The United States and 37 other nations have agreed to establish a global system for assessing and recognizing the accuracy of measurements made worldwide. This system, which will become operational later this year, will help resolve technical and regulatory differences that impede global trade flows.
The key aspect of the agreement is the establishment of a formal system of “key” measurement comparisons among the chief measurement organizations in the signer nations. These comparisons will establish how closely a particular measurement performed at one NMI agrees with results of counterpart institutes in other countries.
The international comparisons database, developed and pilot-tested at NIST, will be maintained and further developed by NIST. This database will be accessible via the Internet and hosted by the International Bureau of Weights and Measures.
Keywords: Measurement standards, Metrology institutes, Measurement traceability
