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Abstract
Questions of globalization of the world economy and the
role of national metrological services, together with the
activities of international and regional organizations in
the field of metrology are considered in this article.
Models are proposed for multifunctional national
metrological systems, and ways to optimize national
normative bases are considered.
Introduction
Defending the interests of both customers and the state
concerning the quality and safety of national products
(i.e. processes, production and services) with the aim of
rendering them competitive in the global market is
impossible without taking into account modern
metrological norms and rules, which are presented in
numerous national Normative Documents (ND).
The removal of technical barriers in international
trading and the acceleration of coordination are very
much needed when considering metrological questions
at international, regional and national levels. However,
at international and regional levels there is a division of
plenary powers in the field of metrology between a small
number of organizations. At the same time there are
tendencies towards a division of plenary powers at
national level between a small number of bodies, which
requires even greater efforts in order to resolve these
questions pertaining to metrology.
The role of the national metrological services is also
considerably multiplied as it provides the results of
measurements of the national metrological institutes
(NMI) and ensures the effective functioning of the
national metrological services (NMS) in terms of
globalization of the economy and international division
of labor.
1 Globalization of the world economy
and the role of the national
metrological services
Metrology is a discipline in which the key element is a
high degree of international, regional and national
coordination and the general tendency is towards
globalization of the world economy. Modern metrology
is marked by close cooperation and partnerships
between the various countries in the world, therefore
however much individual countries decide on which
metrological tasks must be carried out nationally,
countries can easily remain isolated from each other.
However, coordinating the concepts of legal, funda-
mental and industrial metrology, together with their
requirements and procedures is a difficult and lengthy
process.
Figure 1 shows a possible result of guaranteeing
metrological equivalence of measurements and mutual
recognition of their results in the Global Metrological
System (GMS) [1–4].
For the GMS to function effectively, above all
harmonization is required at the national level of
legislation in the field of metrology on the basis of the
relevant documents, Recommendations and standards
of the various international organizations involved. One
OIML International Document (OIML D1 – Elements
for a Law on Metrology [5]) is particularly instrumental
in this.
2 Metrological activity of international
and regional organizations
Measurement provides the foundation for many types of
activity, therefore numerous international and regional
organizations are engaged in questions of standardiza-
tion of metrological requirements. They determine the
basic concepts and policy of metrological harmoniza-
tion, and define the relevant harmonization documents.
Generally, in many countries there is a trend towards
reducing facilities and resources dedicated to
metrological activity, therefore close cooperation within
the framework of the network of international and
regional organizations is of utmost importance.
Table 1 summarizes information on the basic tasks
of these international and regional organizations that
carry out work in the field of metrology [6, 7].
Almost all the countries that are members of
international metrological organizations also participate
in RMOs. The most developed network of regional
organizations engaged in metrology is located in
Europe; on other continents such regional organizations
GLOBALIZATION
The optimization of
multifunctional national
metrological systems
OLEH VELYCHKO
Director of the Institute of State Enterprise
“Ukrmetrteststandard”, Kyiv, Ukraine
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voluntarily participating in various measures that go to
form the national metrological system (NMS) aimed at
improving the quality and economic viability of their
products.
With the increase in globalization and the regionali-
zation of trade and economies worldwide, new require-
ments arise which must be taken into account in the
NMS. In fact, these tasks are directed at achieving an
acceptable level of satisfaction on the part of society,
industry and the scientific community, therefore from
the point of view of rationality various NMS models can
be considered.
There are several possible models for the organiza-
tion of NMS activity:
Model A – work is conducted in all directions of
metrological activity;
Model B – work is conducted in all directions of
metrological activity but primary standards are
maintained only for selected measurement units in one
NMI;
Model C – only secondary standards which provide
traceability to the primary standards of other countries
are maintained;
Model D – primary and/or secondary standards are
maintained in one or several NMIs which are under
administrative supervision (in a country or region);
Model E – standards are not maintained, and existing
bodies only provide information concerning traceability
to other NMIs (for example accredited laboratories,
verification offices, etc.).
make up groups within the framework of collaboration
in regional political and economical associations, for
example the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC)
or the Southern African Development Community
(SADC).
