Scale Maintenance Best Practices

Maintain scales properly to avoid scale breakdowns during the height of paving season.

You can’t have the scale break down during the height of season. Make sure you’re keeping up with a good maintenance program.

The Problem:

The scale breaks down during production, leaving a line of trucks waiting to load and your plant operator in a panic. The team at Fairbanks Scales Inc., worked on a case recently in which a scale experienced significant structural damage due to rusting of critical components, resulting in the need for a $38,000 rebuild. The customer had not regularly checked his scale, according to Fairbanks’ Mark Conway.

Had maintenance visits been performed, the issue would have been caught in time to make smaller, less costly repairs. Conway explained that revenue losses due to a scale failure can exceed the cost of maintenance. “General servicing puts out fires. Preventative maintenance servicing prevents them.”

The Solution:

Regular preventive maintenance can nip big problems in the bud. Fairbanks’ Conway listed the following items for your service program, or for the company you hire to help you with scale servicing:

• Inspect and clean electronic indicators
• Inspect and lubricate mechanical parts
• Inspect Ethernet/modem connections
• Inspect and clean the power supply
• Inspect truck scale lever systems, scale deck clearance and protective bumpers
• Complete testing and calibration with certified test weights (and make sure testing is in compliance with NTEP Handbook 44 standards and ISO/IEC 17025)
• Keep scale accuracy reports and calibration certificates up to date
Conway’s company offers the Fairbanks Scales Guardian Service Plan with multiple levels of service to include parts, visits and calibrations.