Crane scales are a type of hanging scale used in a wide range of commercial and industrial operations. Here’s everything you need to know about them, including common applications, purchasing advice and safety considerations.

What’s a crane scale? Crane scales, and hanging scales in general perform two important functions: they provide a measurement of an item’s weight and they ensure operators don’t overload cranes or hoists. Overloading presents a safety hazard as well as considerable losses due to broken equipment and machinery. They’re ideal for measuring bulky, oversized loads that can’t be easily weighed using platform scales. They’re typically used for things like weighing freight before it’s transported on planes, trains and ships and determining whether a load is too heavy to be lifted by a crane or other piece of equipment. Crane scales are attached to the crane or hoist’s hook. The digital readout indicates the weight of the load as well as the amount of force being placed on the crane, allowing you to determine whether the crane can transport it. Crane scales vary widely in price, depending on features and capacity. Key features Crane scales range from high-capacity steel units designed for heavy-duty use to precise and lightweight aluminum small-capacity units. Modern crane scales are built to be used in dynamic work environments, meaning they’re not influenced by swaying and they have built-in stability adjustment capabilities to accommodate a range of environmental conditions. Properly calibrated, crane scales offer an efficient and flexible way to weigh materials, as most of them allow operators to switch between different measurement units. In addition, they’re accurate within 0.1 to 0.2 per cent, even when weighing the heaviest of objects. Finally, their large LED screen allows operators to read results from several feet away, even in low visibility conditions. Why you may need crane scales Crane scales have many advantages over traditional weighing solutions. Here are some reasons you might want to consider purchasing one.

• You need to save floor space. Space is usually at a premium and your facilities may not be able to accommodate a weighing area or floor scale. A crane scale can be taken to the item you need to weigh, meaning you don’t need to sacrifice precious space.

• You need to weigh awkwardly shaped items. Some items are unwieldy and awkward to balance. A crane system will allow you to weigh these items precisely and accurately.

• You need accurate measurements. If you’re loading a freighter, manufacturing an aircraft tire or using your scale to portion out goods sold by weight, then precision and accuracy are crucial. Some models can withstand industrial use while providing measurements that are accurate within 0.1 per cent with a capacity of up to 200,000 kilograms (about 220 U.S. tons).

• You want to streamline operations. Eliminating the need to move items to a specific weigh station means more hours of labour going toward increasing productivity. Cutting down on forklift traffic will allow you to keep your team focused on bringing in and processing customer orders.

• You want a safer workspace. With crane scales, you don’t need to transport goods to a weighing area with forklifts. A decrease in forklift traffic means fewer opportunities for accidents, injuries and losses. Your operations will be safer and more efficient.

8 things to consider before buying a crane scale The advantages of crane scales are fairly clear. However, here are eight key things to consider when deciding which one you should purchase.

1. The average load weight. Perhaps the most important factor to consider when choosing a crane scale is the average weight of the load you’ll be weighing. Some scales can handle loads that that weigh upwards of 100,000 kilograms while others are designed to give very precise measurements for small loads of 10 to 50 kilograms. Keep in mind that the expected maximum weight shouldn’t exceed two-thirds of the maximum permissible rated load of the scale. Otherwise, you’re putting the equipment and everyone nearby in danger.

2. Industry and applications. Make sure the model you purchase matches your specifications and application needs. You’ll need a much more durable and heavy-duty hanging scale for lifting large loads on a construction site or shipping dock than for weighing smaller loads in a store or stockroom. You should also consider whether you’ll need to be able to attach the scale to other equipment, read the display screen from far away or operate the scale remotely.

3. Manufacturing compliance. Make sure the company you’re buying from manufactures and calibrates in accordance with local regulations, especially those related to measurement values, units, accuracy and safety.

4. Ease of use. You want crane scales that are easy to use and read. Hard-to-use models could cancel out the efficiency gains of using crane scales in addition to introducing a higher risk of error and accidents.

