What do you think industrial scales are used for? If you are familiar with these scales and are aware of the many styles and uses for them, then what pops into your mind is probably different than what a person who doesn’t know too much about industrial scales.
The various sizes, styles, and types in which industrial scales are manufactured are numerous.
Here are some industries you didn’t know used industrial scales:
Agriculture
Industrial scales are used for many different weighing applications within the agricultural industry. Farmers utilize these scales to weigh livestock, seed, fertilizer, chemicals, produce, and more.
Farmers keep track of the weights of their livestock so they can recognize health issues that might be identified with inconsistencies in weight. For example, if a farmer notices the weight of an animal has significantly dropped or risen, then it might mean the animal is sick or the animal might need its eating or exercise regimen modified so it can maintain a more healthy weight.
Industrial scales designed to weigh livestock typically have low profiles so animals can easily step on and off them. These scales often have a “weight average and hold” feature, which allows them to accurately measure animals on the platform even if the animals are moving. Scales made for livestock weighing purposes are moisture-resistant, as well.
There are multiple add-on features that can help make weighing processes simpler and faster for agricultural locations.
Shipping and Transport
One common reason industrial scales are used in any industry is to measure objects before shipping them out or after receiving shipments. Companies must accurately measure shipments in order to ensure the right amount of products are shipped or received. Measuring products before shipment can help companies accurately predict the cost of shipping, as well.
If you consider a giant cargo ship sloshing on the sea or a mile-long freight train plunging across a Midwestern plain, then you can assume everything on these vessels was properly weighed before departure. Companies often measure products for shipment for money saving and inventory-tracking purposes; however, accurately weighing objects can also be a safety concern. Ships, planes, trains, and trucks oftentimes need to be balanced accordingly in order to avoid disaster.
Nursing Home
This industry’s use for industrial scales might seem surprising at first, but just like the many people who step onto a scale each morning for their daily weigh-ins, elderly patients in nursing homes need to be weighed too. Nursing home staff are required to regularly weigh elderly patients to ensure patients are maintaining healthy weights. Similar to measuring livestock, if there are inconsistencies in weight, then this could be an indication of declining health or a sign that a person’s eating and exercise habits should be altered.
Industrial scales used in nursing homes are designed to accommodate the added weight of wheelchairs and typically have ramps and rails to aid elderly people getting on scale platforms and standing up on the platforms once they’re up there.
Waste Management
Companies that pick up garbage and recycling from houses and buildings throughout America are often paid based on the weight of the waste they pick up; therefore companies in this industry use industrial scales to accurately measure what they pick up so they can be paid appropriately.
Just thinking of all the questionable substances and materials that industrial scales in the waste management industry come into contact with on a daily basis, you can understand why scales in this industry must be specially made. Industrial scales in the waste management industry are generally corrosion-resistant so harmful chemicals or substances do not damage them.