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Specifications Relating to Non-automatic Weighing Devices (1998) (SI/98-81)

Regulations are current to 2024-10-30 and last amended on 2019-06-17. Previous Versions

Performance – Influence Factors (continued)

Voltage and Frequency Variations (continued)

 A battery-operated weighing device, when exposed to battery voltage output less than or in excess of the nominal voltage or voltage range, shall

  • (a) perform within the applicable limits of error; or

  • (b) blank the weight indication and prevent the transmission, printing and storage of weight results.

Humidity

 A weighing device shall perform within applicable limits of error when exposed to relative humidity of up to 85 per cent

  • (a) where a temperature range is marked on the device, within that temperature range; and

  • (b) where no temperature range is marked on the device, at any temperature of at least -10°C and no more than 40°C.

Performance – Disturbances

 An electronic weighing device, when disturbed by interference such as the effects of electromagnetic or electrostatic fields, short time power reduction, voltage spikes, electrostatic discharges or other disturbances that may be encountered under normal conditions of use, shall

  • (a) provide a weight indication or recording that does not differ from the value of the weight indication or recording that would be provided without interference by more than one verification scale interval;

  • (b) blank the weight indication and prevent the transmission, printing and storage of weight results;

  • (c) provide an error message and prevent the transmission, printing and storage of weight results; or

  • (d) provide a weight indication that is so completely unstable that it cannot be interpreted, stored or printed as a correct measurement value.

Design, Composition and Construction

General

 A weighing device shall be of a design, composition and construction that

  • (a) under normal conditions of use, enables it to measure accurately and does not facilitate the perpetration of fraud; and

  • (b) provides it with a static operating mode for inspection purposes, even if the device is designed to be used in a dynamic operating mode.

  • SI/2005-85, s. 4(F)
  • SI/2008-81, s. 5

 Weighing device features that perform metrological functions shall be designed, composed and constructed so that they

  • (a) ensure accurate measurement;

  • (b) do not detrimentally affect the performance of the device;

  • (c) do not lead to measurement errors; and

  • (d) do not facilitate the perpetration of fraud.

  • SI/2005-85, s. 5

 Neither gross values nor tare values shall be entered manually in on-board weighing systems.

  • SI/2008-81, s. 6

 A weighing device may perform non-metrological functions provided that those functions do not alter the metrological functions of the device.

 Equipment and accessories attached to or used in conjunction with a weighing device shall not cause any alteration or degradation of the metrological functions of the device or facilitate the perpetration of fraud.

  • SI/2005-85, s. 6

Indications and Recordings

  •  (1) A weighing device shall be provided with appropriate indicating and recording elements in terms of the design, number and size of digits to permit accurate measurement.

  • (2) The indications and recordings generated by a weighing device shall be clear, accurate, reliable and easy to read under normal conditions of use of the device.

Names and Symbols

 Indications or recordings, such as weight values, tare values and monetary values, and metrologically significant annunciators shall be identified with suitably located words, names, symbols or abbreviations that will not become obliterated or illegible under normal conditions of use of the weighing device.

Scale Interval

 Subject to section 37, the scale interval of a weighing device or any equipment and accessories attached to or used in conjunction with the device shall be equal to 1 x 10x, 2 x 10x, or 5 x 10x units of mass where the power “x” is a negative or positive whole number or zero.

  • SI/2008-81, s. 19

 The scale interval of a weighing device with an analogue indicating element may be equal to 1/2n of a Canadian unit of mass, where “n” is a positive whole number.

  •  (1) Subject to subsection (2), the net, gross and tare weights, whether indicated or recorded, shall have the same verification scale interval for any given load.

  • (2) The scale interval of a printer may be larger than the verification scale interval of the weight classifier to which it is connected, provided that the measurement, weight classification and price calculation are established precisely and accurately.

Over-capacity

 A weighing device shall not indicate or record a weight value in excess of

  • (a) in the case of an electronic computing scale other than a postal scale or weight classifier, its maximum capacity plus 9 verification scale intervals; and

  • (b) in the case of any other scale, 105 per cent of its maximum capacity.

Zero-setting and Zero-tracking Mechanisms

 A weighing device shall have a means to set the zero indication within

  • (a) ± 0.25 of the verification scale interval, in the case of a device that does not have an auxiliary indicating element; and

  • (b) ± 0.5 of the actual scale interval, in the case of a device with an auxiliary indicating element.