5. Precision and accuracy. When selecting a scale, pay attention to the how sensitive, or precise, the scale is. The measurement precision you’ll need will depend on what you’re using the scale for. Similarly, accuracy may prove crucial depending on the application. It’s also important to consider that load volume is critical, as freight cargo might shift and cause catastrophic accidents if the load is unbalanced.

6. Professional installation. Higher capacity crane scales need to be professionally installed, calibrated and maintained. It’s a good idea to train your workers so they know the basics of the scale’s operation and are able to spot issues.

7. Versatility. Look for models that allow you to change measurement units. The more versatile the crane, the easier it will be to integrate the crane scale into your business operations.

8. Work environment. Finally, you should think about the type of environment in which you’ll be using the crane scale. Some models work best at certain temperatures and in dry environments while others are suitable for all weather conditions and are resistant to dust and water.

Safety considerations Crane scales are often used to handle very heavy materials. An accident can have devastating consequences. When choosing a scale, you need to make sure it won’t be used to weight anything exceeding two-thirds of its maximum load. The reason you need that wide of a margin is that crane scales are often used to weigh dynamic loads, meaning they could move during the weighing process. If a load that’s right at the crane’s limit moves, it can cause the load cells to overload. Overloading can pose a serious risk to the equipment and the safety of staff working in the area. As crane scales are integrated into lifting equipment, it’s recommended to have them inspected by a professional every three months, since a problem could mean lifting equipment malfunction. This is usually enough to spot any potential problem. Alberta’s scales experts Accurate/Western Scale Co. Ltd. offers a wide range of crane scales as well as calibrations, servicing and rentals. Our team can help you find the right crane scale and we have numerous options to suit almost any budget. Call us at 403-250-3232 to learn about our products and services. You can also complete an online contact form to get a quote.

Scales are vital to the food industry and they’re used at virtually every step, from weighing grain with a truck scale to weighing customer purchases at the deli counter with a retail scale. Here’s a brief overview of five types of scales that play a crucial role in the food industry.

1. Truck scales
Truck and axle scales can be used to efficiently weigh and document inbound and outbound freight, for example incoming ingredients and outgoing finished goods. They’re useful for managing inventory and for billing purposes. They also ensure that overloaded trucks don’t go out onto the highway, where they might represent a serious hazard.

2. Floor and bench scales
Floor and bench scales are used widely for shipping, receiving and sorting inventory. They provide accurate measurement and are available in waterproof IP-rated stainless steel. These scales are highly convenient, especially in the food industry, because they make it possible to maintain impeccable sanitation standards through quick and frequent washings.

3. Belt scales
These scales attach onto a conveyor belt and can weigh individual boxes and containers as well as unpackaged food products. Since they weigh items while the belt is in motion, they can eliminate off-line weighing, a time-consuming step that tends to slow operations. Belt scales connect to label printers, computers and scanners and are used for managing inventory and for billing.

4. Checkweighers
These scales provide highly accurate real-time readings, ensuring that your finished goods are correctly weighed right down to the last decimal. This is essential for complying with governmental regulations and for maintaining client satisfaction and confidence. In addition, food-grade, stainless-steel checkweighers are designed to meet the food industry’s strict hygiene requirements.

5. Retail scales
Retail or price computing scales are essential for any food retailer that sells products by weight, such as grocery stores, delis, bakeries and candy shops. They feature dual LED displays, which allow both the operator and the customer to have product and pricing information. They integrate with label printers whose labels accommodate bar codes, ingredient lists, weight, dates, nutritional facts, logos and more.

Superior scales for the food industry in Alberta

If you need precision weighing equipment for your food processing or retail operation, turn to Accurate/Western Scale Co. Ltd. We distribute, install, service and calibrate a wide array of scales, including state-of-the-art truck, floor, bench, belt, hopper, retail scales and checkweighers. For more information about our products and services, get in touch with us.

Checkweighers are machines used to verify the weight of packaged goods, either before or after the packaging step itself. Manual or automatic, these appliances are found in any sector that relies on accurate weighing of merchandise, including the food and beverage, pharmaceutical and cosmetic industries. They offer many advantages over off-line spot weighing, and here are four reasons you might need one.

