Accuracy
Watch out every time you see the word accuracy, or its twin word: accurate. Accuracy is the most commonly misstated, misrepresented and abused word in the weighing industry. Not surprisingly, it is also the word most misunderstood by the scale purchasing public. The fact is, a scale’s accuracy can only be quantified at the time it is actually tested with calibrated test weights. The scale’s accuracy is determined at that time by the scale’s ability to discriminate between smaller and smaller units of weight. Do not confuse the word accuracy with the word resolution; the two words are not the same thing at all. Some scales have the capability to perform with more accuracy than others.

Capacity
All scales have a rated capacity. This is the amount of weight the scale is designed to hold without damage. However, just because a scale has a capacity rating of 500 Lb. doesn’t mean it can’t be damaged with 500 Lb.. Think of it this way: Carefully balance a bowling ball on your foot. Notice that the bowling ball doesn’t feel very heavy, maybe only 12-16 Lb.. Now pick up the bowling ball, hold it at about waist height, and drop it on your foot! If you do that same trick to most inexpensive 500 Lb. capacity scales, you can now understand how only 12-16 Lb. can legitimately break a 500 Lb. capacity scale! Some of the most heavy-duty industrial scales such as the FlexWeigh model FLB (found at www.FlexWeigh.com) are designed to take this kind of abuse all day long, day-in and day-out. An ordinary bathroom scale isn’t expected to survive the first time it happens.

Legal for Trade
Most of the States in the USA have accuracy requirements relating to scales that are used to determine cash transactions based on weight. For example, if you are selling someone 1 Lb. of apples for $1.00, then these States require the scale you use to determine the 1 Lb. to meet certain criteria. This usually means the scale must be periodically tested by a regulatory official in order to be certified accurate. Most States require the scale model to have previously registered type approval through the NTEP process, and that you notify the appropriate regulatory office that you intend to begin using a scale for buy / sell transactions based on weight.

NTEP
The National Type Evaluation Program (NTEP) is administered by the National Conference of Weights and Measures which is a membership group advising the National Institute for Standards and Technology (NIST) and also State weights and measures regulation / enforcement officials. To “type approve” a scale model through NTEP, samples of the product are supplied to designated testing laboratories for evaluation of accuracy performance levels and the subsequent sustained permanence of accuracy through a variety of simulated influences. Upon satisfactory completion of the testing, the scale model is awarded an NTEP Certificate, which is a prerequisite for allowing the scale to be considered legal for trade in most States.

Readability
See Resolution;.

Repeatability
It is usually important for the scale to display the same weight every time the same product is placed on the scale. When it does, the displayed resolution is referred to as repeatable. Sometimes a tolerance for repeatability errors is acceptable. When a particular type of scale is commonly used in highly critical weighing applications (such as laboratories), the scale’s repeatability performance tolerance is typically highlighted in the scale’s printed specifications.

Resolution
The smallest increment of weight unit displayed by the scale is referred to as resolution. For example, a bathroom scale may have a capacity of 400 Lb. and a display resolution of 0.2 Lb.. Don’t confuse the word resolution with the word accuracy. The same bathroom scale may have the ability to provide only +/- 1 Lb. accuracy even though the resolution is 0.2 Lb.

Tare
The Tare key operates similar to the Zero key, although it has a separate function. Tare is the term used to describe the weight of an empty container. For example when an empty container is placed on the scale, the container’s tare weight may be zeroed-off with the Tare key. As the container is filled with product, the accumulating weight is described as Net Weight.

Print
Scales equipped with a Print key are designed with options that allow communicating electronically to printers, computers, remote displays or other host and slave devices. There are many different communication formats, protocols and amounts of information that can be exchanged with various scales. Consult the scale’s user manual to confirm its capabilities match your requirements.

Units
Pressing the Units key allows switching between alternate displayed weight units, for example between lb. and kg., or ct. and g. Some scale models allow switching between many different units.

