How does NMI link Australia into the international measurement framework? NMI has legislated responsibility for fulfilling Australia's international obligations with respect to measurement and is therefore Australia's official representative to activities undertaken by the two intergovernmental measurement treaties to which Australia is a signatory, the Metre Convention and the Convention Establishing an International Organisation of Legal Metrology. Together, these two treaties form the apex of the international measurement system.
The Metre Convention was established in 1875 by 17 nations that recognised the need for measurements to be uniform internationally. A further 37 member states are now signatories, with Australia signing in 1947. The Metre Convention established the structure and processes through which we obtain world-wide uniformity in measurement, firstly through the use of a harmonised set of units of measurement, the International System of Units (SI), and secondly through recognised means of establishing measurement standards that realise these units.
The international structures established under the Metre Convention cover scientific and industrial measurements and are described by the International Bureau of Weights and Measures (BIPM) which is located in Sèvres, France, and is overseen by the peak international expert metrology body, the International Committee for Weights and Measures (CIPM). NMI’s inaugural CEO, Dr Barry Inglis, was appointed president of CIPM in October 2010.
CIPM members in 1894 and at the Consultative Committee for Mass in 2009 (in the photo on the right Dr Inglis, Australia, is front row, second from left (reproduced with permission of BIPM)
CIPM is advised by ten consultative committees, each of which has technical expertise in a particular area of measurement. They are the peak international expert measurement forums and they hold regular meetings:
NMI represents Australia on eight of the consultative committees:
The Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (ANSTO) and the Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Agency (ARPANSA) represent Australia on the Consultative Committee for Ionising Radiation.
A similar international framework for legal metrology was established in 1955. The International Organisation of Legal Metrology (OIML) provides metrological guidelines for the elaboration of national and regional requirements for the manufacture and use of measuring instruments for legal metrology applications.
NMI is an active participant in OIML and a member of the governance body, the Presidential Council of the International Committee for Legal Metrology (CIML). It thereby ensures high level Australian input into the development of international recommendations so that Australia's requirements for legal metrology are harmonised with international requirements. The photo shows the CIML Presidential Council – NMI's Dr Grahame Harvey (second from left) is a vice-president of CIML. (Photo: BIML)
The process of developing international model regulations in the fields of legal metrology and practical measurements is a lengthy one and requires extensive consultation. NMI is responsible for collecting and collating Australian input into drafts of these regulations. If you would like to participate in the consultative process please contact legalmetrology@measurement.gov.au.
NMI’s Chief Metrologist is the Australian issuing authority for OIML basic certificates of conformity. An OIML certificate attests the conformity of a pattern of a measuring instrument (as represented by the sample instrument submitted and tested) with the requirements of the relevant OIML recommendation.
The international metrological structures are translated into regional metrology groupings that cover the globe. In the Asia Pacific, NMI represents Australia in the Asia Pacific Metrology Programme (APMP) and the Asia–Pacific Legal Metrology Forum (APLMF). NMI plays a lead role in both forums, with membership on the executive committees and active roles in the technical committees and working groups. NMI has also undertaken and helped deliver several hundred training attachments, ranging in duration from weeks to months, often under sponsorship from Australian Government aid programs.