The Importance of Truck Scale Maintenance

Truck scales are a staple of your daily operations. While they may seem like ultra-reliable stalwarts that never fail, even your scales require regular maintenance to keep them in tip-top shape. When you skip scheduled service and calibration intervals, you risk inaccuracies and fines. You may even put drivers in dangerous situations and expose your business to civil liability. The good news is that you can prevent these mishaps with a proactive approach to scale maintenance.

The Role of Truck Scales

Truck scales play a key role in industries such as:

Agriculture
Construction
Logistics
Waste management

In all of these fields, the weight of goods has a direct impact on operations. Let’s say you operate in the agriculture industry. You need accurate scale data to ensure that you are properly compensated for the produce you deliver to food manufacturers.

Accurate weight measurements are also important for ensuring safety and preventing overloading. Keeping your scales in good working order will help protect your business and your reputation.

What Happens When You Neglect Maintenance

A lot can go wrong when you don’t take care of your truck scales. A few of the biggest concerns include:

Inaccurate Readings

Over time, your scales can become less accurate, with dirt and debris affecting the precision of weight measurements. Even a difference of a few percentage points can lead to severe overloading or underloading.

On the financial side, inaccurate readings may translate to overpayment or underpayment for shipments. You need high-quality scales and reliable readings to ensure your accounting processes are smooth and accurate.

Legal Penalties

Inaccurate truck scale readings can lead to legal penalties for failing to comply with weight regulations. Authorities may issue fines to your business if your equipment does not fall within accuracy thresholds. You may even face consequences like operational shutdowns if non-compliance appears deliberate or grossly negligent.

Overloading Fines

State and federal regulatory authorities may issue citations if your truck scale does not meet accuracy standards. If your scales are used to verify the weight of a driver’s loads before, you could also expose your employees to citations for being overloaded, which could impact drivers’ commercial licenses and your company’s insurance premiums.

Damage to Infrastructure

Weight limits are imposed for a reason. Even if an overload does not lead to a catastrophic failure, it can still damage your equipment and infrastructure. In the long term, this damage can cost your business tens of thousands of dollars in repairs and unplanned downtime.

Increased Operational Costs

Neglecting truck scale maintenance can end up requiring expensive repairs or scale replacement. Frequent breakdowns, calibration issues, and incorrect readings can lead to unplanned downtime, which affects company productivity. Regular maintenance helps extend your scale’s life and prevents costly repairs, saving you money in the long run.

How to Keep Your Truck Scale Up and Running

Your upkeep tasks can be broken down into three categories: daily, weekly, and monthly. Here’s a look at what you need to do at each interval:

Daily Maintenance Tasks

High-quality scales don’t require much in the way of daily maintenance. You’ll only have to perform a few basic checks to guard against malfunctions.

Start by looking under the scale deck for debris. Remove any rocks or obstructions that may impact the scale’s movement. Make sure to clean the surface to remove any dirt or oil that could cause slippage. Always inspect the scale for damage at the start and end of each shift.

Weekly Maintenance Tasks

Your team should also be performing weekly upkeep. This entails verifying the scale’s accuracy using test weights and examining the load cells for signs of wear or corrosion. These components are responsible for measuring weight, and any damage could lead to inaccurate measurements.

Finally, make sure your maintenance crew lubricates any moving parts. Adequate lubrication can reduce shearing and friction.

Monthly Maintenance Tasks

Your team should be thoroughly cleaning the scale about once a month. This includes cleaning underneath the deck and around the load cells to eliminate any dirt buildup. Make sure you inspect all electrical components and connections. It’s imperative that you report and repair any corroded or damaged wiring.

Benefits of Truck Scale Maintenance

A proactive approach to scale upkeep will yield benefits such as:

Improved safety
Enhanced accuracy
Lower operational costs
Longer equipment lifespan
Compliance

If you take care of your scale, it will take care of your business. In contrast, neglected equipment will break down more often and have a shorter lifespan, neither of which is good for your bottom line.

The Bottom Line: Maintenance Matters

Don’t cut corners when it comes to calibrating, cleaning, and maintaining your truck scales, and be proactive to reduce costs and protect business continuity. If you need a hand with your truck scales, Superior Scale Inc. has got you covered. Contact our team and book your maintenance service today.