Mettler Toledo,  a leading global supplier of precision instruments and services, has launched  a new dedicated microsite, designed to make weighing expertise easily accessible to everyone. The microsite is based on Mettler Toledo’s Global Weighing Standard, GWP, and provides a wealth of free information on all topics concerning weighing, such as correct weighing procedures, weighing risk and industry-relevant standards such as ISO, GMP/GLP, USP and HACCP. Users can stay up-to-date on weighing topics with industry-specific news, customer cases, and white papers as well as watch on-demand webinars, download relevant information and try out the free weighing risk assessment tool.

Mettler Toledo’s GWP was introduced in 2007 and presents a scientific approach to safe selection, calibration and operation of weighing equipment. Now, for the first time, that knowledge is open to the users across several different industries, for free, through this brand new portal.

Over the years, Mettler Toledo frequently received queries about correct weighing processes, measurement uncertainty and minimum weight, to name but a few. Standard operating procedures for weighing, routine testing and calibration are also areas in which some quality assurance, laboratory and production managers often feel out of their depth.

“Getting weighing right is essential for our customers," says global manager for GWP Marketing and Business Development Marianne Portmann. "Choosing the right balance or scale helps ensure safe, high-quality products; the right testing schedule can result in significant cost savings, and, of course, regulated industries have to comply with the relevant standards. With the new microsite, we aim to provide all the basic information that users need for efficient management of their weighing systems, as well as address some of their most frequently asked questions.”

The microsite provides weighing knowledge relevant to 13 different market segments (e.g. food, pharmaceutical and chemical) to focus on the weighing needs and difficulties faced specific to those particular industries. Regardless of the market segment, it is important for managers to understand the strong correlation between reliable weighing results and product quality. Results that are out of specification mean costly and time-consuming re-work and disposal of production batches. If inaccurate weighing goes undetected, consumers may be directly affected. Now, balance and scale users can test their own weighing risk with the microsite’s online tool, Risk Check, which also provides a personalized weighing risk profile for download. Following the Risk Check, users have the option to perform a live repeatability test on their balance and can download the test report.

“In-house, we are really pleased about the new microsite; it’s a collection of everything we have learned over recent years and we want to share this knowledge to the benefit of all balance and scale users,” Portmann says. “The microsite provides extensive information across the five key stages of the weighing instrument lifecycle: evaluation, selection, installation, calibration and routine operation.”

In 2011, GWP Verification was introduced as an innovative service to assess customers’ weighing processes by a standardized risk assessment. The service safeguards product quality by ensuring accurate weighing results, and helps companies save money and comply with regulations via optimized routine testing procedures.