Count springs in a tray from a photo

Counting springs that tangle into clumps

Springs are the stores item most likely to hook into each other, and a tangled clump of compression or extension springs cannot be read as separate items in any photo. Assembly teams count springs before a run, goods-in staff check bulk deliveries, and stores audit bins by size and rate. All of them get a better count by spending a minute untangling than by trusting a photo of a clump.

Separate the springs and lay them on their sides in rows with small gaps. Seen from the side, a spring is a run of repeated coils, so mark one complete spring end to end as the example in Similar items; that tells the counter the unit is the spring, not a single coil. Extension springs with hooks and plain compression springs look different, so mark one of each. A plain, matte tray in a contrasting shade keeps thin wire visible.

Where a hook overlaps a neighbor, check that the pair was not counted as one or as three, then correct the tally row and add the rate or part number to its label. For very small springs, trim the photo to the tray with the image cropper so each spring fills more of the frame. Washers and bearings for the same assembly can share the tally.

Spring tray checks

• No two springs hooked together
• Springs on their sides in rows with gaps
• One complete spring marked as the example
• Separate trays for different rates or lengths