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Legal Metrology in the United States
13 October 2017
Ralph Richter, PE
National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST)
United States Department of Commerce
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NIST’s Role in Legal Metrology
To promote and help facilitate uniformity in
legal metrology, especially in weights and
measures standards and practices, and provide
traceability to national standards.
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Legal Metrology
• NIST does not have:• regulatory authority (police power);
• authority over the States in weights and measures.
• Most weights and measures inspection activities are
carried out at the state and local level.
• NIST encourages uniformity and provides traceability
through cooperation, standards development, and
training.
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Office of Weights and Measures Activities
• Coordination
• of responses to regulatory
issues to promote
uniformity and fair trade
• traceability to SI
• Technical Support to
Stakeholders
• Regulatory officials
• Business & industry
• Standards Committees
• Federal Agencies
• Laboratories
• Training
• State and Industry
Laboratory Metrology
• Field Officials
• Administrators
• Information Dissemination
• Publications and NIST
Handbooks
• Outreach/Website
• Representation
• OIML, SIM, APLMF and
other international
organizations
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Office of Weights and Measures Activities –
Metric Program
• Facilitating the use of the metric system
• Education
• Promotion
• Voluntary Metric-Only Labeling
• Since 1994 the Federal Fair Packaging and Labeling Act has required both metric and inch-pound units
• 48 States allow metric only labeling, for products regulated at the state level
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NIST Handbook 44
• “Specifications, Tolerances, and Other Technical Requirements for Commercial Weighing and Measuring Devices”
• also applies to law enforcement equipment
• A product of the weights & measures community
• Published annually by NIST to promote uniformity
• Developed through the NCWM
• Adopted by all states
• By reference
• By incorporation
• (Not all States use the same edition of Handbook 44)
• Available on the NIST Website
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Handbook 130
• “Uniform Laws and Regulations in the areas of legal metrology and engine fuel quality”
• Published by NIST to promote uniformity
• Developed through the NCWM
• Uniform laws and regulations• Serve as template or model
• Adoption by States:• Some adopt in entirety• Some use as guideline• Some do not use at all
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Handbook 133
• “Checking the Net Content of Packaged Goods”
• Published by NIST to promote uniformity in package inspections
• Developed through the NCWM
• Adoption by States:• 44 states or territories
adopt in its entirety
• 7 use as a guideline
• 2 do not use at all
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Other NIST Weights and Measures
Publications
• NIST Handbooks 105 Series• Specifications for standards used to test commercial
devices
• NIST Handbook 143 NISTIR 6969 & IR 7383• Laboratory metrology procedures and standards
• NIST Special Publications include• Interpretations (SP 330 and SP 811)
• Guides
• Manuals
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U.S. Weights and Measures Jurisdictions*
55 States & Territories
250 Counties
300 Cities
605 Total W&M Jurisdictions
States 9%
Counties41%
Cities50%
States
Counties
Cities
*the number of jurisdictions and percentages are estimates only.
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Regulation of Weights and Measures
in the United States
• Weights and measures regulations implemented at State and local government level
• No Federal regulation of weighing and measuring devicesexcept for US Department of Agriculture (USDA)
• USDA Grain Inspection, Packers, & Stockyards Administration (GIPSA)
• Regulates import and export of grain and related weighing and measuring equipment
• Regulates livestock sales involved in interstate commerce
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Measurement TraceabilityInternational
Standards
(SI Units)
State Laboratory
Standards
NIST
State Field
Standards
Devices
User/
Consumer
An unbroken chain from
international standards
to the market.
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State Metrology Laboratories
• Most states have a state run laboratory• Some counties and territories also have a lab
• Laboratory metrologists trained at the NIST training laboratory for mass, volume, and length calibrations
• Labs are required to comply with NIST Handbook 143 for a certificate of traceability
• Requirements are identical to ISO 17025 with some additions
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Indiana
Michigan
New York
Oregon
Alaska
Hawaii
U.S. State Metrology Laboratories
NVLAP Accreditation Status
Puerto
Rico
U.S.
