WHY UP↑SCALE › FOR WHAT? › ROUTINE BALANCE CHECK
The daily scale check - in one minute, on record
Every quality system asks for it, and in most places it is still a pen, a logbook and a test weight. The routine check before use does the counting, the maths and the record for you - and makes sure nobody works on with a scale that failed.
What it saves you
~1 minper check: the app takes every value by itself as soon as it is stable
0calculations by hand: mean, standard deviation, limits and minimum weight are worked out
0forgotten checks: the scale knows the interval, every device asks when it is due
How it works
- Open the ☑ TEST page - the routine check is the first block. Choose your profile once and enter your reference weight(s).
- Put the weight on as many times as the profile asks - the app takes every value as soon as it is stable (or with ✓ TAKE NOW); each value counts minus the empty plate before it.
- You get PASS or FAIL with the numbers behind it.
- FAIL? A red bar on the weighing page and the test page warns until a re-test passes. It warns, it never blocks. Removing the warning without a re-test needs a reason (and, with users, an ADMIN) - and goes into the log.
- The result goes into the log of the browser and - with firmware that knows it - into the scale: interval, last pass, last check, open failure. Every device that connects sees it, and asks once per connection when a check is due.
- With ENTERPRISE: the whole log as a sealed PDF - period, passed / failed, failures followed by a pass or a removed warning, missed intervals. ENTERPRISE
The profiles - there is no one rule for every kind of work
| Profile | What is weighed | PASS when |
|---|---|---|
| Quick check kitchen, food, HACCP | one reference weight 3 times in the middle | the mean is within your tolerance (default 1 % of the weight, at least 2 d - set what your HACCP plan asks for) |
| Trade OIML R 76, in use | one weight (optional a second) 3 times, 6 times for classes I / II | every value is within 2 × the maximum permissible error of the class of your scale |
| Industry QA two weights | a small weight 10 times (repeatability), a big one (≥ 5 % of Max) once (sensitivity) | within the limits of your process (default 0.10 %) |
| Lab: USP <41> | one weight 10 times + one weighing of a weight ≥ 5 % of Max | 2 × s / smallest net weight ≤ 0.10 % (s below 0.41 d counts as 0.41 d); accuracy ≤ 0.10 % |
| Lab: Ph. Eur. 2.1.7 | like USP | repeatability as USP; sensitivity ≤ 0.05 % |
| Custom your SOP | 3 to 30 weighings, one or two weights | your own limits |
The lab profiles also show the minimum weight of your balance (2000 × s): below it, the pharmacopoeias say the balance is not good enough for your weighings. Neither pharmacopoeia asks for this test every day - how often is set by your own risk assessment.
Manual: routine check
What the record holds
- date and time, profile, reference weight(s), every single value, mean, standard deviation, the limits and the result
- with users: who did it - and who removed a warning, with the reason
- in the test history of the scale (ENTERPRISE): the result as a record of its own, with the trend of all tests
- on the scale (all editions): interval, last pass, last check, last result, open failure - the same for every device
Checklist for your SOP
- Choose the profile that fits your work (and your auditor) - and write it into your procedure
- Use a test weight of a known class (e.g. OIML R 111) - its tolerance should be small against your limit
- Set the interval on the scale: every day, every shift, before every series
- Decide who may remove a warning (with users: ADMIN only)
- Save the sealed PDF of the log at the end of every period (ENTERPRISE)
- Once a year (or by your interval): the full test suite or a calibration
Compared with the usual way
| Logbook + calculator | UP↑SCALE | |
|---|---|---|
| Taking the values | read and write them down | taken by itself when stable |
| Standard deviation, minimum weight | calculator or spreadsheet | worked out, with the rule shown |
| A failed check | a note in the book | a warning on every device until a re-test passes |
| Due checks | memory, a calendar | the scale knows the interval |
| For the audit | a book with handwriting | a sealed PDF of the period (ENTERPRISE) |
The limits - honestly
- The routine check runs "as used" (the shown weight, the filters of the scale) - it is no calibration and no verification
- The values of the pharmacopoeias come from their texts as we read them - check them against the official chapters of your edition
- The app follows USP <41> / Ph. Eur. 2.1.7; it makes no claim that a check is "required" or "compliant" - your procedure decides
More in detail
All jobs in short: For what? · your kind of work: For whom?
Cannabis club documentation (KCanG)
The workflow and a checklist of every record point - done while weighing.
Audit trail & data integrity
21 CFR Part 11, EU GMP Annex 11 and ALCOA+, point by point - with the limits.
Scale test suite
Every test of OIML R 76-1 Annex A at the scale, with checklist and final report.