Strengthening the Compliance of the OIC Member States
to International Standards
4.2 Metrology
A number of international organizations are active in the metrology domain. The two most important
are the Bureau International des Poids et Mesures (BIPM; International Bureau of Weights and
Measures), and the International Organization of Legal Metrology (OIML).
The BIPM is an international organization established by convention. Its core area of expertise is
measurement science and measurement standards, a necessary underlying feature of any standards and
quality system. Its mission is: “to ensure and promote the global comparability of measurements,
including providing a coherent international system of units for: scientific discovery; industrial
manufacturing and international trade; and sustaining the quality of life and the global environment”.
The organization acts deliberatively as well as scientifically. It is responsible for developing the technical
and organizational infrastructure of the International System of Units (SI), which serves as the basis for
the global traceability of measurements. It has its own laboratories where it undertakes measurement
science activities that are best conducted at the international level, rather than in a decentralized
fashion in individual countries. In terms of its standardization activities, the BIPM focuses on norms
relating to the act of measurement itself, such as the definition of units of measurement, and the
development of appropriate techniques for conducting globally acceptable measurements. This function
is an important one in the context of broader standardization activities: it is only possible to assess
conformity with a substantive product standard if there is pre-existing agreement on issues of
measurement. Participation in the organization is therefore an important step in the development of
national quality infrastructure that takes accounts of developments in the international sphere.
The OIML’s mission “is to enable economies to put in place effective legal metrology infrastructures that
are mutually compatible and internationally recognized, for all areas for which governments take
responsibility, such as those which facilitate trade, establish mutual confidence and harmonize the level
of consumer protection worldwide.” Also established by international treaty as a governmental
organization, the OIML takes responsibility for the development of standards and other documents for
use by metrology organizations. It also serves as a forum for exchange within the global metrology
community, and facilitates information sharing and experience-based learning. In addition, it provides
mutual recognition systems designed, among other objectives, to facilitate trade. Like the international
standardization bodies examined above, the OIML issues documents for its members, but
implementation is not strictly mandatory as a matter of law; technically, members are “morally obliged”
to implement International Recommendations, which are intended as model regulations. By contrast,
International Documents are completely non-binding and are intended for informational purposes only.
Of most interest in the present context is the OIML’s work on developing standards for measuring
instruments, as well as model documents for mutual recognition of test results based on a standardized