Numeric Keys
Keypads with numeric keys allow a number of different scale functions to be accessed. Depending on the scale model, these functions can include entry of:

• Price per pound (for price computing scales)
• Average piece weight (for parts counting scales)
• Over and Under weights (for check-weighing scales)
• Tare (for numeric entry of known Tare weight)
• Additional functions can include Preset Setpoints for automated processes such as batching, filling, flow rate controlling, weight limit alarms, etc.

Effective Date: This Terms of Use Agreement was last updated on 3/9/07.

This Terms of Use Agreement sets forth the standards of use of the FlexWeigh Online Service. By using the FlexWeighDirect.com website you (the “Member”) agree to these terms and conditions. If you do not agree to the terms and conditions of this agreement, you should immediately cease all usage of this website. We reserve the right, at any time, to modify, alter, or update the terms and conditions of this agreement without prior notice. Modifications shall become effective immediately upon being posted at FlexWeighDirect.com website. Your continued use of the Service after amendments are posted constitutes an acknowledgement and acceptance of the Agreement and its modifications. Except as provided in this paragraph, this Agreement may not be amended.

1. Description of Service

FlexWeigh is providing Member with e-commerce point of sale. Member must provide (1) all equipment necessary for their own Internet connection, including computer and modem and (2) provide for Member’s access to the Internet, and (3) pay any fees relate with such connection.

2. Disclaimer of Warranties.

The site is provided by FlexWeigh on an “as is” and on an “as available” basis. To the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, FlexWeigh makes no representations or warranties of any kind, express or implied, regarding the use or the results of this web site in terms of its correctness, accuracy, reliability, or otherwise. FlexWeigh shall have no liability for any interruptions in the use of this Website. FlexWeigh disclaims all warranties with regard to the information provided, including the implied warranties of merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose, and non-infringement. Some jurisdictions do not allow the exclusion of implied warranties, therefore the above-referenced exclusion is inapplicable.

3. Limitation of Liability

FLEXWEIGH SHALL NOT BE LIABLE FOR ANY DAMAGES WHATSOEVER, AND IN PARTICULAR FLEXWEIGH SHALL NOT BE LIABLE FOR ANY SPECIAL, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, OR INCIDENTAL DAMAGES, OR DAMAGES FOR LOST PROFITS, LOSS OF REVENUE, OR LOSS OF USE, ARISING OUT OF OR RELATED TO THIS WEB SITE OR THE INFORMATION CONTAINED IN IT, WHETHER SUCH DAMAGES ARISE IN CONTRACT, NEGLIGENCE, TORT, UNDER STATUTE, IN EQUITY, AT LAW, OR OTHERWISE, EVEN IF FLEXWEIGH HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES. SOME JURISDICTIONS DO NOT ALLOW FOR THE LIMITATION OR EXCLUSION OF LIABILITY FOR INCIDENTAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES, THEREFORE SOME OF THE ABOVE LIMITATIONS IS INAPPLICABLE.

4. Indemnification

Member agrees to indemnify and hold FlexWeigh, its parents, subsidiaries, affiliates, officers and employees, harmless from any claim or demand, including reasonable attorneys’ fees and costs, made by any third party due to or arising out of Member’s use of the Service, the violation of this Agreement, or infringement by Member, or other user of the Service using Member’s computer, of any intellectual property or any other right of any person or entity.

5. Modifications and Interruption to Service

FlexWeigh reserves the right to modify or discontinue the Service with or without notice to the Member. FlexWeigh shall not be liable to Member or any third party should FlexWeigh exercise its right to modify or discontinue the Service. Member acknowledges and accepts that FlexWeigh does not guarantee continuous, uninterrupted or secure access to our website and operation of our website may be interfered with or adversely affected by numerous factors or circumstances outside of our control.

6. Third-Party Sites

Our website may include links to other sites on the Internet that are owned and operated by online merchants and other third parties. You acknowledge that we are not responsible for the availability of, or the content located on or through, any third-party site. You should contact the site administrator or webmaster for those third-party sites if you have any concerns regarding such links or the content located on such sites. Your use of those third-party sites is subject to the terms of use and privacy policies of each site, and we are not responsible therein. We encourage all Members to review said privacy policies of third-parties’ sites.

