The Weighing Equipment (Non-automatic Weighing Machines) Regulations 1988

PART I GENERAL

1.  Subject to the provisions of paragraph 17 of this Schedule on eccentric load testing and any special arrangements required to comply with Regulation 7, test loads shall be distributed over the central areas of load and weight receptors.

2.—(1) Subject to the provisions of paragraph 16 of this Schedule on tilt testing, machines fitted with level indicating devices shall only be tested when the devices indicate that the machines have been set to their reference positions.

(2) Movable machines or machines having movable load or weight receptors—

(a) shall, if freestanding, subject to subparagraph (1) above and the provisions of paragraph 16(d) and (e) of this Schedule on tilt testing, be supported during testing on a level plane and, if practicable, have their load and/or weight bearing surfaces set level; and

(b) shall, if designed to be suspended in use, be suspended during testing.

3.  When taking test readings from digital weight indicators or printers, other than the readings required for comparison testing by paragraph 10 and the readings required for discrimination testing by paragraph 14 of this Schedule, the inspector shall eliminate any rounding error either by using the change points between consecutive indicated or printed digits or by using test facilities on the device under test which increase the resolution of the weight indication or printout.

4.  In the case of a machine having an automatic zero tracking device or devices, these devices shall be effectively disabled during testing, by adopting a non-zero indication or printout as zero-for-the purposes of testing, so that the test results are not materially affected by the action of any of the automatic zero tracking devices.

5.  In the case of a machine of an approved pattern which, in the published particulars thereof, is described as having a weighing mode in which, with the load receptor empty—

(a) the machine cannot be balanced, or

(b) an indicating, printing or tare device cannot be set to zero,

then nothing in the provisions of Parts II and III of this Schedule shall require such balancing or setting, or prevent the machine from being fully tested.

6.  When testing any machine, the inspector shall first ascertain:—

(a) its accuracy classification, the verification scale intervals and weighing ranges of all the indicating, printing and tare devices, in accordance with the provisions of Schedule 2 to these Regulations;

(b) the number of its weighing modes;

(c) for each of the indicating, printing and tare devices, the value of test load at which the prescribed limits of error change in value, in accordance with the provisions of Schedule 4 to these Regulations; and

(d) the maximum loads of all the weight and load receptors and combinations of load receptors.

7.  Where feasible, the inspector may combine tests or carry out several tests concurrently.