Talking Scales

Have you ever weighed yourself at your local pharmacy to be appalled as the scale announced your current weight to the entire drug store? Well, thankfully the talking pharmacy scale is starting to become a thing of the past while the industrial, agricultural and animal world is finding multiple ways to make a talking scale the technology of the future. Veterinarians agree that a talking scale can be of great use when handling larger animals that take both hands to manage. Many times veterinary assistants take measurements and temperatures while the doctors read up on patient charts. With a talking scale, the Veterinarian and the assistant can both receive the weight information without any hassle.

Talking scales have even more range when applied to industrial uses. A counting scale for example  features precision counting ability. The “Quick Count” mode lets you easily count parts using a single push of a button. For more complex counting tasks, the menu functions give you the ability to store, and then retrieve the piece weight of as many as 450 different items. With a text to speech addition, inventory could be taken in a fraction of the time it took before as the worker would never have to look up from his task to log his numbers.

Industrial scales often face rugged and harsh conditions. A cylinder scale, for example, may have to support over 250 pounds of a tilted cylinder as liquid is being loaded or taken off the platform. A platform scale may be subject to high shock loads as forklifts loading large pallets inadvertently bump into the side of the scale. It can take every bit of a worker’s concentration to avoid this problem. A talking readout can reduce the stress of the worker, making industrial accidents less likely and the workplace safer for all.

However, one of the best uses for a text to speech option when considering workplace safety is for use with an explosive environment scale. In a case where hazardous materials are in use and the scale is built with four stainless steel load cells embedded in a welded frame for maximum shock and abuse resistance, the business of safety is serious. Workplace hazards can be minimized when the hazardous materials handler can stay completely focused on handling, without needing to watch the digital display.

The bottom line is that humans are fallible, and long series of numbers can become lost or confused when they are just received in one form. The mind often interposes numbers and human error is the main cause of bad data. All human beings learn in different ways. Some humans are auditory learners while others find a visual approach works best for them. The combination of both visual and auditory stimulation has been scientifically proven to decrease the likelihood of error. Scales with an auditory or talking feature can assist disabled workers, aid in employee cooperation and are the best bet in increasing production while eliminating error.