7. Disclaimer Regarding Accuracy of Vendor Information

Product specifications and other information have either been provided by the Vendors or collected from publicly available sources. While FlexWeigh makes every effort to ensure that the information on this website is accurate, we can make no representations or warranties as to the accuracy or reliability of any information provided on this website.

FlexWeigh makes no warranties or representations whatsoever with regard to any product provided or offered by any Vendor, and you acknowledge that any reliance on representations and warranties provided by any Vendor shall be at your own risk.

8. Governing Jurisdiction of the Courts of California, Sonoma County.

Our website is operated and provided in the State of California, Sonoma County. As such, we are subject to the laws of the State of California, Sonoma County, and such laws will govern this Terms of Use, without giving effect to any choice of law rules. We make no representation that our website or other services are appropriate, legal or available for use in other locations. Accordingly, if you choose to access our site you agree to do so subject to the internal laws of the State of California, Sonoma County.

9. Compliance with Laws.

Member assumes all knowledge of applicable law and is responsible for compliance with any such laws. Member may not use the Service in any way that violates applicable state, federal, or international laws, regulations or other government requirements. Member further agrees not to transmit any material that encourages conduct that could constitute a criminal offense, give rise to civil liability or otherwise violate any applicable local, state, national, or international law or regulation.

10. Copyright and Trademark Information

All content included or available on this site, including site design, text, graphics, interfaces, and the selection and arrangements thereof is © 2005 FlexWeighDirect.com, with all rights reserved, or is the property of FlexWeigh and/or third parties protected by intellectual property rights. Any use of materials on the website, including reproduction for purposes other than those noted above, modification, distribution, or replication, any form of data extraction or data mining, or other commercial exploitation of any kind, without prior written permission of an authorized officer of FlexWeigh is strictly prohibited. Members agree that they will not use any robot, spider, or other automatic device, or manual process to monitor or copy our web pages or the content contained therein without prior written permission of an authorized officer of FlexWeigh.

FlexWeigh™ and FlexWeighDirect.com™ are proprietary marks of FlexWeigh. FlexWeigh’s trademarks may not be used in connection with any product or service that is not provided by FlexWeigh, in any manner that is likely to cause confusion among customers, or in any manner that disparages or discredits FlexWeigh.

All other trademarks displayed on FlexWeigh’s website are the trademarks of their respective owners, and constitute neither an endorsement nor a recommendation of those Vendors. In addition, such use of trademarks or links to the web sites of Vendors is not intended to imply, directly or indirectly, that those Vendors endorse or have any affiliation with FlexWeigh.

11. Notification of Claimed Copyright Infringement

Pursuant to Section 512(c) of the Copyright Revision Act, as enacted through the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, FlexWeighDirect.com designates the following individual as its agent for receipt of notifications of claimed copyright infringement.

By Mail
FlexWeigh
3158 Condo Court
Santa Rosa, California 95402

By Telephone:
707-545-0623

By Email:
infodirect@flexweigh.com

12. Other Terms

1. ACKNOWLEDGEMENT AND ACCEPTANCE OF TERMS

FlexWeigh is committed to protecting your privacy. This Privacy Statement sets forth our current privacy practices with regard to the information we collect when you or your computer interact with our website. By accessing FlexWeighDirect.com, you acknowledge and fully understand FlexWeigh’s Privacy Statement and freely consent to the information collection and use practices described in this Website Privacy Statement.

2. PARTICIPATING MERCHANT POLICIES

Related services and offerings with links from this website, including vendor sites, have their own privacy statements that can be viewed by clicking on the corresponding links within each respective website. Online merchants and others who participate in FlexWeigh services are encouraged to participate in industry privacy initiatives and to take a responsible attitude towards consumer privacy. However, since we do not have direct control over the policies or practices of participating merchants and other third parties, we are not responsible for the privacy practices or contents of those sites. We recommend and encourage that you always review the privacy policies of merchants and other third parties before you provide any personal information or complete any transaction with such parties.

