Scales and Weighing Equipment

 

Scales have much wider applications than merely performing weighing tasks, they can also link to a computer network to provide management with information on ordering stock, planning production and organising sales.

 

ButcherSA examines the types of scales used in the meat industry and finds out who supplies them.

Bench scales are weighing devices for use on a counter or table. They are used for portion control, package weighing and product counting.

Portion scales are used for the preparation and mixing of ingredients. They are also used for portion control and portion packaging, for example, pre-packed goods and canned goods filling.

Platform and floor scales weigh larger items that are low to the ground. Indicators – digital electronic display units – can be used with platform scales.

Overhead scales include crane and rail scales for carcass weighing. Rail scales are similar to crane scales but are attached to a rail system for transporting carcasses.

Checkweighers are automatic or manual end-of-line machines for checking the weight of packaged commodities.

Pallet truck scales convert a pallet truck into an accurate weighing scale.

Retail scales are used in butchery shops for processing and selling meat by weight. Weight results are displayed in a digital format. Retail scales are used in four areas: receiving, production, specialty (platform, portion and rail systems) and sales.

Any weighing device used to receive, pack for sale, or sell to consumers is required to be approved by the National Regulator of Compulsory Specifications (NRCS) and verified in terms of the Legal Metrology Act (Act 9 of 2014).

Such verification is valid for two years, and the NRCS conduct regular spot checks on businesses to ensure their compliance.

At the core of electronic weighing machines is a sensor called a load cell – a highly accurate transducer that converts force (weight) into a measurable electrical output which is displayed on an indicator. Load cells can be placed on or under almost any type of container or vessel to turn it into an accurate scale.

In the abattoir environment, some operators use a load cell with a hook connected to a digital display to get a weight much like you would from a crane scale to check incoming carcasses.

Companies supplying, installing and servicing application-built butchery and meat plant weighing equipment – which comprise checkweighers, scale printing equipment and weight indicators – include: Avocet Scales & Labels, Bizerba, Border Scales, Clover Scales, Premier Scale Services, Richter Scale, Scalerite, Scale Tronic Services and Teraoka to name but a few.,