In complement to the main RMO for the Americas,
the Inter American Metrology System (SIM) the members
of the Organization of American States (OAS) also
participate in NORAMET (3 North American countries),
CAMET (7 Central American countries), ANDIMET (5
Andean Region countries), SURAMET (5 South
American countries) and CARIMET (14 Caribbean
countries).
In complement to the main RMO for African
countries, the Intra-African System for Metrology
(AFRIMETS), many countries also participate in
MAGMET (3 North African countries), CEMACMET (6
Central African countries), EAMET (6 South-East
African countries), SADCMET (15 South African
countries) and SOAMET (8 Western African countries).
Table 2 shows the general basic characteristics of
these international and regional organizations and the
types of their metrological activities.
3 Models of functioning of the national
metrological systems
In many developed countries, whereas before legal
metrology did not influence certain production spheres,
now at their own initiative manufacturers are
Figure 1 Metrological equivalence of measurements and mutual recognition in the Global Metrological System (GMS)
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쑺carried out accreditation of calibration laboratories,
NMI quality systems;
쑺effective system for training metrologists.
Model B
쑺middle national level for all directions of metrological
activity except the high level of development of legal
metrology;
쑺participation as a permanent or associate member in
separate international and regional organizations in
the field of metrology;
쑺middle level of normative basis in the field of
metrology;
쑺special cases of accreditation of calibration
laboratories and NMI quality systems;
쑺retraining of metrologists.
Model C
쑺middle national level of standards basis (conservation
of primary and/or secondary standards in only one
institute or in a small number of NMIs);
쑺development of legal metrology and retraining of
metrologists;
쑺low levels of normative basis in the field of metrology
(only selected ND in the field of metrology);
Realization of the proposed models can be carried
out in any country by one or several organizations
depending on their metrological capabilities. In the
resulting models (except models A and B), only work in
the first direction of metrological activity is taken into
account (see Tables 1 and 2).
Considering the analysis of the activities of interna-
tional and regional organizations in the field of
metrology that was conducted, and also considering the
specifics of metrological activity in various countries,
other NMS functioning models are proposed taking into
account all types of metrological work. Table 3 shows
the basic characteristics and levels of the NMS models
of functioning.
Below are the basic characteristics of the NMS
functioning models:
Model A
쑺high national level for all directions of metrological
activity;
쑺participation as active permanent members in
international and regional organizations in the field of
metrology;
쑺participation in multilateral agreements on questions
of mutual recognition of standards, calibration
certificates, and laboratory accreditation;
쑺developed normative basis in the field of metrology;
Table 1 Activities of international and regional organizations in the field of metrology
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Model E
쑺low level of development for directions of metrological
activity;
쑺standards are not maintained in general;
쑺authorities only provide information relative to
traceability to other NMIs (accredited laboratories,
verification offices, etc);
쑺absence of normative documents in the field of
metrology;
쑺no NMI;
쑺specialized establishments of legal metrology and,
accordingly, participation in international and
regional organizations in the field of metrology.
It should be noted that the resulting attribution of
NMIs to certain models is very much conditional and is
not an exhaustive solution to all questions of
metrological activity.
Such an attribution to one of these models can help
to provide information to partners from other countries
in relation to the NMS in place and, accordingly, assist
in drawing conclusions with relation to the prospects for
collaboration.
쑺accreditation of calibration laboratories and NMIs
quality systems (possible cases of accreditation);
쑺participation in separate international and regional
organizations in the field of metrology as associate
members
Model D
쑺middle level of development of legal metrology
(metrological supervision is for selected measuring
instruments) and retraining of metrologists (in the
selected field of measurement);
쑺low level of standards basis (only the secondary
standards which are traced to the primary standards
of the NMIs of other countries are maintained);
쑺practically non-existent normative basis in the field of
metrology;
쑺absence of accredited calibration laboratories and
NMIs quality systems;
쑺possibility of participating in selected regional
organizations in the field of metrology
Table 2 Types of metrological activities and their basic characteristics
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An important question is the comparison between
the categories of measuring instruments that are
regulated by the MID, and those that are applicable
within the OIML Certificate System (see Table 4). A
comparative analysis shows that certain divergences are
acceptable in the categories in the scope of the MID and
that of the Certificate System, therefore further har-
monization of the approaches is necessary.
