CARIMET meeting in Guyana -aims at developing Metrology Services across the CARICOM Region

The Guyana National Bureau of Standards (GNBS) hosted the First Face-to-face Caribbean Metrology Cooperation (CARIMET) Committee meeting and workshop in Guyana during July 28-29, 2023.

The two-day event, which was sponsored by the CARICOM Regional Organisation for Standards and Quality (CROSQ), under the 11th European Development Fund Technical Barriers to Trade Programme, was held to effectively plan for the implementation, monitoring and improvement of the measurement infrastructure within the Region.

The CARIMET Committee, which is a subgroup of the Inter-American Metrology System (SIM), falls under CROSQ and is made up of representatives from the National Metrology Institutes (NMIs) of the fifteen Member States of CARICOM and the Dominican Republic. These NMIs include the Guyana National Bureau of Standards (GNBS) and the Dominican Institute for Quality (INDOCAL).

During an opening ceremony on Thursday, GNBS Executive Director (Ag.), Mr. Al Fraser welcomed the Caribbean counterparts to Guyana and encouraged them to utilize every opportunity to find workable solutions to strengthen the Metrology Systems across the Region.

Meanwhile, the current CROSQ MIKE Committee Chair and Head of GNBS Marketing, Mr. Syeid Ibrahim expressed how delightful it is for the GNBS to host such an important meeting. He added that hosting of the meeting is another of the many ways in which the GNBS has been supporting National Bureaux of Standards (NSBs) in the region to implement services. Ongoing support has included technical assistance and guidance to countries developing National Quality Awards programmes.

Chair of CARIMET, Ms. Erica Caruth from the Trinidad and Tobago Bureau of Standards (TTBS) in her opening remarks expressed gratitude on behalf of the Committee to CROSQ, the GNBS and the providers of the 11^th EDF TBT Programme for facilitating such an important Regional Meeting and Workshop.

During the Committee meeting and workshop, sixteen (16) participants reviewed the five-year (2021-2025) strategic plan of the committee, discussed ongoing projects, facilitated team building engagements for new representatives, and reviewed the committee’s 2023 operational plan.

The CARIMET Committee provides technical assistance to metrology institutions across the region which are looking to improve or increase the services offered to stakeholders. It has the crucial role of fostering collaboration and information sharing in keeping with the development of Metrology as a pillar of the National Quality Infrastructure.

Under its current strategic plan, CARIMET aims to strengthen the ability of NMIs in member states to provide sustainable metrology services. A key focal point in the short term is to maximise the benefits of the International Committee of Weights and Measures – Mutual Recognition Arrangement (CIPM-MRA). The CIPM-MRA is the framework through which National Metrology Institutes worldwide demonstrate the international equivalence of their measurement standards and their calibration capabilities.

CARIMET, while being aware of the need to strengthen its network capacity and the monitoring of planned activities, has in the past five years made significant advancements in several technical areas. These included the development of three Caribbean Reference Laboratories (CaRLs), conducting its first Volume Inter-Laboratory Comparison and supporting several NMIs towards international recognition. Plans are on stream to develop three new CaRLs to ensure the traceability of critical measurements at all developing NMIs.

Finally, National Measurement Institutes (NMIs) across the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) offer metrology services in the form of verification and calibration to ensure there are accurate and comparable measurements within and among member states. Precise measurement plays a key role in the advancement of health, law enforcement, oil and gas, manufacturing, agriculture, and trade, among many other areas in the Region. (DPI)