Save Time, Money, and Effort with Lift Truck Scales
Whether you’re a factory, warehouse, or shipping center, chances are that weighing extremely heavy loads is part of your everyday routine. For good reason, too, as continuously and accurately weighing pallet loads as they enter and leave your business can help you:
- Increase Productivity
- Maintain costs
- Increase billing accuracy
- Enable more accurate calculation of shipping estimates
- Assist you in identifying possible theft or damage
For industrial companies, the benefits of accurately weighing your large pallet loads are immense and easily attained—given you have the appropriate tools at your disposal. There are a few different types of scales that are suited for the job—including roll-on scales, floor scales, and in some cases mobile scales—but perhaps none are more versatile and convenient than the forklift scale.
What Is a Forklift Scale?
Forklift scales transform your normally operating forklift truck into a precise weighing apparatus. To convert your lift truck, you simply replace its normal carriage with a new carriage that contains the scale. Then the forks of your truck attach to the new carriage, with a digital weight indicator usually placed in view of the lift operator. As an object is lifted off the ground by the forks of the lift, the scale will record the weight and transmit the reading onto the indicator’s screen. The installation process is usually an uncomplicated endeavor that only takes a few hours to complete. The distinct design of forklift scales allows you to weigh heavy loads consisting of anything from full pallets to cargo netting, and even freestanding packages or equipment.
As technology continues to advance in every sector, forklift scales have also received some innovative updates through the years. While older types of forklift scales use mechanical systems that only display the weight on a screen, newer models feature Wi-Fi capabilities that facilitate wireless data transmission. This allows weight readings to be directly communicated between the forklift and remote devices, including tablets, smartphones, and computers.
Benefits of Using a Forklift Scale
Businesses with heavy use applications—such as warehouses, logistic companies, and recycling centers—are already frequent users of forklifts trucks. What makes them ideal in these operations is their:
- Speed
- Maneuverability
- Capacity for large-volume requirements
But … Is This You?
It’s important to note here: if you are using a forklift to transfer goods from a warehouse to a floor scale, and then to a final destination, you are:
- Wasting time
- Increasing costs
- Cluttering and reducing floor space
Weigh Wherever and Collect Data Efficiently
To fully utilize lift trucks, companies would be wise to outfit them with a forklift scale. Perhaps the benefit with the most impact of having an operational forklift scale at your facility is its ability to weigh items anywhere and everywhere. Rather than transporting a pallet load to the weighing area of your warehouse, you can save time by weighing the item where it already resides or as you are moving it to its designated area. Forklift scales can also be taken directly into rail cars, trailers, and shipping containers so products can be accurately weighed before they enter your facility.
Adding a scale to your functional lift truck will allow you to transfer and collect data in one efficient operation. By eliminating unnecessary steps in your weighing operation, forklift scales can dramatically improve the efficiency of your warehouse—and the benefits can be felt in the form of:
- Reduced operator time (labor costs)
- Lower equipment costs
- Increased accuracy of your shipment weights, both incoming and outgoing
In fact, you can even get rid of your old floor scale and reassign the space it previously occupied to something new. Think about how rewarding it would be to finally have the free time and resources to address the projects you’ve been pushing off for when you can get to them.
How Alliance Scale Can Help
Looking to purchase a forklift scale for your company? Check out the current listings we have on our website here or contact us to see what else we have available.
Not only can we provide you with the scales to run your business, but we can also inspect them for use. Alliance Scale provides expert repair and inspection services across a broad range of commercial and retail applications in the greater New England area.