 A weighing device equipped with a digital indicating element, other than a weighing device with an auxiliary indicating element, shall

  • (a) have an element that displays a special signal when the deviation from zero is not greater than 0.25 times the verification scale interval; or

  • (b) have an automatic means that maintains a zero balance condition to within ± 0.25 of the verification scale interval.

  •  (1) Subject to subsection (2) and section 43, the overall range of the zero-setting mechanism and the zero-tracking mechanism of a weighing device shall not exceed 4 per cent of the device’s maximum capacity.

  • (2) The overall range of the zero-setting mechanism and the zero-tracking mechanism of a weighing device may exceed 4 per cent of the device’s maximum capacity provided that the maximum gross load that can be weighed on the device is decreased by an amount at least equal to the amount, in excess of 4 per cent of the maximum capacity, adjusted by either mechanism.

 The overall range of the initial zero-setting mechanism shall not exceed 20 per cent of the maximum capacity of the weighing device unless the device can perform within the applicable limits of error for any amount of initial load compensated by such mechanism.

  •  (1) The zero-tracking mechanism of a weighing device shall not be operator-controlled.

  • (2) The maximum load corrected at any one time by the zero-tracking mechanism of a weighing device shall not exceed 0.6 times the verification scale interval.

Motion

 A weighing device that is operating in static mode and that has a digital indicating element shall permit zeroing, taring, printing or the storage of weight values only when the weight indication is stable within

  • (a) ± 3 verification scale intervals, in the case of a device with a maximum capacity of more than 2 000 kg (5 000 pounds); and

  • (b) ± 1 verification scale interval, in the case of all other weighing devices.

  • SI/2008-81, s. 7

Weighing Devices Used For Direct Sales to the Public

 A weighing device that calculates price and is intended for use in direct sales to the public, other than a postal scale or weight classifier, shall compute and indicate the total price only on the basis of the price per 100 grams, per kilogram or per pound.

 A weighing device that calculates price and is intended for use in direct sales to the public shall display the unit price when the total price is displayed.

Seals

  •  (1) Access to the metrological functions and the adjustable components of an electronic weighing device shall be protected by means of readily accessible and observable physical seals or electronic sealing, such as an audit trail, that make apparent any accessing of the metrological functions or adjustable components.

  • (2) The information contained in an audit trail shall be available on site.

  • (3) In this section, audit trail means an electronic feature that counts the number of changes made to the calibration or configuration parameters of a weighing device, or records the values related to these changes.

  • SI/2008-81, s. 8

Marking

  •  (1) The information set out in column I of the table to this section shall be marked, using appropriate words or the symbols set out in column II of that table, on the weighing devices and modules described in columns III to VI of that table.

    TABLE

    Column IColumn IIColumn IIIColumn IVColumn VColumn VI
    InformationSymbolsModules in the same housingIndicating elements tested separatelyWeighing and load-receiving elements tested separatelyOther equipment and accessories approved separately
    Manufacturer, applicant or importer’s name or trademark– – –yesyesyesyes
    Model number– – –yesyesyesyes
    Distinctive serial number– – –yesyesyesyes
    Approval number– – –yesyesyesyes
    Accuracy class
    Oval outline with the text I inside
    ,
    Oval outline with the text II inside
    ,
    Oval outline with the text III inside
    ,
    Oval outline with the text IIIHD inside
    or
    Oval outline with the text IIII inside
    yesyesyes– – –
    Maximum capacityMaxyesyesyes– – –
    Verification scale intervaleyesyes– – –– – –
    Actual scale interval, if different from the verification scale intervaldyesyes– – –– – –
    Minimum verification scale intervalemin– – –– – –yes– – –
    Maximum number of verification scale intervalnmax– – –yesyes– – –
    Temperature range, if different from -10°C to 40°C– – –yesyesyes– – –
  • (2) In this section,

    • (a) Modules in the same housing includes

      • (i) indicating elements, and weighing and load-receiving elements in the same housing, and

      • (ii) a weighing device composed of modules and approved as a single unit where the modules are not intended to be separated and interfaced with other modules approved separately;

    • (b) Indicating elements tested separately includes individually-approved indicating elements that may be attached to other approved modules;

    • (c) Weighing and load-receiving elements tested separately includes individually-approved weighing and load-receiving elements that may be attached to approved modules; and

    • (d) Other equipment and accessories approved separately includes other equipment and accessories that perform metrological functions and that can be tested and approved separately.

  • (3) In the case of the elements described in column IV of the table to this section, the maximum capacity and the actual scale interval shall be marked as required by paragraph 52(b) at the time they are attached to other modules to form a weighing device.

 

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