G/TBT/GEN/216  
 
22 May 2017  
(17-2755) Page: 1/4 
Committee on Technical Barriers to Trade  Original: English  
 
ACTIVITIES OF THE IN TERNATIONAL BUREAU O F WEIGHTS AND MEASUR ES (BIPM) 
RELATED TO THE WORK OF THE WTO TBT COMMI TTEE  
STATEMENT BY THE BIP M 
This document contains information provided by the BIPM at the TBT Committee meeting of  29-30 
March 2017  under Agenda I tem 4 (Technical Cooperation Activities) and Agenda Item 5 (Updating 
by Observers ). 
 
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1  INTRODUCTION  
1.1.  The International Bureau of Weights and Measures (BIPM) is an intergovernmental 
organization established by the Metre Convention, through whi ch Member States act together on 
matters related to measurement science and measurement standards. There are currently 58 
Member States and a further 41 Associated States and Economies who participate in the activities 
of the BIPM. The mission of the BIPM is to ensure and promote the global comparability of 
measurements, including the provision of the basis for a high -level coherent international system 
of units for:  
 Scientific discovery and innovation,  
 Industrial manufacturing and international trade,  
 Sustaining the quality of life and the global environment.  
1.2.  The unique role of the BIPM is based on its international and neutral character enabling it:  
 To coordinate the realization and improvement of the world -wide measurement system to 
ensure that it deliver s accurate and comparable measurement results.  
 To undertake in its laboratories scientific and technical activities in support of this system 
that is more efficiently carried out on behalf of Member States.  
 To promote the importance of metrology to science , industry and society, in particular 
through collaboration with other intergovernmental organizations and international bodies 
and in international fora.  
1.3.  The unique role of the BIPM enables it to achieve its mission by developing the technical and 
organiz ational infrastructure of the International System of units (SI) as the basis for the 
worldwide traceability of measurement results. This is achieved both through technical activities in 
its laboratories and through coordination activities.  
1.4.  Crucially, the work of the BIPM and national metrology institutes worldwide underpins 
accreditation and documentary standards and virtually, all conformity assessment activities.  G/TBT/GEN/216  
 
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  2  REDEFINITION – THE REVISION OF THE SI 
2.1.  Work towards redefinition continues with proposals for  new definitions of the kilogram, 
ampere, kelvin, and mole in terms of fixed numerical values of the Planck constant, elementary 
charge, Boltzmann constant, and Avogadro constant, respectively. New scientific results will be 
consider up until July 2017, ho wever given that recent scientific results have converged very 
satisfactorily, the expectation remains that redefinition will occur at the General Conference 
(CGPM) in 2018.  
2.2.  Work is advanced on the new mise en pratiques , that is, the set of instructions t hat allows 
the definition to be realized in practice at the highest level. The 9th edition of the SI brochure is 
being finalised in anticipation of redefinition.  
2.3.  Measurement uncertainty targets have been set as such that redefinition of the units should 
not impact trade issues.  
3  CIPM MUTUAL RECOGNIT ION ARRANGEMENT (CIP M MRA) AND THE BIPM KEY 
COMPARISON DATABASE (KCDB)  
3.1.  The 'Mutual Recognition Arrangement of National Measurement standards and of calibration 
and measurement certificates issued by National Metro logy Institutes' (CIPM MRA): The CIPM MRA 
participation continues to grow, it has been signed by the representatives of 102 institutes – from 
57 Member States, 41 Associates of the CGPM, and 4 international organizations – and covers a 
further 156 institut es designated by the signatory bodies. Resolution 5 adopted at the General 
Conference in 2014, recognising 15 successful years of CIPM MRA operation and called for a review 
of its implementation and operation. The main challenge looking forward is around t he workload 
associated with the underpinning comparisons and peer review processes, and how to take 
advantage of the confidence that has been established to ensure the CIPM MRA remains 
sustainable as participation continues to grow. A working group was est ablished which undertook 
the consultation and review, including hosting workshops to ensure the widest possible input. The 
working group published its report which is available online . The implementat ion phase has been 
already started.  
4  BIPM WORKSHOPS  
4.1.  The BIPM hosted a joint symposium with the World Anti -Doping Agency (WADA) on 28 -
29 September 2016.  One hundred invited experts from National Measurement Institutes, the 
clinical chemistry and laboratory m edicine community and from WADA and the WADA -accredited 
anti-doping laboratories met over the two days to discuss the latest initiatives in areas of 
metrology for organic and biological analysis relevant to this high -profile measurement sector.  
5  WORKING WIT H OTHER INTERNATIONA L ORGANI ZATIONS  
5.1.  The BIPM works with a large number of other international/intergovernmental organisations, 
including the WMO, the IAEA and of course  the WTO. Probably the closet collaboration is with the 
OIML, our sister organisation r esponsible for legal metrology, that is the application of legal 
requirements to measurements and measuring instruments. The two organisations joint run, for 
example, the 'World Metrology Day'  celebrating the 20 May signing of the Metre Convention back 
in 1875. The initiative has become an excellent tool for raising awareness of the contribution of 
metrology to economic and social development. The theme for 2017 is "Measurements for 
transport " recognizing the importance of measurements in a rapidly changing world. The design 
work on the 2017 poster was overseen jointly by the National Metrology Institute of the Republic 
of Colombia ( INM).  
5.2.  The poster, Directors messages and details of some 30 events organised wo rldwide are 
available at  http://www.worldmetrologyday.org.  BIPM and OIML work alongside each other in a 
wide range of forums, including the quadripartite arrangement with ILAC and ISO, in the working 
groups of the JCGM, in the DCMAS Network were we are joi ntly looking to overhaul the dedicated 
website, and more recently within the ISO CASCO WG44 looking at the revision of ISO/IEC 17025.  G/TBT/GEN/216  
 
