Every year, the Guyana National Bureau of Standards (GNBS) conducts 35,000 verifications of measuring instruments and with support from the government, they can now verify bulk meters and tank gauging as well as sampling and testing of crude oil.
This year, in collaboration with other stakeholders, the GNBS will be working to ensure they possess the capability to verify sound meters, tint meters and LPG (Liquified Petroleum Gas) meters.
This disclosure was made on Monday by the Head of GNBS Industrial Metrology and Testing Department, Donna Canterbury who said that these services complement the GNBS ‘long-standing’ metrology programme which includes the verification of scales and masses measured in retail trade.
In recognition of its contribution to international legal metrology, the GNBS was awarded the winner of the prestigious OIML CEEMS Metrology Award from the International Organisation for Legal Metrology (OIML) based in Paris, France.
Minister of Tourism, Industry, and Commerce, Oneidge Walrond handed over the award to GNBS during a special ceremony.
During her remarks, Walrond said the government continues to develop policies to make Guyana a competitive nation.
“For us to stand amongst the first world in terms of product delivery and services and for our products to be able to withstand international scrutiny we need to have these kinds of recognition,” she said.
According to Walrond, meeting this international “rigour” is important to Guyana’s competitiveness.
“Measurements and standards are something that we sometimes take for granted. So, it is important to the legal metrology because it is about the regulations and setting a legal framework for us to develop and grow,” she noted.
Meanwhile, Canterbury outlined some of the strides the GNBS has made through the legal metrology department.
Canterbury said significant efforts are being made to promote the use of the metric system in all sectors.
And to make the services more accessible, she said when the GNBS launched its legal metrology portal the system was also digitalized.
The OIML is responsible for the development of legal metrology internationally. It also develops recommendations through various technical committees that are used to guide verification officers in the execution of verification activities.
Head of GNBS Legal Metrology, Shailendra Rai related that legal metrology in Guyana dates back some 27 years.
Upon recongising the importance of metrology in trade, Rai said a move was made to have the responsibility transfer from the Ministry of Finance to the Ministry of Tourism Industry and Commence giving the GNBS direct responsibility for the execution of weights and measure activities.
“The weights and measure programme used to be actually executed by the then license revenue department and it was seen primarily as a revenue-generating activity…The scientific aspect of legal metrology was not really being carried out,” he said.
Rai said when GNBS took over legal metrology in 1997, additional staff were hired, training was conducted and additional equipment was acquired.
