Tag Archives: forklift

Utilizing Forklift Scales to Increase Productivity

We worked with an agriculture company that was having troubles obtaining information in an efficient manner. They were using forklifts to load pallets onto a floor scale to weigh the skids. This company had 2 floor scales and 5 wireless remotes, one for each forklift. The skids were weighed on the floor scale and a button from the associated forklift remote was pressed to associate the weight with the floor scale. All 5 forklifts were weighing skids from different lots and storing measurements on an indicator. When the lot was closed out, meaning all 10 skids from each of the 4 coolers were weighed, a different button was pressed on the forklift remote to print the accumulated report on one of the scales. The measurement information on the indicator was erased and sent to a PC to be stored.

The issue was that 5 forklifts were fighting over 2 floor scales during their busy season. This, in turn, resulted in less productivity and wasted time.

We worked with the equipment manufacturer to customize a software system that will allow any of the 5 forklifts to pick up a skid from any of the 3 lots. The customer is able to weigh the skid on the forklift itself which then stores the weight data in the indicator. Once a lot is closed out, data is sent to a central PC wirelessly and a report can be printed out. Grand Rapids Metrology took an outdated system and upgraded it. We created a custom software that would wirelessly communicate with a central PC, and we retrofitted a forklift scale carriage to an existing forklift to allow for weighing right from the forklift itself!

This saved the company significant time, costs and energy while increasing productivity and profit margins. Imagine it being your busiest time of the year and not being able to keep up with demand and production. You would be losing money.

If you are using a forklift to bring material to a floor scale repeatedly, you are using an outdated system. If your forklift scale doesn’t send data wirelessly, you are using an outdated system. Contact us to bring your system up-to-date.

How to Calibrate a Forklift

Forklifts are built in a variety of different styles to be able to maneuver around obstacles and operate efficiently within your facility. They are used to load, transport, and stack inventory and other materials; favorably, forklifts also record weighing data. It is important to make sure your forklifts are calibrated yearly to save time, money, and resources. Inaccurate weighing data could result in profit loss.

To properly calibrate this electronic forklift scale, we turned it on and off several times to make sure it read zero each time it was on. It didn’t, so we took apart the scale, examined it, and put it back together again to make sure it was on securely.

Once we got an accurate reading of zero and we added a test weight to the forklift. In this case it was two 500lb weights.

We checked the reading of the scale, and it correlated with the test weight!

 

 

Forklift calibrations are usually simple and quick!

Give us a call if you are having issues with a forklift of yours. We’d be happy to help!

 

5 Questions You Should Answer Before Buying a Forklift Scale

Warehouses, logistic companies, and recycling centers alike are frequent users of forklifts trucks. Their speed, ability to precisely maneuver around obstacles, and varying capacities make them ideal for operational needs.

Many of these industries take the simple skills of these vehicles to the next level investing in a forklift scale. This creates equipment that is not only useful in terms of getting inventory from Point A to Point B, but measures and records data while doing so. Grand Rapids Metrology’s distributed forklift scales allow seamless integration of weighing and
data management into your operation – without adding any extra steps or route changes.

For example, forklift scales eliminate tedious tasks at recycling centers. Their bundled and palletized materials can be weighed while on it’s way to a destination instead of having to constantly stop at a floor scale to take a reading. As you can imagine, efficiency can improve drastically.

If you’re frequently contemplating, “How can our company save money? How can we become more efficient? How can we collect more accurate data? ” you may want to consider utilizing a forklift scale.

Discover five things you should know before investing in a forklift scale:

 

1. WHAT ARE THE DIMENSIONS OF YOUR FORK TRUCK’S FRAME?

It is essential to know the dimensions of the frame of your fork truck, for it is one of the first questions our Account Managers ask during the buying process. Once we know your proper dimensions, we can begin to identify potential scales suited to your needs.

 

2. DO YOU NEED TO PRINT OR STORE TRANSACTION DATA?

If you would like to store data electronically, then the scales indicator will do the trick. However, if you need to print the weight data, perhaps for a label, then we will add a printer to your purchase. The printer will communicate with the indicator to swiftly and accurately to print your data.

 

3. WHAT IS THE CAPACITY OF THE FORK TRUCK?

This question is similar to the first. We can’t do much until we know the capacity of your forklift truck. Once our team knows the truck’s capacity, we can base the scale selection off that information.

 

4. DO YOU PREFER A WIRED OR WIRELESS INDICATOR?

Wired and wireless indicators each come with benefits and downfalls, so it’s upon you to decide what you do and don’t need in an indicator. Wireless options require more maintenance because an operator must manually change the batteries of the scale itself in order to transmit power. A wired indicator is powered through the truck itself, which means less work for you but also includes the hassle and mess of a physical power cord.

 

5. ARE YOU CHARGING A CUSTOMER BY WEIGHT?

If so, you may need to comply with NTEP Requirements (Legal-for-Trade). There are scale models available for legal-for-trade and not legal-for-trade. A NTEP (Legal-for-Trade) application can be broken down by class. See below for an overview of some of our available forklift scales.

 

 

 

Want to start a conversation about your forklift situation? Contact us below or give us a call at (800) 348-5701!