3. INFORMATION WE COLLECT AND HOW WE USE IT

FlexWeigh collects certain information from and about its users three ways: directly from our Web Server logs, the user, and with Cookies.

A. Web Server Logs.

When you visit our Website, we may track information to administer the site and analyze its usage. Examples of information we may track include:

• Your Internet protocol address.
• The kind of browser or computer you use.
• Number of links you click within the site.
• State or country from which you accessed the site.
• Date and time of your visit.
• Name of your Internet service provider.
• Web page you linked to our site from.
• Pages you viewed on the site.

b. Use of Cookies

Flexweigh may use cookies to personalize or enhance your user experience. A cookie is a small text file that is placed on your hard disk by a Web page server. Cookies cannot be used to run programs or deliver viruses to your computer. Cookies are uniquely assigned to you, and can only be read by a Web Server in the domain that issued the cookie to you.

One of the primary purposes of cookies is to provide a convenience feature to save you time. For example, if you personalize a web page, or navigate within a site, a cookie helps the site to recall your specific information on subsequent visits. Hence, this simplifies the process of delivering relevant content and eases site navigation by providing and saving your preferences and login information as well as providing personalized functionality.

FlexWeigh reserves the right to share aggregated site statistics with partner companies, but does not allow other companies to place cookies on our website unless there is a temporary, overriding customer value (such as merging into FlexWeighDirect.com a site that relies on third-party cookies).

You have the ability to accept or decline cookies. Most Web browsers automatically accept cookies, but you can usually modify your browser setting to decline cookies. If you reject cookies by changing your browser settings then be aware that this may disable some of the functionality on our Website.

C.Personal Information Users

Visitors to our website can register to purchase services. When you register, we will request some personal information such as name, address, email, telephone number or facsimile number, account number and other relevant information. If you are purchasing a service, we will request financial information. Any financial information we collect is used only to bill you for the services you purchased. If you purchase by credit card, this information may be forwarded to your credit card provider. For other types of registrations, we will ask for the relevant information. You may also be asked to disclose personal information to us so that we can provide assistance and information to you. For example, such data may be warranted in order to provide online technical support and troubleshooting.

We will not disclose personally identifiable information we collect from you to third parties without your permission except to the extent necessary including:

• To fulfill your service requests for services.
• To protect ourselves from liability,
• To respond to legal process or comply with law, or
• In connection with a merger, acquisition, or liquidation of the company.

FlexWeighDirect.com Web pages may contain electronic images known as Web beacons – sometimes also called single-pixel gifs – that allow FlexWeigh to count users who have visited those pages and to deliver co-branded services. FlexWeigh may include Web beacons in promotional e-mail messages or newsletters in order to determine whether messages have been opened and acted upon.

Some of these Web beacons may be placed by third party service providers to help determine the effectiveness of our advertising campaigns or email communications. These Web beacons may be used by these service providers to place a persistent cookie on your computer. This allows the service provider to recognize your computer each time you visit certain pages or emails and compile anonymous information in relation to those page views, which in turn enables us and our service providers to learn which advertisements and emails bring you to our website and how you use the site. FlexWeigh prohibits Web beacons from being used to collect or access your personal information.

5. ACCESSING WEB ACCOUNT INFORMATION

We will provide you with the means to ensure that personally identifiable information in your web account file is correct and current. You may review this information by contacting us by sending an email to our support attendant: infodirect@flexweigh.com.

6. CHANGES TO THIS STATEMENT

FlexWeigh has the discretion to occasionally update this privacy statement. When we do, we will also revise the “updated” date at the top of this Privacy page. We encourage you to periodically review this privacy statement to stay informed about how we are helping to protect the personal information we collect. Your continued use of the service constitutes your agreement to this privacy statement and any updates.

7. CONTACTING US

If you have questions regarding our Privacy Statement, its implementation, failure to adhere to this Privacy Statement and/or our general practices, please contact us at: infodirect@flexweigh.com; or send your comments to: FlexWeigh / 3158 Condo Court / Santa Rosa, California 95402 / Attn: FlexWeighDirect, Privacy Statement