Blog Post By: Marchus Funke & Jesse Wetherell
Quality Scales Unlimited recently installed a stainless steel floor scale at a customer’s meat processing facility in Fairfield, CA. Our customer’s environment requires that their equipment is regularly washed down as they handle raw and cooked meats.
Quality Scales Unlimited installed a very specific floor scale for our customer’s weighing application, the Rice Lake Weighing Systems RoughDeck QC (Quick Clean). These floor scales are primarily intended for customers in the food processing industry, dealing with the processing of meats, dairy, poultry, and more. (Quality Scales Unlimited has successfully installed them in other industries as well.)
One of the main benefits of this model floor scale is its ability to sit flush with the surrounding grade in a protective frame. This installation method allows for items to be placed or rolled onto the scale platform without the use of ramps. (Carts carrying meats are very heavy!) Additionally, our customer required the ability to frequently lift the scale deck and clean under the scale. The QC floor scale is installed inside a pit foundation with a drain system to prevent water from building up and damaging the scales electronic components, also allowing access to the substructure of the scale.
The floor scale’s instrumentation was installed on a nearby wall and we housed the scale’s indicator in a stainless steel, ingress-protected Hoffman enclosure. The scale’s instrumentation is connected to our customer’s data collection system so each weighment is recorded along with the time and date. (Quality Scales Unlimited can also provide additional information to customer’s systems upon request.)
The QC floor scale is designed with two hydraulic lifts which allows the scale deck’s substructure to be raised for thorough cleaning. (Quality Scales Unlimited provided the concrete work required to install the scale frame. The concrete work was completed over a weekend to ensure it would not interfere with the customer’s production.) Installing the scale on a level foundation is essential for weighing with accuracy, which makes the foundation construction a critical element of the floor scale’s installation.
The installation of the pit frame required sawing the concrete to the required size in the designated area. We then poured the new concrete back to the scale frame. Fortunately, we were able to tie the new drainage system into the existing drain line which saved time and money. The cure time for the concrete foundation ranges from 7 – 10 days (in a moist environment) following the pour.
If you have a specific application based on scale or weighing related needs or would like more information on the product in, please contact Quality Scales Unlimited’s Sales Team to assist you in finding that solution.