Written by Rachel Kohn
To protect your equipment investment and to help ensure compliance with FDA, CFR and other standards the procedures for using an analytical balance should be published in the company’s operations manual.
Before Anything
Analytical balance manufacturers such as Kern provide detailed operating instructions for each model offered, and these should be included in your company documentation. This discussion covers general procedures for operating analytical balances.
New balances must be calibrated before they are put into operation, and should be periodically recalibrated based on how they are used. Recalibration procedures can be established in discussions with equipment suppliers such as Tovatech. They are performed either by qualified internal personnel or by outside calibration services.
To help ensure accuracy balances must be level, on a solid weighing table and in a draft-free location away from sources of electromagnetic radiation. If the balance is moved, it may require recalibration so select a “permanent” location if possible. Higher-end analytical balances such as the Kern ABJ, AEJ and ABT models are automatically internally calibrated but this should not be used as an excuse to unnecessarily move them about.
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Written by Rachel Kohn
Feature-rich digital
precision scales can be programmed to perform multiple functions with a high degree of accuracy.
For example, a digital scale does more than simply weigh although “simple” may be the wrong word when speaking of readouts to 0.001 gram and a linearity of ±0.003 gram. The weighing “precision” of these precision scales is generally inversely proportional to their weighing range (i.e. the higher the maximum accommodated weight the lower the resolution).
Options to Fit Your Applications
Before selecting a precision scale such as the Kern series offered by Tovatech make a list of the features you need to handle your requirements. As an example, if you work in metric and non-metric units, choose a model that switches to the desired weighing unit at the touch of a button.
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Written by Rachel Kohn
An
analytical balance is a precision instrument essential to research and manufacturing activities guided by cGLP, cGMP, ISO, the FDA and other regulatory bodies. Analytical balances also can represent a significant investment for companies, especially when several of these precision instruments are in regular use. That is why care and maintenance procedures should be part of an organization’s standard operating procedures (SOP) and clearly defined in the operations manual.
Getting Started
Factory-fresh analytical balances must be set up according to the manufacturer’s recommendations. They also must be calibrated before being put into use in order to verify the accuracy of the instruments. This is done by organizations that provide calibration services and certificates for new analytical balances and precision scales. Ongoing recalibration is performed, also according to the company’s SOP, to assure that the analytical balances remain accurate. If the balance is off, then an adjustment must be performed to bring it back into spec.
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Written by Rachel Kohn
Calibration is a procedure intimately associated with analytical balances. Calibration determines the relationship between the displayed value and true mass by comparison with a known mass. In other words, calibration determines the accuracy of an analytical balance or precision scale.
Suppliers of analytical balances and precision scales such as Tovatech have sources that provide calibration services and certificates for newly purchased equipment. Good laboratory practices, good manufacturing practices as well as conformance to several published regulations call for regular recalibration of these instruments and adjusting them if required. To accommodate this manufacturers such as Kern offer analytical balances and precision scales with automatic internal calibration and adjustment (if needed) or external calibration and manual adjustment.
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