1. You want to increase profits

A PROPERLY INSTALLED AND CALIBRATED CHECKWEIGHER WILL ALLOW YOU TO GREATLY REDUCE WASTE, CUT PRODUCTION TIME, INCREASE OVERALL EFFICIENCY AND BOOST YOUR BOTTOM LINE. IT’LL REPLACE INEFFICIENT OFF-LINE SPOT WEIGHING, FREEING UP VALUABLE EMPLOYEE TIME FOR OTHER TASKS AND ELIMINATING GAPS IN THE PRODUCTION LINE. SECOND, YOU’LL END UP WITH FEWER REJECTS THAT NEED TO BE SCRAPPED OR REWORKED, THUS ELIMINATING A HUGE TIME AND RESOURCE SINK.

2. You want to avoid fines

Given proper calibration and regular inspections, in-line checkweighing is the best way to ensure you respect governmental regulations and industry standards. Relying on off-line spot weighing is risky, as errors can creep in and result in hefty fines should an unsatisfactory product end up being sold.

3. You want to boost your reputation

Ensuring that all your products are within weight requirements is a great way to solidify your brand’s standing. In addition, prospective clients asking about your production capabilities will be encouraged by the implementation of in-line checkweighing solutions, as they’ll ensure both compliance with regulations and trustworthy, reliable service.

4. You want to streamline operations

Most checkweighers can be integrated into data management systems, providing real-time production, waste, rework and yield statistics that can be used to further streamline your production processes by identifying areas where loss can be minimized and even eliminated. In addition, properly calibrated in-line checkweighing generally reduces error rates, reducing the time, resources and labour costs of resolving them.

5. You want to ensure equipment effectiveness

In-line monitoring of production allows you to track variations and events that lead to downtime. This makes it possible to eliminate these factors and guarantee that your operations run as efficiently as possible.

Installation, inspection and calibration experts

A checkweigher is only as good as the people who install, calibrate and maintain it. To ensure yours performs as efficiently as possible, trust the experts at Accurate/Western Scale. We’re authorized to certify scales by Measurement Canada and we carry a wide range of products, from precision tools to loader scales. Contact us today to request a free quote.

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.

In virtually every industry that involves the extraction of raw materials or food harvesting, it’s important to have accurate weight data. This data helps companies to optimize efficiency and profitability and in some cases is necessary to ensuring one’s compliance with industry regulations.

Belt scales allow you to accurately and efficiently weigh materials in the first stage of raw material extraction or food harvesting, during which materials are loaded on to a conveyor belt before being transported to a manufacturing facility.

How do belt scales work?

Belt scales attach onto conveyor belts and provide continuous weight and flow rate measurements of the materials travelling along the belt. This data is calculated by weighing the belt load and measuring the belt speed.

How do belt scales help to optimize efficiency?

Using a belt scale eliminates a step in the production process, for materials are weighed on the fly, while being transported. Compare this with weighing the materials before they’re loaded onto the conveyor belt, using a conventional scale, or weighing them once they’re in the truck, using a truck scale. These represent an extra step in the loading process and an expense in terms of both time and labour.

Belt scales, on the other hand, weigh materials without adding any time to the loading or transportation processes. And, being entirely electronic, there’s no labour involved.

Belt scales can offer these same advantages to manufacturing business that uses a conveyor belt in their factory operations.

What are the applications of a belt scale?

Belt scales are used in a wide range of industries such as:

• Mining
• Mineral and aggregate extraction
• Agriculture
• Bulk material handling
• Port handling

They can attach onto virtually any machine with a conveyor belt system, including agricultural technology, road millers, screening machines, loadout systems and mobile applications.

Belt scales in Calgary

Accurate/Western Scale provides you with high quality belt scales, customized to conform to the unique conditions of each installation. Factors such as conveyor length, angle, speed and material type are taken into account so as to ensure the accuracy of the weight measurements. If you have any questions, or if you’d like to request a quote, get in touch with us today.

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.