On the basis of the analysis conducted, it is possible
to select the basic constituents of the national normative
basis in the field of metrology that would allow the NMS
to function effectively. Such a normative document
system must comply with the level of organization of the
national economy, and its subsystems are selected
mainly according to the types of objects of standardiza-
tion [10, 11].
4 Optimization of the national normative basis
in the field of metrology
In the NMS, legal metrology and standardization are
closely associated. A national basis is created taking into
account the necessities of both legal metrology and
national standards. Confirmation of this is the
acceptance in the European Union of the Measuring
Instruments Directive 2004/22/EC (MID) [8, 9].
The basic features of the MID are the regulation of
the application of the technical specifications in
harmonized standards, the application of standards on a
voluntarily basis, and the realization of a modular
approach to conformity assessment. Eleven categories
of measuring instruments are covered by the Directive,
and it is applicable throughout the EU.
Table 3 Models of functioning of NMS in line with the type of metrological activity
Table 4 Comparison between the categories of the OIML Certificate System and the MID
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References
[1] Kochsiek M., Odin A.: NMIs in present-day metrology.
OIML Bulletin Vol. XXXVII No. 2 April 1996 pp. 27–32.
[2] Kochsiek M., Odin A.: An efficient metrological
infrastructure – benefit for industry and society. OIML
Bulletin Vol. XXXIX No. 2 April 1998 pp. 26–32.
[3] Kochsiek M., Odin A.: Towards a global measurement
system: Contributions of international organizations.
OIML Bulletin Vol. XLII No. 2 April 2001 pp. 14–19.
[4] Kochsiek M.: Trends in legal metrology towards a
global measurement system. OIML Bulletin Vol. XLIV
No. 1 Jan. 2003 pp. 7–9.
[5] OIML D1:2004: Elements for a Law on Metrology.
[6] Velychko O.: Activity of international and regional
organization for globalization of the world economy.
XVIII IMEKO World Congress, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
2006 CD 6 p.
[7] Metrology in short. 3rd edition, Denmark, July 2008,
ISBN 978-87-988154-5-7.
[8] Directive 2004/22/EC of the European Parliament and
of the Council of 31 March 2004 on measuring
instruments. Official Journal of the European Union,
L 135/1. 30.4.2004.
[9] Velychko O., Gordiyenko T.: Implementation of the
European Directive on Measuring Instruments in
Ukraine. OIML Bulletin Vol. LI No. 2 April 2010
pp. 23–29.
[10] Velychko O.: Metrological activity in Ukraine. OIML
Bulletin Vol. XXXVIII Number 3 July 1997 pp. 36–41.
[11] Velychko O.: Harmonization of the legislative acts and
normative documents on metrology in Ukraine. OIML
Bulletin Vol. XLI Number 2 April 2000 pp. 19–24.
Table 5 shows the main objects for subsystems of
standardization systems at international and national
levels for models A and B.
5 Conclusion and summary
Below are the conclusions drawn from the investigation.
(1) Most countries accept to participate in the work of
both international and regional organizations in the
field of metrology; thus, the value of national
authorities’ participation increases in regional orga-
nizations, taking into account the signing of
multilateral agreements related to questions of
mutual recognition of standards, calibration
certificates, and laboratory accreditation.
(2) When optimizing the national normative basis in the
field of metrology it is expedient to take into account
the proposed subsystems of the general system in
harmonizing national normative documents with
the standards and documents of those international
organizations that have activities in the field of
metrology.
The key issues raised in this article were reported at
International Metrology Conference CAFMET 2010
(“Legal metrology” section), 19–23 April 2010, Cairo,
Egypt. 쮿
Table 5 Main objects for subsystems of standardization systems at international and national levels
