes requiring the scale owner to provide the following information to nearest Measurement Canada office within five days of the installation:

  • Name and address of the Contractor;

  • Make, model and serial number of the device(s);

  • Capacity of the device, and

  • Address and description of the place where the device is installed.

Alberta Transportation also specifies that before a scale is used the Contractor is to complete an accuracy test and inspection in the presence of the Consultant. Those results are to be provided to the Consultant who forwards a copy of the results to the Alberta Transportation Project Administrator.

Contact Accurate/Western Scale Co. Ltd.: A Measurement Canada Accredited Company
Accurate/Western Scale Co. Ltd. is Measurement Canada Accredited, which enables us to be authorized scale inspectors; we are able to perform inspections and certify specified legal for trade devices on behalf of Measurement Canada under the Weights & Measures Act. For purchases, maintenance like calibration with the latest electronic testing equipment, or questions about your industrial and professional scales needs call us at 403-250-3232 today.

How accurate are digital scales?

Weights and measures have been the backbone of our economy going back to ancient times. The most ancient relics of a weighing scale have been discovered in the Indus River valley, near present day Pakistan, and are dated back to over 4,000 years. There is little evidence of change until around 1770 during the industrial era when the spring scale was invented by Richard Salter, a British balance maker. The spring scale, as the name implies, measures the pressure (or the tension) exerted on a spring to deduce the weight of an object.

Today, spring scales are still fairly common but when accuracy is essential, electronic systems designed and perfected during this century or digital scales for weighing and displaying the results in a digital format, are now the norm. Accurate/Western Scale Co. Ltd. offers a variety of scales and indicators for your needs, including analog and digital models. We also have options in printers for custom receipts, orders, digital load cell technology and more.

How Is Accuracy of a Digital Scale Measured?
When your business relies on the accuracy of weight measures for profitability, then digital scales can provide you the confidence you need. Accuracy, the degree to which a measurement relates to its actual (true) value, is a hot topic of debate in the weighing industry as the usage of the term varies between weighing professionals. Accuracy is usually stated as a percentage and it is important to determine if the percentage is that of full scale (%FS) or that of actual reading (%AR). All measuring devices have some degree of inaccuracy since infinite precision can never be achieved. Some of the primary factors contributing to scale inaccuracy are readability, repeatability, linearity, and uncertainty of measurement. The accuracy of a weighing device can only be determined by direct testing of the device at its intended location of use. So, if a scale manufacturer claims an accuracy of 1%F.S., they mean the scale should have an error of less than 1% of full scale if the scale has been properly adjusted.

Types and Variations of Digital Scales
 Digital scales come in a variety of sizes and purposes each with their own comprehensive specifications. For example, Platform Scales, also known as parcel scales and packaging scales, are used for heavier weighing tasks, while Hanging Scales are popular for receiving docks and warehouses to check the weight of merchandise as it is unloaded or relocated using an overhead crane. Precision Scales, depending on the model, have higher weighing capacities and weighing ranges from readings in milligrams (0.001g) to a capacity of 31,000g.

Contact Accurate/Western Scale Co. Ltd. for Measurement Canada Accredited Digital Scales
Whether you need a weighing system large enough to weigh trucks and livestock, or you need a scale small enough to fit the countertop of your retail shop, you can count on Measurement Canada accredited Accurate/Western Scale Co. Ltd. to supply it. For purchases or questions about your industrial and professional scales needs call us at 403-250-3232 today.