Quality assurance in weighing

Weighing is the most used step in any analytical procedure, and the balance is the one essential piece of laboratory equipment in all analyses. Yet weighing is a common source of error in final analytical results and can be difficult to detect. Analysts may become complacent and expect all weighings to be accurate. Our laboratory experienced a problem in weighing and found that the principal error was due to drift. The ensuing investigation into the cause led to a procedure for reducing drift, which, in turn, ensured accurate weighings that have improved quality assurance in our total operations.