Batch Weighing & Process Weighing Systems for Manufacturers.

The right configuration depends on your production environment and what you’re weighing, but the most common options in food manufacturing are bench scales, mono column scales and twin column scales.

Bench scales are compact and well-suited to smaller ingredients or workspaces where floor space is limited. Mono column scales work well for larger vessels like tubs or bins, with the column design keeping the display and terminal at a comfortable working height. Twin column scales offer greater stability for heavier loads and are often used where larger batch sizes are involved.

Each configuration connects to a Stevens system, which is where operators interact, viewing recipe steps, confirming weights and recording batch information. The right setup for your site is something the Stevens team will assess as part of the system design process.

Yes. The Stevens system is designed to integrate with third-party ERP and MRP systems, so you don’t need to choose between your existing business software and a dedicated weighing and traceability solution.

Integration means production data flows between the two systems without manual re-entry, so things like job scheduling, stock levels and batch records can be shared across platforms. This removes a common source of duplication and error where operators are updating two systems separately.

The integration process is handled by the Stevens team, with an approach designed to protect your existing data throughout the implementation. If you’re currently running an ERP and want to understand how a weighing system would sit alongside it, that’s worth discussing early in the process so the configuration can be planned accordingly.

Batch weighing refers to the process of weighing out ingredients for a production recipe, typically larger quantities that will go into a mix, a cook or a production run. The focus is on accuracy against a recipe specification, with tolerances set for each ingredient step.

Portion control is about dividing finished or semi-finished product into consistent individual units, for example, splitting a dough batch into equal-weight portions before baking, or packing a specific weight of product into retail packaging.

Both involve weighing, but they sit at different stages of the process. A good process weighing system will handle both, guiding operators through recipe weigh-up on one side, and supporting portion accuracy on the packing or finishing side. In food manufacturing, the two are closely linked because errors at the batch weighing stage will carry through to portion inconsistency further down the line.

Every time an ingredient is weighed during production, the system records which lot it came from, how much was used, and which batch it went into. That chain of information, from raw material to finished product, is what traceability is built on.

Without a process weighing system, that information either lives on paper or doesn’t exist at all. With one, it’s captured automatically as part of the weighing process itself, so there’s no extra admin burden on operators.

In practical terms, this means that if a supplier notifies you of an issue with a particular ingredient lot, you can pull up every product that ingredient was used in within minutes. For food manufacturers subject to BRC, SALSA or retailer audits, having that level of documented traceability is increasingly a requirement rather than a nice-to-have.

A process weighing system is a combination of weighing hardware and software that guides operators through the weighing of ingredients or materials during production. Rather than relying on paper-based batch sheets or manual records, everything is managed digitally through a terminal on the factory floor.

In food manufacturing, a process weighing system typically prompts operators to weigh each ingredient in sequence, displays the required amount and tolerance for each step, and records the actual weight used against the recipe. This creates a complete digital record of every batch, what went in, how much, and who weighed it.

The practical result is fewer weighing errors, better recipe consistency, and a traceable record of production that can be called up at any point for audits, customer queries or recall situations.