WORLD
METROLOGY DAY – 20 May 2020
Measurements
for global trade
May 20 is World Metrology Day,
commemorating the anniversary of the signing of the Metre Convention in 1875.
This treaty provides the basis for a worldwide coherent measurement system that
underpins scientific discovery and innovation, industrial manufacturing and
international trade, as well as the improvement of the quality of life and the
protection of the global environment.
The theme for World Metrology
Day 2020 is Measurements for global trade. This theme was chosen to
create awareness of the important role measurement plays in facilitating fair
global trade, ensuring products meet standards and regulations, and satisfying
customer quality expectations.
Across the world, national
metrology institutes continually advance measurement science by developing and
validating new measurement techniques at the necessary level of sophistication.
The national metrology institutes participate in measurement comparisons
coordinated by the Bureau International des Poids et Mesures (BIPM) to
ensure the reliability of measurement results worldwide.
The International
Organization of Legal Metrology (OIML) develops International
Recommendations, which aim to align and harmonise requirements worldwide in
many fields. The OIML also operates the OIML Certification System (OIML-CS)
which facilitates international acceptance and global trade of regulated
measuring instruments.
These international metrology
systems provide the necessary assurance and confidence that measurements are
accurate, providing a sound basis for global trade today and helping us to
prepare for the challenges of tomorrow.
World Metrology Day recognises
and celebrates the contribution of all the people that work in
intergovernmental and national metrology organisations and institutes
throughout the year.
Further information, including
a message from the Directors, posters, and a list of events, is available
at www.worldmetrologyday.org – Contact: wmd@worldmetrologyday.org
Notes for Editors:
World Metrology
Day is an annual event during which more than 80 countries celebrate the impact
of measurement on our daily lives.
This date was
chosen in recognition of the signing of the Metre Convention on 20 May 1875,
the beginning of formal international collaboration in metrology. Each year
World Metrology Day is organised and celebrated jointly by the International
Bureau of Weights and Measures (BIPM) and the International Organization of Legal Metrology
(OIML) with the participation of the national organisations responsible for
metrology.
The international
metrology community which works to ensure that accurate measurements can be
made across the world endeavours to raise awareness each World Metrology Day
through a poster campaign and web site.
Previous themes have included topics such as measurements for the global energy
challenge, for safety, for innovation, and measurements in sport, the
environment, medicine and trade.
About the BIPM
The signing of the
Metre Convention in 1875 created the BIPM and for the first time formalised
international cooperation in metrology. The Convention established the
International Bureau of Weights and Measures and laid the foundations for
worldwide uniformity of measurement in all aspects of our endeavours,
historically focusing on and assisting industry and trade, but today just as
vital as we tackle the grand challenges of the 21st Century such as climate
change, health, and energy. The BIPM undertakes scientific work at the highest
level on a selected set of physical and chemical quantities. The BIPM is the
hub of a worldwide network of national metrology institutes (NMIs) which
continue to realise and disseminate the chain of traceability to the SI into
national accredited laboratories and industry.
About the OIML
In 1955 the
International Organization of Legal Metrology (OIML) was established as an Intergovernmental
Treaty Organisation in order to promote the global harmonisation of legal
metrology procedures with the Bureau International de Métrologie Légale (BIML)
as the Secretariat and Headquarters of the OIML. Since that time, the OIML has
developed a worldwide technical structure whose primary aim is to harmonise the
regulations and metrological controls applied by the national metrological
services, or related organisations.