Choosing the Right Scale for Your Restaurant

Written by Don Klister, National Sales Manager – Commercial Division

If you own, manage, or work in a restaurant, scales are likely a big part of the day-to-day operations. If they’re not, they should be. Don’t know where to start? Yamato has you covered.

Scales ultimately help restaurants maximize profits and reduce waste. These two benefits can have a significant impact on a restaurant’s bottom line.

If you’re already using scales, that’s great news! But are you using the right one? Are you aware of all the options available to you?

Yamato Corporation offers a variety of digital, mechanical, and platform scales. Below, we highlight:

  • The difference between mechanical and digital scales
  • The types of scales commonly found in restaurants
  • NTEP
  • NSF
  • Where to purchase Yamato Commercial Scales

Mechanical vs. Digital Scales

The choice to use a mechanical scale or a digital scale is largely personal preference; however, there are reasons to choose one over the other.

Mechanical scales require no power to operate, have no cords, and are easy to move around. They are not as susceptible to water damage like some digital scales can be. Air dashpots can be added to reduce the oscillation of the dial needle to provide faster weight readings.

Digital scales are generally considered to be more accurate and provide faster weight readings than mechanical scales, but they require battery or electrical power. They can be used in lbs, oz, kg, g, or lb/oz mode, offering some more versatility. Some provide additional functions like checkweighing, grading, and batching. Some even offer a degree of water protection or can even be fully submergible in water.

Types of Scales for Restaurants

Not all scales are created equal – there are distinct types. Rarely is there a one-size-fits-all scale. Different scales provide different benefits based on its function. Often, a restaurant will require a variety of scales to help optimize the efficiency of the kitchen.

Consider these:

  • Higher accuracy scales, like the Yamato DKS and PLS Series are popular for weighing spices and herbs.
  • Receiving scales, like the DP-6700, DP-6900, and AW-300P help kitchens verify incoming product weights and portion bulk products, like meat and fish, into smaller, more manageable sizes.
  • Portion scales help provide consistent volume and presentation. Our PPC-300WP-II, PPC-200W-II, AW-WSM, and AW-WLG digital scales, along with our SM(N) and CW(N) mechanical scales weigh each ingredient while preparing or plating food, so dishes are consistent. Weighing out more expensive ingredients, especially cheese, helps maximize profit margins. Pizza restaurants appreciate how the foot tare on our PB-200 and the hands-free tare of our AW-WPS are so easy to use.
  • Bar scales like our BC-10 bar and keg scale are popular in restaurants that serve alcohol. The BC-10 is a mechanical scale that weighs in fluid ounces. It allows a restaurant to know how much wine or liquor is used daily and helps offer accurate inventory numbers. Our keg scale verifies if a half barrel of beer is full when it is received. It could also be used to measure how much beer is sold daily. Most importantly though, it eliminates waste. When a beer tap spits foam, it could be because of an empty keg, improper CO2 mixture levels or a cooler’s temperature being too warm could be the cause. Looking at the weight on the scale immediately indicates if the keg is actually

The Yamato Commercial Division can assist you in selecting the correct scale models for your restaurant. To connect with our weighing experts, please contact us.

NTEP

If you are selling products by weight, you will need an NTEP-approved scale.

NTEP stands for National Type Evaluation Program, which is a non-profit corporation. It was developed by the National Conference on Weights and Measures (NCWM) and the National Institute for Standards and Technology (NIST) Weights and Measures Division. Scales and other weighing equipment that are NTEP- approved have been tested and evaluated to ensure they meet all government standards and requirements.

To place a scale in service, a state-certified technician must calibrate and seal NTEP scales used in legal-for-trade scenarios. In almost all cases, the scale must be onsite at the end user’s location and connected to all peripherals before completing a place-in-service test. Once completed, the state-certified technician places a certification sticker on the scale along with a wire and lead seal. At that point, an end user can legally use the scale for direct sales when an exchange of money is involved when selling by weight.

A local inspector from the Department of Weights and Measures will periodically conduct inspections of scales used in commercial transactions, similar to how they inspect and seal gas pumps used in commercial transactions at your local gas station.

The equivalent of NTEP in Canada is called Measurement Canada.

NSF

According to their website, NSF International has been “dedicated to protecting and improving global human health since 1944.” A global organization, the standards team facilitates the development of public health standards, and the service teams test, audit, and certify products and services.

“The NSF mark assures consumers, retailers and regulators that certified products have been rigorously tested to comply with all standard requirements.”

“Scales marked with the NSF approval means these products are easy to thoroughly clean and sanitize. Approval from NSF means that these products are resistant to bacteria and other microbial threats.” [1]

Where to Purchase Yamato Commercial Scales

Yamato restaurant scales are sold by scale, restaurant, and foodservice supply dealers around the country. Yamato Corporation also has a team of regionally based sales representatives who work closely with all our dealer partners as well as end users like restaurant owners and managers.

To purchase a Yamato scale, you can either go to an existing Yamato dealer or you can work directly with a Yamato Commercial sales representative to determine the right scale(s) for you. Then, our team will direct you to a dealer near you.

We do recommend you connect with us first. Afterall, we are the weighing experts – scales are all we do! We are happy to help offer you direct advice and support for all your weighing needs. We like to call that the Yamato Difference.

Interested in becoming a distributor of Yamato’s Commercial scales? Please contact us for more information.

[1](NSF.org, 2022)