ABU DHABI, The Abu Dhabi Quality and Conformity Council, represented by the Emirates Metrology Institute, celebrated International Metrology Day, which falls on 20th May each year.
The event highlighted the role played by the institute in the digital transformation of its four services, which are the calibration service of measurement tools, the service of programme Inter-comparisons, technical training service, and the service of providing consultation, research or technical study in the field of metrology.
This came during a workshop organised by the Ministry of Industry and Advanced Technology, with the participation of the Emirates Metrology Institute, the GCC Standardisation Organisation, the American University of Sharjah, the International Bureau of Weights and Measurement “BIPM”, the International Organisation of Legal Metrology “OIML”, and several companies representing the private sector connected with metrology.
On the occasion, Saeed Al Muhairi, Executive Director of the Emirates Metrology Institute, said, “The institute participates annually in the activities related to the World Metrology Day, which comes this year under the slogan ‘Metrology in the Digital Age’ to shed light on the contemporary digital revolution and discuss ways to employ it in various fields of metrology.”
He stressed the importance of the digital transformation strategy launched at the beginning of this year by the Emirates Metrology Institute, the national measurement authority in the UAE that is one of the main sectors in the Abu Dhabi Quality and Conformity Council. It explained the strategy based on four main axes. First is the integration of the institute’s systems to ensure the possibility of data exchange among them. So that it is entered once and re-used when needed, which enhances its efficiency in reducing time and effort. Secondly, it automates the service of the institute in terms of calibration, intercomparisons, and technical training. Thirdly, it verifies the requirements of the digital calibration certificate by specifying the requirements and needs of the institute’s customers from the digital calibration certificate and applying the formula that suits it. Fourthly is the research into the engagement of artificial intelligence and machine learning applications in the institute.
Al Muhairi said that the EMI has been able to provide a positive and direct impact on the vital economic sectors of the country. This includes the industrial sector where the cost and time taken to provide services have been reduced, facilitating international acceptance of the UAE’s national industries and raising production capacity. In 2021, 53 comparison programmes were provided to calibration laboratories, while 660 standard measuring devices were calibrated.
The institute also provided 28 technical consultations and added eight measurement and calibration capabilities, that were published in the main database of the International Office Bureau of Weights and Measures (BIPM).
The EMI’s role and scope of services have also expanded beyond the UAE and the entity is now a regional leader supporting and raising the efficiency of the Gulf metrological systems, Al Muhairi said.
He said the EMI has also won the presidency of the Digital Transformation Working Group (WG) in the Gulf Metrology Association (GULFMET) The working group includes members from the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries and associate members from Egypt, Hong Kong, and South Korea.
The EMI is the official representative of the Gulf Metrology Association in the Digital Transformation Committee of the Joint Committee for Regional Bodies (JCRB). In addition, the institute is also participating in the first international conference on metrology and digital transformation organised by the International Measurement Confederation from 19th to 21st September, 2022. A working paper will be presented at this event entitled, “Transformation – Digital Metrology in the United Arab Emirates,” in cooperation with the Federal Authority for Nuclear Regulation (FANR).
The Emirates Metrology Institute is a pioneering national project with regional leadership accredited by the Emirates International Accreditation Centre (EIAC), to ISO/IEC 17025 standards for most of its calibration services. Some EMI’s measurement and calibration capabilities (CMCs) are published on the International Bureau of Weights and Measures database, which is the first window to facilitate international acceptance of the UAE’s products.
The institute is self-sufficient when it comes to the requirements of QCC, providing measurement and calibration services to central testing laboratories (CTL), and providing services for to legal metrology section of the consumer market sector, leading to financial savings and time for the council.
Source: Emirates News Agency