World marks Metrology Day

Accra, May 18, GNA - Ghana will join the international body to mark the World Metrology Day which falls on the 20th May, 2010. Metrology which refers to the science of measurements guarantees accurate and reliable measurements.

World Metrology Day is celebrated on the 20th of May every year to highlight the significance of the Metre Convention. The Metre Convention is a treaty that provides the basis for the international agreement on units of measurement signed in Paris on 20th May, 1875, by representatives of 17 states.

A statement in Accra from the Ghana Standards Board said that the theme for this year is "Measurement in Science and Technology, a Bridge to Innovation", highlights the importance of the influence of measurement on Science and Technology and how it stimulates innovation in society. It said that "As the world strives to move on from its recent financial problems, and as governments work to regenerate economies, science and technology serve as the engines of economic growth and prosperity. These, in turn, rely on being able to measure correctly and to refer measurements to the same international reference standards." The statement said that a world without accurate measurement is a world where science, technology, trade and society cannot communicate and where error and uncertainty would reign supreme.

It said that national systems of measurement wherever they are must, rely on agreed standards and units as well as agreed techniques to make consistent and accurate measurements. Each national system is linked into a world-wide network of national measurement standards and laboratories coordinated by the International Bureau of Weights and Measures. The statement said that network gives society access to accurate measurement in order to meet challenges of today in healthcare, within the environment and in all the new technologies.

It said that "In industry and commerce, the statement said metrology helped to ensure product quality, eliminate waste and also raise productivity and trade based on agreed measurements and tests. It also enabled scientists to use a common language to underpin their collaboration across the world and ensure that their exploits could be taken up by companies wherever they operated.

The statement said that as the world prepared to celebrate this year's world Metrology Day, Ghana Standards Board called on the people to remember the crucial role of the science of measurement. It said that "in the area of sale of foodstuffs, for example, we need to encourage the use of weighing scales in transactions with corporate organisations and individuals ensure fair trade between business men and women, on one hand and customers on the other."