When it comes to automated weighing, successful implementation requires careful planning. This helps businesses to avoid costly mistakes, reduce waste, and ensures that all processes meet strict quality standards.
Process weighing can involve monitoring level or inventory, discharging material by weight, batch blending, and more. However, it is important to remember that any balance must be “exercised” before taking a reading.
Direct Weighing
Weighing a substance directly on the balance pan is straightforward and quick, making it an ideal solution when precision is not a priority. The lack of additional steps, such as taring the container, also reduces operational costs.
With this method, you first weigh the exact mass of the weighing bottle and then subtract it from the actual drug’s mass on the balance to get the precise measurement you need. This eliminates the need for a tared container and prevents tare errors from affecting subsequent readings.
This method is ideal for pharmaceuticals and chemicals, where accurate measurements are critical, and jewellery and gemology, where even the slightest discrepancy could affect value. However, this process is not foolproof and should be supplemented with protocols for checking results and recording data. In addition, automation does not negate the need for staff training. It’s crucial that employees have the skills to operate the system, so you should establish a smooth onboarding process.
Pre-Weighing
The pre-weighing process is essential for many manufacturing sectors. It helps ensure the right quantity of each ingredient is available and can help in predicting any shortages or overages. It’s particularly important in industries where accurate measurements are paramount, such as food and pharmaceuticals, where a single mistake can lead to costly product recalls and health risks for consumers.
The use of advanced batching control systems that are designed for precision, accuracy and streamlined inventory management can simplify the pre-weighing process. This eliminates manual interventions and reduces the risk of error, helping to maintain the integrity of each batch.
Automated weighing systems can also help to improve the onboarding process for new staff, as they reduce the traditional learning curve and can be used by anyone with minimal training. This helps to speed up the hiring process and reduce time to productivity.
Balance Validation
Using balance validation to cross-check data during period-end close and to comply with financial regulations is an important task that can help make more informed business decisions. Specifically, it can verify that G/L account balances don’t deviate too far from the comparison period and ensure that depreciation is less than original cost of assets and that open-item-managed G/L accounts have zero unapplied transaction balances.
Regular balance testing is an essential part of the weighing process and can reduce human error in your laboratory. In addition to verifying the repeatability of a balance’s weighing results, routine testing can help improve cornerload, linearity, and span. For example, testing for cornerload ensures that your scale displays the same results no matter where you place an object on the pan for weighing purposes. Similarly, testing for linearity helps ensure that your scale reads the correct value throughout its entire range, such as from zero to half capacity, when using two calibration weights.
Automated Weighing
Many manufacturing tasks require the use of a scale to ensure accuracy. These systems are often automated to reduce labor costs, improve efficiency and decrease errors. Whether used for quality control, dispensing, or inventory monitoring, these systems help your business complete essential tasks without a human touch. This helps save your company money in worker wages, regulatory fees, and customer refunds. Automated systems are able to process high volumes of items quickly, providing real-time data without a delay.
For example, an automated system might monitor the weight of containers as they move through your production line and trigger alarms when a container exceeds or falls below an established range. This could prevent product recalls and minimize material waste. Additionally, these systems are often designed to integrate with your existing information systems to streamline data collection and monitoring. This supports better inventory management, improved workflows, and ensures compliance with industry standards and regulations.