Does your company sample the same parts repeatedly when using parts counting scales? If so, you are taking longer to pick orders and perform inventories. You also increase the margin for errors by your operators potentially miscounting a sample, or creating different Average Piece Weights (APWs) when there is a deviation in average piece weight.

How sampling can cause inaccuracy.

Suppose you count out 99 pieces and call it 100 at your one percent off right out of the gate. If you count out 49 pieces and call it 50, you have a 2% deviation. Sample nine and call it 10, and you’re 10% off. And that is the best-case scenario. 

Additionally, one operator using a 50-piece sample on a small part on one scale, and another operator using a 10-piece sample on the same part can result in different counts.

Eliminating the sampling process after receiving it is a great way to speed up your parts counting process and eliminate the margin for error in the above-mentioned situations. Here are a couple of solutions for eliminating the sampling process. Please contact a AAA Weigh Counting Scale specialist to discuss your application or request a quote on counting scale solutions. 

1. Print out barcode labels for your parts. You can attach a label that has the average piece weight in a barcode on the label. Scanning it into the scale automatically switches to piece-counting mode, and you’re off to the races. Adding a tare weight (container or box weight) in barcode to the label allows you to capture the weight of the box. In adddition ot order picking, physical inventories and cycle counting are much faster because you can put the whole box on the scale, scan the tare weight and average piece weight, and have the count of what’s in the box without even touching a part. Other fields can be added to a label, like part number, lot number, operator, description, and location. You can also add a company logo or other variable data that will look sharp and keep you as accurate and fast as possible.
2. Database your scale data. You can use an external software program or a scale with internal database functionality to save your part number, average piece, weight, tare, or other fields of information and recall that as you count pieces. A scale with a database is easier because you do not need a separate computer at each workstation, but for customers with high volume and thousands of part numbers, a separate computer may make sense.

If you are a job shop that builds parts, counts them once, and sells them, these solutions may not be for you. But if you are the kind of company that has inventory with boxes that have thousands of pieces in them and continually pull from these boxes 100, 200, 500, or more at a time until they are empty, and then restock, think about labeling or databasing. It will save you a tremendous amount of time with order picking, physical inventories, and cycle counting. It will keep you as accurate as possible by reducing the margin for operator mistakes and accounting for things like deviation in average piece weight.

Call a AAA Weigh Counting Scale specialist toll-free at 800-394-6622 or click here to contact us for more information. Thanks for reading.