I’ve definitely counted paper the same way. Basically needed to sort short pieces of paper by the thousands. We weighed something like 20-25 sheets then used that weight as a measurement.
If you need a perfect count, then you’re correct about the accuracy, but generally a few off here and there isn’t that big a deal. Many companies will allow for some error because it isn’t worth the time to track it down to perfection. This applies even to food standards: the FDA allows up to 60 insect parts per 100g of chocolate (coffee, the cutoff is “Average 10% or more by count are insect-infested or insect-damaged”). They also allow mold up to a certain %. 4% for coffee, and I’m seeing some say 10% for certain fruits. You can see lists here: https://www.fda.gov/food/current-good-manufacturing-practices-cgmps-food-and-dietary-supplements/food-defect-levels-handbook
Perfection is expensive, cheat a little. Your boss may have been annoying, but in general he’s more correct than you were.
I’ve definitely counted paper the same way. Basically needed to sort short pieces of paper by the thousands. We weighed something like 20-25 sheets then used that weight as a measurement.
If you need a perfect count, then you’re correct about the accuracy, but generally a few off here and there isn’t that big a deal. Many companies will allow for some error because it isn’t worth the time to track it down to perfection. This applies even to food standards: the FDA allows up to 60 insect parts per 100g of chocolate (coffee, the cutoff is “Average 10% or more by count are insect-infested or insect-damaged”). They also allow mold up to a certain %. 4% for coffee, and I’m seeing some say 10% for certain fruits. You can see lists here: https://www.fda.gov/food/current-good-manufacturing-practices-cgmps-food-and-dietary-supplements/food-defect-levels-handbook
Perfection is expensive, cheat a little. Your boss may have been annoying, but in general he’s more correct than you were.