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  5.3.  A number of international organizations that collaborate together on supporting developing 
countries through the DCMAS Net work are working towards a common definition of "Quality 
Infrastructure ". 
6  BIPM CAPACITY BUILDI NG AND KNOWLEDGE TRA NSFER PROGRAMME (BIP M CBKT)  
6.1.  It is recognised that all advanced nations already participate in the activities of the BIPM. 
Many Member States a nd Associates who have joined recently have emerging metrology systems, 
and that will be the case for all future potential participants. A sponsor funded programme has 
been launched to provide capacity building and knowledge transfer opportunities for such  states. 
The first sponsorships have been secured and projects launched. Courses advertised have been 
heavily oversubscribed. Until now around 80 participants from 31 countries participated in various 
training courses. There is a dedicated webpage  at the BIPM website that lists the following 
individual projects  
 2017–2018 "Support for GULFMET key comparison of Zener voltage standards" 
project  is designed to support GULFMET (Gulf Association for Metrology) in the  organization 
of one of their first key comparisons, GULFMET.EM.BIPM -K11, a comparison of Zener voltage 
standards, coordinated by the Standards and Calibration Laboratory (SCL) of Hong Kong.  
 2016 -2018 "Metrology for Safe Food and Feed in Developing Economi es" project  is 
designed to allow NMIs to work together to strengthen mycotoxin metrology infrastructure; 
provide knowledge transfer to scientists developing capabilities in this area, including 
periods as visiting scientists at the BIPM; and enable NMIs to  provide mycotoxin calibrant 
and matrix reference materials and proficiency test materials to support mycotoxin testing 
laboratories within their countries.  
 2016 -2019 "Metrology for Clean Air" project  is designed to allow NMIs to strengthen 
their gas stand ard capabilities and further develop their national metrology infrastructure in 
support of their air quality and emissions measurement communities; providing knowledge 
transfer to scientists developing capabilities in this area, including periods as visiti ng 
scientists at the BIPM.  
6.2.  In 2016 the BIPM also started Mycotoxin Metrology CBKT secondment program at the  BIPM 
for scientists from NMIs wishing to develop mycotoxin metrology capabilities.  
6.3.  The BIPM hosted a four day "TC Leadership " course as a joint init iative with the EURAMET on 
07-10 February 2017.  The course content was designed for experienced eighteen TC members 
within twelve EURAMET member countries who have already been involved in the CIPM MRA and 
its processes. It provided participants with: an u nderstanding of the importance of metrology in 
the global quality infrastructure; aspects of mechanisms of the CIPM MRA; specific requirements of 
various metrology areas on comparisons; and representation of calibration and measurement 
capabilities (CMCs) and regional requirements of EURAMET on the operation of the CIPM MRA.  
6.4.  Furthermore, the 2016 "BIPM -GULFMET TC Workshop" has been successfully completed 21 -
23 November 2016 in Dubai, United Arab Emirates . The course was designed to provide GULFMET 
Technica l Committee members with the skills, knowledge and tools to help them participate in the 
mechanisms of the  CIPM MRA. The Workshop provided participants with an understanding of the 
CIPM MRA requirements relating to comparisons, CMCs and Quality Systems, an d their use in the 
CMC review, approval and publication process.  
6.5.  Moreover, on 7-18 November 2016 two -week "Leaders of Tomorrow" training course was 
fully sponsored by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), USA for eighteen 
participants,  designated  by their regional metrology organizations (RMOs) as future leaders in the 
global metrology system. The "Leaders of Tomorrow" course was aimed at new and potential RMO 
Technical Committee Chairs and RMO Working Group Convenors. The training prov ided 
participants with an understanding of the Global Quality Infrastructure and international best 
practice in metrology. By combining theoretical and practical perspectives, participants gained a 
truly comprehensive overview of the internationally accept ed Consultative  Committees' guidelines 
on metrology. Participants gained practical experience through group working sessions on CMC 
review and lectures that illustrated common challenges and the mistakes made in practice. A very G/TBT/GEN/216  
 
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  popular part of the course was the multi -day module on laboratory priority setting and project 
management.  
6.6.  The BIPM and the Italian Physical Society ran a joint Metrology School "Metrology: from 
physics fundamentals to quality of life", from 27 June -6 July 2016 in Verenna, Italy. I n association 
with the Metrology School, METAS (Switzerland ), sponsored a capacity building programme, which 
was aimed at creating opportunities for a limited number of participants from BIPM Member States 
and Associates. The three award winners from Argen tina, South Africa and Albania were able to 
combine their attendance at the Metrology School with a short placement at METAS. During their 
internship of several weeks they received dedicated training and pursued a specific metrology 
topic.  
7  BIPM WORK PROGRA MME 2016 -2019  
7.1.  The BIPM began a new four year Work Programme in January 2016. The WP is publicly 
available on the BIPM website . 
 
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