As a truck scale owner, you know scales are a vital aspect of your business operations. Its ability to accurately and promptly read measurements is imperative to an organization’s quality, efficiency, and revenue.
As winter approaches, it is important to understand what precautions should be taken in order to maintain the condition of your equipment and prevent any damages that accompany the seasonal shift.
Grand Rapids Metrology advises customers with truck scales to schedule a preventive maintenance check in the upcoming weeks to determine if any cleaning is necessary. “Both above-ground scales and pit scales need cleaning especially prior to winter and should be kept up throughout the year,” suggests our Heavy Capacity Project Manager, Dan Johnston.
Above-ground scales will fill with dirt, ice, and snow more quickly than pit scales due to their low clearances. Pit scales, however, will still fill and should be routinely cleaned especially before winter.
On any truck scale, normal traffic will carry dirt and debris from their tires onto the equipment. This dirt and debris can easily fall down into the end gaps of a scale and eventually fill with dirt. When dirt builds up, it may do so enough to interfere with the scale infrastructure, resulting in inaccurate measurements. This problem could snowball (no pun intended) into a larger issue because if the State comes to examine a scale that has dirt and debris build up and reads inaccurate weighments, they may condemn the operations of the scale.
To make matters even worse, the dirt and debris may freeze due to the drastically low temperatures this region receives in winter months. In that instance, cleaning that material becomes much more difficult, for it will likely need to be chipped out and with limited access, that is not an easy task. There have been instances when someone has tried to chip away ice and mud and in result caused damage to the load cell and the load cell cables. Notes that when cleaning with a power washer, one must take caution as not to spray high pressure water at cells and cable to avoid causing damages.
We highly advise that anyone who operates a truck scale take time to examine the condition underneath the scale. If there is any noticeable dirt or debris buildup, clean the area promptly and thoroughly.
At Grand Rapids Metrology, we aspire to do everything we can to help maintain the accuracy of your measurement equipment. Our experts are happy to examine your scale, remove necessary debris and prepare it for this icy season. Contact us for our scheduled service today or give us a call – (800) 348-5701.