Weighing plays a critical role in the quality assurance process within manufacturing applications. It is important to have an accurate, reliable and repeatable weighing system in place.

The most common applications for process weighing involve a dry bulk material. These include level or inventory measuring and control, bag filling and dispensing, and batch blending.

Accuracy

The accuracy of a weighing system can be affected by many factors. Some examples include balance drift, air currents, lack of thermal equilibrium, magnetic or electric fields, manipulation of the sample and more. It is crucial to understand how each of these factors can affect your weighing results and how they can be improved.

One of the best ways to improve accuracy is to conduct regular balance validation. This helps ensure that the weighing instrument is working properly and meets the necessary standards of precision and reliability. It is also a good idea to implement preventative maintenance strategies like calibration, data integration and operator training. Another way to improve weighing accuracy is by using Quality by Design (QbD) to reduce the likelihood of errors across all processes.

Automation

The automated weighing process eliminates human error and streamlines processes, leading to significant savings in labor costs. It also reduces material waste and rework expenses by minimizing inefficient product output.

In addition, automated weighing systems have remote monitoring and control capabilities. This allows businesses to remotely monitor operations, reducing the need for personnel to visit the scales and improving productivity.

Lastly, automation can improve weighing accuracy by minimising external influences that affect measurements. For example, automated weighing technology can incorporate features such as rugged construction and automatic covers to mitigate air currents and other environmental interference. They also offer energy-efficient weighing solutions that significantly minimise power consumption. This leads to lower operating costs and increased profitability.

Speed

A good weighing process delivers fast results at a speed that’s suitable for your manufacturing operations. This is especially important if you’re working with highly dynamic processes such as filling, packing or shipping.

A weighing system works by converting mechanical force into an electrical signal using a load cell (also called a sensor). The metal bends with the weight, and strain gauges bonded at points on the cell provide a proportional electrical signal.

By incorporating data and analytics into your production processes, you can optimise and streamline weighing tasks. This includes educating your operators on standard weighing procedures and equipment use, creating SOPs, and addressing inaccuracies quickly to prevent errors that impact accuracy and efficiency. It also involves regularly reviewing and optimising your weighing processes to ensure ongoing improvement.

Efficiency

Weighing accuracy is an important metric to measure in manufacturing. It ensures products and ingredients meet quality specifications, keeps production costs low and drives operational efficiency.

Weighing systems help make your operations more efficient by eliminating wasted material, time and resources. They also reduce the risk of human error, which is a major source of waste in many industrial applications.

For example, payload management systems improve productivity by allowing you to optimize every load and move materials as efficiently as possible. These systems use accurate data to provide your equipment with precise payload limits so that each machine can transport what it’s capable of.

It’s important to keep your weighing system running at peak efficiency by following best practices and regular maintenance. This can include routine calibration, implementing anti-static bars and utilising sample management software that’s designed to optimise weighing equipment.

Safety

Weighing is a critical process that can affect product quality and safety. To reduce the likelihood of errors in the weighing process, it is important to follow proper safety measures.

Ensure that the weighing equipment is isolated from vibration sources such as pumps and motors. Constant vibration may cause the weights to rub against their bases, affecting their mass and resulting in inaccurate readings.

In addition, it is important to ensure that the weighing system’s load cells are not touching any other surface or object. This can result in unwanted side loads that can significantly impact weighing accuracy. It is also a good idea to use insulated tools when working on the weighing system to prevent electrocution. Regular balance validation is also vital to ensuring accuracy and reliability of the weighing instrument.