Today we’re going to look at the subject of industrial scale maintenance. Generally, there are a couple of different types of industrial scale maintenance available. Scheduled, where your scale company comes out and checks your scales on a regular basis. Or, Unscheduled, aka… we’ll call you when it breaks. As for industrial scales, those are basically things like crane scales, pallet scales, bench scales and truck scales. So, let’s take a look at the two types of scale maintenance.
Scheduled Scale Maintenance
Scheduled scale maintenance is sometimes referred to as preventive maintenance. We try to avoid calling it preventative because while there are a few things you can possibly prevent or catch before it becomes a big deal, there are a lot of scale issues you really can’t prevent. That being said, often scheduled scale service is a good idea at certain intervals because it helps to make sure your scales are accurate as much as possible and it can help facilitate things like having your scale cleaned regularly which often goes together with consistent accuracy and increased equipment lifespan.
The scheduled scale service intervals are usually a collaboration between your scale company; (hopefully that is or will be Central Carolina Scale), and yourself. These intervals are typically monthly or quarterly but can also be other time frames depending on what you and the scale technician decide. Scheduled scale maintenance hopefully keeps your scales accurate year round, minimizes any downtime, and can possibly even extend the weighing equipment lifespan in certain situations, like greasing a mechanical truck scale.
These scheduled visits are also often referred to as service agreements. And, they usually offer the customer a discounted labor and mileage fee.
Unscheduled Scale Maintenance
Some customers for whatever reason do not want to commit to a service schedule at certain intervals. So, they essentially only call us whenever they have a break down. This can sometimes save them money throughout the year. But, when the scale breaks, they are now experiencing downtime while waiting for a scale technician to arrive, troubleshoot and fix the scale issue. We hope this is a short time but it can sometimes be a long wait. What if the service schedule is already full? Most scale companies prioritize their service agreement customers. And of course any scale service or repairs performed will be charged at the standard price level. Therefore, we highly recommend that most customers have their scales checked on a regular interval.
Industrial Scale Maintenance Overall Recommendations
We’ve been repairing and calibrating industrial scales since Reagan took office and there are a few recommendations we suggest that most companies consider. First, find a scale company that you like and trust. (Hopefully they are located on this webpage : ) Discuss your scale usage and calibration intervals with them. Then put a service agreement in place so you can have your scales checked regularly, save a little on rates, reduce downtime and increase accuracy. This will hopefully help you to experience minimal downtime in your business. We also suggest discussing with your scale company what replacement scale parts they stock and what parts they suggest that you stock on your shelf.
One nice feature of working with us at Central Carolina Scale is that we offer a wonderful asset management software that allows us to provide you with not just online scale calibration certificates, but an overall history of your scales performance over time. Most of our local competitors can’t offer that. They just offer an online scale cal cert that they can store online or email to you. On the other hand, our weighing data acts essentially like a mix of maintenance records and historical data on each of your scales, helping you make better decisions about your scales.
At Central Carolina Scale, we always are working on improving our service and calibration offerings. We are always trying to learn about the different scale indicators and controllers available from various scale manufacturers. We focus our attention completely on scales and weighing equipment. While others are working with everything from material handling pallet racks to color testing to airbags…. we focus all our attention to scales and weighing equipment.
So, when it comes to buying or servicing industrial scales in North Carolina, be sure to contact Central Carolina Scale for the best product knowledge and service around. You can call us at (919) 776-7737 or complete the RFQ form on our website for more info today.