Let’s start with the basics. Why would a company need a truck scale? A truck scale has many uses from determining the weight of bulk goods to ensuring trucks are compliant with vehicle weight limit. They collect incoming and outgoing weight to make sure legal-for-trade requirements are met. They are used for transaction pricing, profit margins, quality control, inventory management, and legal compliance. Truck scales are a major investment and are critical to the success of a company. One will want to make sure that every decision made is the right decision.
For this reason, there are many people involved. There’s the internal project team that oversees facilities, operations, traffic, computer software, and finances. There’s the general contractor that puts in the foundation, the engineer that certifies the plan for foundation, the scale supplier that installs the truck scale, and the electrician that connects vital signals.
The internal team will want to assess the site. Water, sewer, gas, and electric can affect where to put the scale. They will want to consider the flow of traffic, the type of scale they want installed, and many other decisive actions.
The scale could either be a pit type or surface mounted scale, it could be open sided or have rails, the truck scale could have a steel or concrete deck. There are pros and cons to consider for each. Grand Rapids Metrology installed a surface mounted, open sided, concrete deck scale that is pictured below. We spent quite a bit of time balancing the load cells and correctly wiring the cables. Both of which are very important steps to the installation. The load cells are used to measure the weight and the cables transmit information from the load cells to the indicator. The indicator is the control panel for the scale and displays the weight value.
Grand Rapids Metrology not only supplies, installs, calibrates, inspects, and maintains the scale; but we are also able to serve as the general contractor and electrician. We strive to be the most effective supplier in the Mid-West. Grand Rapids Metrology certifies scales to some of the highest standards in the metrology industry with our IS0 17025 and A2LA accreditation. For more information or consultative advice, contact us at 800.348.5701!
