Warehouses come in various types, but they all benefit from the efficiency a weighing scale brings to daily operations. In this blog, we’ll explore the different types of scales commonly used in warehouses and how they can enhance efficiency in managing everyday tasks.
Counting Scales
Counting scales, such as our Cruiser CCT, are specifically engineered to simplify frequent counting tasks. Counting scales feature three distinct displays, allowing you to view the total weight, individual piece weight, and counting result all at once.
Additionally, these scales can store information for frequently counted items, known as Product Lookups (PLUs). The CCT model, for instance, can store data for up to 140 different products, making it easy to recall information for items you handle regularly.
Whether the unit weight is known, unknown, or stored, the full numeric keypad with dedicated buttons streamlines each transaction. Buttons for Sample, Unit Weight, and PLU enable you to quickly and easily start at any point in the counting process.
What daily warehouse tasks can benefit from using counting scales?
Reviewing Incoming Shipments
When your warehouse receives an order delivery, it’s a good practice to count the contents before unpacking. This ensures you’re receiving exactly what you’ve paid for. The piece count from your scale should match your order precisely. Discrepancies could indicate a mix-up or error. With a counting scale, you can identify such issues within seconds, rather than spending hours on manual counting. This quick detection also makes it easier to address problems before goods are distributed or sold.
Inventory
Inventory season can be particularly stressful. Accurate counts are essential for maintaining operational efficiency, managing supplies, and making strategic decisions. Counting everything individually, especially small parts or items in boxes, can be time-consuming. As time goes on, counters may become fatigued, leading to slower progress and decreasing accuracy. Using a counting scale can dramatically reduce the time spent on inventory, minimize errors, enhance efficiency, and ensure your staff remains energized by the end of the task.
Order Picking
Customers expect to receive the exact quantity they’ve paid for, placing significant pressure on pickers. To ease this burden, counting scales are invaluable. They help ensure that each order contains the correct number of items, reducing errors and speeding up order fulfillment. By improving accuracy and efficiency, counting scales enhance customer satisfaction, bolster your company’s reputation, and encourage repeat business.
Pallet Truck and Platform Scales
Pallet truck scales are designed similarly to standard pallet trucks, featuring steel forks and rolling wheels. They come equipped with a weighing indicator that displays the weight of any pallet or item placed on the forks. In contrast, platform scales are large, high-capacity scales that generally remain in a fixed location on the warehouse floor. How are these scales used in daily operations?
Multitasking
Our pallet truck scales, the PTT and PTSplus, are ideal for scenarios where efficiency and multitasking are essential. Save time and effort by weighing and transporting a pallet simultaneously with the easy-rolling, non-marring polyurethane wheels. For accurate record-keeping, the PTT features the AE 503 label printing indicator. Once the weight stabilizes, you can print a fully customizable label to attach to the pallet. This label can include details such as weight, date, and a scannable barcode or QR code for additional information. Say goodbye to guessing, searching for paperwork, or reweighing!
Heavy Loads
Platform scales like the PT and PT Stainless Steel are perfect for weighing pallets and other heavy, non-palletized items. Their high capacities and durable construction ensure reliability and peace of mind for daily use. Additionally, these platform scales are compatible with almost any weighing indicator, allowing you to customize your setup for optimal performance.
Unusually Shaped Loads
Weighing unusually shaped objects can be challenging with a standard platform scale. Items such as large sheets of glass, oversized crates, or long pipes might extend beyond the edges of the scale, affecting weight distribution and leading to inaccuracies. Pallet beams, like the AELP, offer a solution by consisting of two connected platform scales. These beams can be spread apart to accommodate items of various sizes and shapes, ensuring accurate measurements.
Checkweighing Scales
Checkweighing scales, similar to counting scales, are designed to streamline frequent checkweighing tasks. For instance, our Cruiser CKT checkweighing scale features a single display that changes color to indicate whether weights are below (yellow), within (green), or above (red) the set limits.
Safe Loading & Shipping
Companies like Amazon establish weight limits for their deliveries—each box must weigh between 1 lb and 50 lbs, with the exception of individual items exceeding 50 lbs. This policy helps prevent injuries to those packing and delivering the boxes. Different containers may have their own weight restrictions; for instance, plastic shipping bags might hold less than a typical box.
By setting high and low weight limits, your workers can easily monitor compliance without needing to focus intently on each package. They simply need to watch for the display to turn red when the weight exceeds the set limits.
Knowing the weight of a package before shipping is crucial for ensuring safe truck loads. Overloading a delivery truck can reduce fuel efficiency, increase wear and tear, and potentially create dangerous situations. By weighing each item and packing them carefully, you can avoid these issues and save yourself trouble in the long run.
You know a weighing scale will benefit your warehouse, but choosing the right one is key. If you’re unsure which scale to select for your needs, contact us, and we’ll be happy to assist you.