Virgin
Islands
Louisiana
Texas
Florida
Georgia
Alabama
Mississippi
ArkansasOklahoma
TennesseeSouth
Carolina
North
Carolina
Virginia
West
Virginia
Kentucky
Ohio
Pennsylvania
Wisconsin
Minnesota
Iowa
Illinois
MissouriKansas
Nebraska
South Dakota
North DakotaMontana
Wyoming
Idaho
Washington
California
Nevada
Utah
ArizonaNew Mexico
Colorado
Vermont Maine
New Hampshire
Massachusetts
Rhode Island
Connecticut
New Jersey
Delaware
NVLAP (18)
Potential Applications (10)
Washington, DC
Los Angeles
County
USDA, GIPSA
Maryland
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How States Regulate
Weighing and Measuring Devices• Verifications are typically performed by government officials
• Remains a law enforcement function
• Eliminate actual and perceived bias and favoritism
• Ensure uniform methods of inspection
• Maintain direct control over process
• Officials verify accuracy/maintenance per NIST Handbook 44• Regulatory function, not a calibration service
• Typically, inspections conducted at least once per year• May vary frequency based on data & sampling plans
• Respond to complaints between inspections
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Registered Service Agents (Private)
• At least 43 States have some form of registration program• Service agencies must register with State
• Some require minimum annual training, traceable standards & exam
• Allows service company to repair, recalibrate, and place devices into service
• At least 2 States allow service companies to perform official inspection• Oversight still essential & required
• Training, authorization, licensing and auditing
• Revoking/suspending license if work is not correct
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National Conference on Weights and Measures
(NCWM)
• Established by NIST in 1905
• Privatized in 1999
• A unique collaboration between industry and government to further cooperation with States and encourage uniformity
• Voluntary standards organization
• Standards developed through a committee and public hearing process
• Uniformity is achieved through adoption and use of the standards
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National Conference on Weights and Measures
(NCWM)
• Membership consists of weights and measures officials, and representatives from manufacturers, industry, associations, and federal agencies.
• While membership is open to everyone, only weights and measures officials have voting rights.
• The NCWM has no police power or authority over the states.
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National Type Evaluation Program
(NTEP)• Program to evaluate “types” of weighing and measuring devices
• Single evaluation to satisfy all states and Federal Agencies
• Promotes uniformity of type evaluation, interpretation of HB 44
• Successful evaluations result in NTEP Certificates of Conformance
• Now expanding into OIML Mutual Acceptance Arrangement.
• Cooperative program among manufacturers, users, weights and
measures officials
• Private program managed by NCWM, Inc.
• Nearly all States require NTEP Certificate of Conformance for many
types of commercial weighing and measuring equipment
• Goal: reduce the cost & time to get devices to market
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NCWM Publication 14
• “NTEP Administrative Procedures,
Technical Policy, Checklists and Test
Procedures”
• Developed by NCWM Technical Committee on
National Type Evaluation (NTETC)
• Based on NIST Handbook 44
• Published annually by NCWM
• Used by NTEP laboratories to perform NTEP
evaluations
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Legal Metrology Responsibilities of
U.S. Federal Agencies
• Food and Drug Administration (FDA)• foods & drugs (human & animal),
• medical devices and cosmetics
• United States Department Agriculture• meat and poultry
• produce (quality and grades)
• United States Treasury Department• tobacco, wine, beer, distilled spirits & alcohol
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Legal Metrology Responsibilities of
Federal Agencies
• Environmental Protection Agency• Vehicle and industrial emmissions
• pesticides and herbicides
• Federal Trade Commission• packaging and labeling of most consumer products sold at
retail
• Department of Transportation• compressed gases & hazardous materials
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Example of Cooperation:
Vehicle Speed Measurement • NIST Office of Law Enforcement Standards and the Dept
of Transportation NHTSA established US testing programs
and documentary standards in cooperation with the
International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP).
• IACP maintains:
• a Certified Product List for radar and lidar speed-
measuring equipment,
• documentary standards, and
• Two testing laboratories.
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Manual and Automated
Speed Enforcement
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OIML Project on Speed Measurement
• 20 year old OIML R91 being revised.
• Goal is the development of a performance
based standard, same requirements
regardless of technology
• Radar, lidar, time/distance technologies
• Manual and automated devices
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International Legal MetrologyActivities at NIST
International Organization of Legal Metrology (OIML)
Sistema Interamericano de Metrologia (SIM)
Asia-Pacific Legal Metrology Forum (APLMF)
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Contact Information
• Ralph Richter, P.E.• International Legal Metrology
• National Institute of Standards and Technology
• 100 Bureau Drive, Stop 2600
• Gaithersburg, MD 20899-2600 USA
• tel (301) 975-3997
• fax (301) 975-8091
• email: [email protected]
• www.nist.gov/owm
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Thank you very much!