Tag Archives: recycling

5 Questions You Should Answer Before Buying a Forklift Scale

Warehouses, logistic companies, and recycling centers alike are frequent users of forklifts trucks. Their speed, ability to precisely maneuver around obstacles, and varying capacities make them ideal for operational needs.

Many of these industries take the simple skills of these vehicles to the next level investing in a forklift scale. This creates equipment that is not only useful in terms of getting inventory from Point A to Point B, but measures and records data while doing so. Grand Rapids Metrology’s distributed forklift scales allow seamless integration of weighing and
data management into your operation – without adding any extra steps or route changes.

For example, forklift scales eliminate tedious tasks at recycling centers. Their bundled and palletized materials can be weighed while on it’s way to a destination instead of having to constantly stop at a floor scale to take a reading. As you can imagine, efficiency can improve drastically.

If you’re frequently contemplating, “How can our company save money? How can we become more efficient? How can we collect more accurate data? ” you may want to consider utilizing a forklift scale.

Discover five things you should know before investing in a forklift scale:

 

1. WHAT ARE THE DIMENSIONS OF YOUR FORK TRUCK’S FRAME?

It is essential to know the dimensions of the frame of your fork truck, for it is one of the first questions our Account Managers ask during the buying process. Once we know your proper dimensions, we can begin to identify potential scales suited to your needs.

 

2. DO YOU NEED TO PRINT OR STORE TRANSACTION DATA?

If you would like to store data electronically, then the scales indicator will do the trick. However, if you need to print the weight data, perhaps for a label, then we will add a printer to your purchase. The printer will communicate with the indicator to swiftly and accurately to print your data.

 

3. WHAT IS THE CAPACITY OF THE FORK TRUCK?

This question is similar to the first. We can’t do much until we know the capacity of your forklift truck. Once our team knows the truck’s capacity, we can base the scale selection off that information.

 

4. DO YOU PREFER A WIRED OR WIRELESS INDICATOR?

Wired and wireless indicators each come with benefits and downfalls, so it’s upon you to decide what you do and don’t need in an indicator. Wireless options require more maintenance because an operator must manually change the batteries of the scale itself in order to transmit power. A wired indicator is powered through the truck itself, which means less work for you but also includes the hassle and mess of a physical power cord.

 

5. ARE YOU CHARGING A CUSTOMER BY WEIGHT?

If so, you may need to comply with NTEP Requirements (Legal-for-Trade). There are scale models available for legal-for-trade and not legal-for-trade. A NTEP (Legal-for-Trade) application can be broken down by class. See below for an overview of some of our available forklift scales.

 

 

 

Want to start a conversation about your forklift situation? Contact us below or give us a call at (800) 348-5701!

 

Internal Recycling Campaign

This past summer, Grand Rapids Metrology began renovating our headquarter building in Grand Rapids. Months later and we’re almost done! With painted walls, hanging lights, carpet and furniture on the way, GRM is working to finalize all the details involved with moving our team back into our new office! The renovation has highlighted a perfect opportunity to make a positive change – creating and implementing an internal recycling campaign.

Currently, GRM does offer recycling, however the number of recycling bins available are limited and so is the material we are able to recycle (primarily paper). Our team is coordinating with a nearby waste management organization to execute this campaign. Each individual office will be stocked with its own recycling bin, as well as the break room, technician space, calibration lab, and the garage. It is imperative to make recycling available to all our staff, but more so, it is exceedingly important to educate them on recycling protocol and why recycling is meaningful.

One of the leading justifications of many people who do not recycle is because recycling bins and programs are unavailable to them. Admittedly, it is very easy for someone to throw an empty water bottle in a trash can as generally those are more prevalent than recycling bins. Our goal here is that whenever you see a trash can, you see a recycling bin as well; making it equally effortless for someone to recycle instead of simply throwing that water bottle away.

Education on this matter is also essential. To educate are employees on the importance of sustainability and recycling, we have created a small hand out (below) to demonstrate the positive impact recycling can have. A response of people who purposefully do not recycle is, “It doesn’t make a difference.” This info-graphic proves them wrong. Secondly, we have created and will distribute a “cheat sheet” to recycling. This piece visually shows employees what materials and specifics items can be recycled and which should be thrown away.

The purpose of this campaign is simple- to make a positive difference in our world. Grand Rapids Metrology is immensely invested it doing its part to give back and help the environment in every way we can. This program may have been overdue, but better late than never! The building renovation created the perfect opportunity for us to implement our new campaign. The entire company (all five branches) will receive the educational information as well as the handout depicting the importance of recycling. The new bins will be placed at our Grand Rapids offices for now, but we aspire to make more recycling bins present in all of our office spaces. We encourage others to understand the importance of sustainability and implement similar programs into their home and business.

Recycling info-graphic GRM team will receive: