NATL INST OF STAND & TECH NI8T

PUBLICATIONS B' :fi NBSIR 76-1190

Report on an NBS/AID Survey

of Standardization and

Measurement Services in

Thailand

Office of International Relations

National Bureau of Standards

Washington, D. C. 20234

Held May 22 to June 1, 1973

Issued February 1977

Survey Director: Dr. Charoen Vashrangsi _ Department of Science, Ministry of Industry

Bangkok, Thailand

Edited by: H. Steffen Reiser

Robert S. Marvin

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ment of State

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NBSIR 76-1190

REPORT ON AN NBS/AID SURVEY

OF STANDARDIZATION AND

MEASUREMENT SERVICES IN

tHAILAND

Edited by: H. Steffen Reiser

Robert S. Marvin

Office of International Relations

National Bureau of Standards

Washington, D. C. 20234

Held May 22 to June 1, 1973

Issued February 1977

Survey Director: Dr. Charoen Vashrangsi

Department of Science, Ministry of Industry

Bangkok, Thailand

International Team Members: Professor Fahrettin Can, MTU, Turkey

A report of a Survey conducted jointly by the National Bureau of

Standards and the Agency for International Development RASA TA(CE)5-71

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE, Juanita M. Kreps, Secretary

Dr. Betsy Ancker-Johnson, Assistant Secretary for Science and Technology

NATIONAL BUREAU OF STANDARDS, Ernest Ambler. Acting Director

Dr. R. J. Corruccini, NBS, U.S.A.

Dr. R. K. Eby, NBS, U.S.A.

Mr. L E. Gatterer, NBS, U.S.A.

Mr. Sang Sup Lee, lAA, Korea

Dr. Werner Y. F. Ning, NBS, Taiwan

Mr. H. Steffen Reiser, NBS, U.S.A.

Mr. T. M. Stabler, NBS, U.S.A.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The Survey Team records its deep appreciation to the Royal Government

of Thailand in affording all opportunities entailed in this study.

The Team as a whole owes special gratitude to Thai members and their

staffs for their constant availability and attention, their cheerful

readiness to supply information and to discuss all relevant matters

openly with the common objective of stimulating realistic, vigorous,

forward looking technical ideas for the development of manufacturing

and processing industries and organizations that serve these

industries.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Paae

NBS/AID Team Members 1

Introduction 3

Team Visits in Thailand to Organizations in Thailand 4

1. Visits of May 21 4

1.1 Department of Science . . , 4

1.2 Department of Science Laboratories 5

1.3 The Thai Industrial Standards Institute .... 9

1.4 Department of Industrial Works 11

1.5 Department of Industrial Promotion 12

1.6 Audience given by the Minister of Industry ... 12

1.7 Department of Mineral Resources 12

1.8 Briefing by USAID Bangkok 13

2. Visits of May 22 13

2.1 Ministry of Commerce, Office of Commodity

Standards 13

2.2 Central Bureau of Weights and Measures 15

2.3 Chulalongkorn University (Bangkok) 15

2.4 National Energy Authority Laboratory 16

2.5 Thailand Chamber of Commerce 17

2.6 The Industrial Service Institute (ISI) 17

2.7 Tanning Organization 20

2.8 Ceramic Research and Development Center and

Textile Testing Services 20

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Page

2.9 Applied Scientific Research Corporation of

Thailand 21

2.10 Visit to Kasetsart University 23

2.11 Lever Brothers 24

2.12 Thailand Iron Works 24

2.13 Colgate - Palmolive (Thailand) Ltd 24

2.14 Port Authority of Thailand in Bangkok .... 24

2.15 Esso Standard Thailand Co., Ltd 25

3. Visits of May 23 25

3.1 Association of Thai Industries 25

3.2 The Coon Rawd Brewery Co., Ltd 26

3.3 Siam Garment Ltd . 26

3.4 Thailand Carpet Manufacturing Co., Ltd. ... 27

3.5 Isuzu Motor Co. , Ltd 27

3.6 Bangchun General Assembly Co., Ltd 28

3.7 Telephone Organization of Thailand (TOT) ... 29

3.8 The Hydrographic Department 31

3.9 The Board of Trade of Thailand 31

3.10 Visit to Channels 4 and 9 32

3.11 The Provincial and Metropolitan Electricity

Authorities (PEA) and (MEA) 33

3.12 The Royal Thai Air Force Precision Measurement

Electronics Laboratory (PMEL) 34

4. Visits of May 24 36

4.1 Firestone Tyre and Rubber Co. (Thailand) Ltd. 36

4.2 Glass Organization 36

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Page

4.3 The Battery Organization 37

4.4 Thai Plywood Co., Ltd. 37

4.5 The Bangchark Oil Refinery 38

4.6 Thai Plastic and Chemical Co., Ltd. 38

4.7 Kimberley Clark Co., Ltd 38

4.8 Thai Textile Finishing Company, Ltd 39

4.9 The Thai Teijin Textiles Ltd 39

4.10 The Serm Suk Co., Ltd 39

5. Visits of May 25 40

5.1 The Thai Asahi Glass Co 40

5.2 The Department of Medical Science 40

5.3 Food and Drug Control Division ........ 41

5.4 Industrial Service Institute - Chiengmai

Branch Office . 41

5.5 Chiengmai University 42

5.6 Cottage Industries 42

6. Visits of May 26 43

6.1 The Bangpa-In Paper Mill Factory 43

6.2 The Siam Cement Co., Ltd 43

6.3 The Siam Iron and Steel Co., Ltd 44

6.4 Chemical Ferti 1 izer Co. , Ltd 44

6.5 Ceramic Industry (Lampang Province) ..... 45

6.6 Universal Food Co., Ltd 45

7. Visits of May 27 46

7.1 Siam City Cement Co., at Kang-Koy 46

7.2 Ceramic Industry (Chiengmai) 46

V
8. Visits of May 28 47

8.1 An Audience by the Governor - Chon-Buri 47

Province 47

8.2 Tapioca Association 47

8.3 S. R. Co. , Ltd 49

8.4 Fish Sauce Factory 49

8.5 Ratcha-Buri Province 49

8.6 The Rubber Research Center (Songkhla

Province) 50

8.7 The Thai National Rubber Industry 50

8.8 Prince Songklanakarin University (Songkhla

Province) 50

9. Visits of May 29 50

9.1 Sam Hong Enterprise Ltd . 50

9.2 Dole Thailand Ltd 51

9.3 Si am Kraft Paper Co., Ltd 51

9.4 Thonburi Sugar Factory 51

9.5 Thai Fermentation Industry Co., Ltd 52

9.6 Preserved Food Organization 52

9.7 Fishmeal Factories (Songkhla Province) ... 52

9.8 Fishery Center, Songhkla Province 52

10. Visits of May 30 52

10.1 Tanin Industrial Co., Ltd. (Bangkok) .... 52

10.2 Sanyo Universal Electric Co., Ltd 53

10.3 Thai Lamps 54

10.4 La Petite (Thailand) Co., Ltd 55

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Page

n . Visits of May 31 56

n.l Offshore Tin Mining (Phuket Province--a Southwest Coast Island) 56

n.2 The Asian Institute of Technology 56

11.3 Far East Superintendence Co., Ltd 57

11.4 Weights and Measures Laboratories 58

12. Minister of Industry's Council, Closing Session,

May 31 (including short statements delivered by

Team Members ) 59

12.1 H. Steffen Peiser 59

12.2 R. J. Corruccini 60

12.3 Sang Sup Lee •

12.4 Werner Y. F. Ning 63

12.5 Fahrettin Can 65

12.6 R. K. Eby 65

12.7 T. M. Stabler 67

12.8 L. E. Gatterer 68

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NBS/AID TEAM MEMBERS

Professor Fahrettin Can

Orta Dogu Teknik Universitesi

Middle East Technical University

Ankara, Turkey

Dr. R. J. Corruccini

Former Deputy Director

Institute of Basic Standards

National Bureau of Standards

U.S.A.

Dr. R. K. Eby

Chief, Polymers Division

National Bureau of Standards

U.S.A.

Mr. L. E. Gatterer

Time and Frequency Division

National Bureau of Standards

U.S.A.

Mr. Sang Sup Lee

Industrial Advancement Administration

Ministry of Commerce and Industry

Seoul , Korea

Dr. Werner Y. F. Ning

Director, National Bureau of Standards

Ministry of Economic Affairs

Taipei, Taiwan, Republic of China

Mr. H. Steffen Reiser

Chief, Office of International Relations

National Bureau of Standards

U.S.A.

Mr. T. M. Stabler

Special Assistant for International Programs

Office of Engineering and Processing Standards

National Bureau of Standards

U.S.A.

This team was supported by an approximately equal number of

professional Thai counterpart team members headed by the overall

1
Survey Director, Dr. Charoen Vashrangsi. Outstanding contributions to

the team were made by the following Thai participants:

° Mrs. Phani Na Rangsi

° Miss Kanya Sinsakul

° Mr. Vichien Sakornmonkol

° Mr. Ong-Arj Kriengkripetch.

The last named is on the USAID staff in Bangkok.
INTRODUCTION

Following previous Surveys of Standardization and Measurement Services

in Ecuador, Korea, and Turkey, the National Bureau of Standards was invited by the Government of Thailand and the USAID Mission in Bangkok

to organize a similar survey in Thailand, a country which has chosen

to introduce modern industrialization into an ancient culture.

Some months earlier H. S. Reiser had made a preliminary study and

concluded that the conditions for such a survey were favorable.

Initially it was to be held under the leadership of Dr. Rrapit Na

Nagara, Director General of the Department of Science in the Ministry

of Industry. Unfortunately, when the team gathered in Bangkok on May

20, 1973, it was learned that Dr. Rrapit had left the country on a special assignment. His place was capably taken by Dr. Chareon

Vashrangsi , Rhysics and Engineering Division Chief in the Department

of Science. He is familiar with the National Bureau of Standards and

has taken part in other NBS/AID Surveys.

On May 21, the NBS/AID team with distinguished colleagues from Korea,

Taiwan, and Turkey began its official schedule. The pre-arranged

program of industry and government agency visits presented a major

problem. The available time was insufficient even when the

international team split up as much as possible. Cancellations, we

were told, would offend our hosts. Thus the time for team discussions

were very limited, and it was not possible to formulate a full set of

conclusions and recommendations.

This report is, therefore, limited primarily to brief factual

descriptions of the visits made. It should be noted, however, that

the animated discussions covering a wide range of topics which were

conducted during most of our visits, and informal suggestions offered

our hosts during many of the visits, appeared to be greatly

appreciated by those visited. It was clear that many of these

discussions and suggestions were beneficial to the organizations

visited.

On the first full day we were most generously received by General Krit

Si vara, Minister of Industry and Commander-in-Chief. On several

subsequent occasions he met with the team, discussed views and

comments, and entertained the entire team at impressive functions. He

charged his Ministry and all of industry to receive the team, show all

the team wished to see, and follow up with positive programs in

standardization and quality control. The team members were saddened

to hear of the untimely death of Krit Sivara in 1975.

In one respect, Thailand cannot be directly compared with other LDC's.

Third World countries often blame their struggles in development to

3
foreign exploitation and rule in the past. Thailand has never been

subject to a foreign power for any length of time, and in its policies

shows a high degree of self-reliance and fiscal soundness. Thus

Thailand may be better prepared to plan a forward looking modern

standardization system than other LDC's which have been accustomed to

rely on plans imposed by a ruling foreign power.

An astonishing feat of programming and coordination was performed for

the Survey Team by all the Thai team members who arranged more than 80

visits in less than two weeks, organized transportation and conducted

the foreign participants in an ancient country that was to them new

and lovely. Its history is marked by a spirit of independence coupled

with a wish to adapt and honor foreign ideas.

Team Visits to Organizations in Thailand

Not every team member attended each of the 80 visits and meetings

during twelve days in Thailand. Only on the first and last days did

all team members stay together as one large group. On other days an average of a third of the members took part in any one visit. Choices were made by background and also by geographic and logistic

restraints. Also, no attempt was made to explore all the technical

standardization and measurement problems at any one of the

institutions, companies and agencies. The aim was only to identify

the types of relevant technical infrastructure services available and

needed to support successful industrialization and development.

1 . Visits of May 21

1 . 1 Department of Science

The tour of duty in Thailand began with a team meeting at the Amarin

Hotel followed by an introductory get-acquainted session at the

Department of Science. Dr. Chaloa SurasiJ:, the Acting Deputy

Director, presided since the Director General was abroad. Dr. Charoen

Vashrangsi, Chief of the Division of Physics and Engineering, and

Survey Director, led the discussion. Also attending were Mr. Chaiwai,

Chief Engineer, Ministry of Industry, and Acting Director of the Thai

Industrial Standards Institute (TISI), Dr. Kenneth Stephens, U.N.

visiting expert in statistics and quality control, Mr. Rohn Hopper,

U.N. visiting expert in public relations, Mr. Donald Marsden, Mr. Pat

Johnson, and Mr. Ong-Arg Kringkripetch of USOM/AID, and varous aides.

It was explained that the Department of Science is a part of the

Ministry of Industry where it is charged with providing scientific and

technical services in support of industrial development. The Ministry

operates under a five-year economic development plan of the

4
Government. The Department is organized into Divisions of Research,

Physics and Engineering, Analytical Chemistry Training, Chemistry, and

Bioscience. The Thai Industrial Standards Institute, which started in

the Department as a project, is due to become an autonomous

organization. Both the Department of Science and TISI are well

documented organizations. No attempt is made to reproduce all the

information here, even in summary.

The Department cooperates with Chulalongkorn University in operating a three-year training program leading to a certificate. Its purpose is

to supply technicians, primarily to industry. However, more than 80%

of the trainees go on for the B.S. degree.

Mr. Hopper's remarks should be specially noted. He felt that adequate

advice on product standardization was already available from previous

visits by experts and that this team should focus on how to bring

calibration and measurement standards to the fore. He called

attention to the proliferation of standards bodies in Thailand, and,

in particular, to the Applied Science Research Corporation of Thailand

(ASRCT) and the Royal Thai Air Force (RTAF), both of which have

potential roles in calibration and measurement standards, if the RTAF

has spare laboratory capacity. It has considerable competence.

Mr. Reiser stated that the team, after such a brief survey of a country that was virtually new to all foreign team members, could not

be expected to present definite recommendations which could be adopted

without critical evaluation followed by thoughtful implementation.

The team aim was to listen to problems, throw out ideas for

discussion, increase the awareness in Thailand of the technical

infrastructure needs, and present choices for self-reliant Thai

actions. As to Mr. Hopper's remarks on calibration and measurement

standards, NBS would always wish to encourage such programs provided

the widest possible use were made of standard reference materials and

other means of self calibration.

The more traditional methods of sending instruments and physical

standards of measurement to national or international standards

laboratories were likely to decline in importance for several reasons including the fact that these techniques fail to assure that the

measurement system is under control.

1 .2 Department of Science Laboratories

The tour of the Department of Science Laboratories began in the area

of bioscience under the leadership of Mr. Vichien Sakornmonkol . Trace

analysis of food products for metals and insecticide residues is done

by wet chemistry, gas chromatography and spectrophotometry following

CODEX procedures of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN.

5
The testing is on a voluntary basis. (Certain mandatory testing and

regulation are in the province of the Ministry of Public Health, see

5.2).

Alcohol content of spirits is determined and wines from the

fermentation of various tropical fruits of Thailand are produced and

evaluated in the hope of developing new product lines. (Grape wines

are not successful in Thailand.)

Polarimetry, viscometry, and refractometry measurements are available,

all of which pose recognized calibration problems which our hosts felt were not completely solved. Other topics mentioned were fat content

of dairy products, preservation by drying (e.g. mushrooms, spices),

canning of pineapple, fruit juices, tomato products, fish sauces,

paper pulp from grasses as well as from woods, activated carbon from

rice straw, and salt. Thai salt comes mainly from mines in the

northeast and from the Gulf of Siam by evaporation of sea water. It

is exported to Japan for production of caustic soda; the quality of

the salt has not always satisfied the customers.

A scanning electron microscope and a Hi tache-Perkin-Elmer molecular

weight apparatus were examples of rather elaborate modern equipment.

The availability of manufacturer's service is a critical element in

the successful use of such equipment in Thailand. Relatively simple

instruments are used in testing natural products.

In the Division of Physics and Engineering we were shown extensive

equipment for mechanical testing (calibrated where appropriate with

proving rings). There was testing of cables, chains, soil and some cement products. X-ray flaw detection equipment was out of order, an illustration of the critical importance of service availability for

complex imported equipment. There were tensile tests of tire cord and

abrasion tests and accelerated high temperature ageing tests of tires.

We saw a 100 ton tension test machine, a home-made bend-test machine

used to test pipe and roof panels, and battery test equipment. We saw results of experiments on the production of new ceramic wares and

glazes.

Mr. Vichien, the Senior Scientific Officer at the Department of

Science was our principal guide. He is a chemist from the Oregon

State University and explained how the Ministry of Industry seeks to

identify activities around which new industries may be built. For

example, glutinous rice was being mixed with wheat to make a new food

product that will be marketable in Thailand. Foods were inspected for

trace elements. Paper chromotography techniques were used to evaluate

the content of pesticides in food products. A Varian gas

chromotography equipment, series 2800, was in use. It had been

determined that the mercury content in fish caught in certain waters

6
was below accepted levels and, therefore, considered safe. They were

also looking for traces of copper and other metals. In another

inquiry they found that the lead content in raw and canned food was acceptable. It was below the maximum set up by the CODEX

Al imentarius. If trace elements meet the standard, some foods can be

given a Thai quality mark.

A health problem anywhere in the country is dealt with by the Public

Health Department (see 5.2), which may pass on a problem to the

Department of Science for testing. However, we were told that the

Department of Science exists primarily to promote industry, whereas

the Health Department exists primarily to protect the people. So, if

the Health Department invites the Department of Science to carry out a test, it is done, provided it does not become a routine duty.

The food control committee also sets some standards. The Department

of Science then checks the product of a given manufacturer to see if

it meets the standard. The purpose of the alcoholic beverage

laboratory is to encourage the birth of a new industry by

experimenting with new wines that could be produced. Analyses are made for alcohol content, oils, etc. Reports on specific beverages

are sent to the Ministry of Industry which deals with the manufacturer

if there is a problem. We were given a sample of an interesting

gooseberry wine.

The purpose of the nutrition laboratory is to do routine food analyses

and to test for the nutritional value of plants that are indigenous to

their region and that may be potential products. The new foods would

be both for consumption in Thailand and for export. There has been a problem with contamination of some of the tapioca exported from

Thailand. Tapioca is a principal export from Thailand. The problem

is related to foreign materials contained in the shipped product.

Every shipment is now checked for sand, crude starch, and moisture.

The tapioca root comes from the tropical plant manihot (manioc or cassava are just other names). The roots are cut into slices called

chips. The chips are dried and compressed into pellets, which are easier to ship. The Survey Team decided to study technical and

standards aspects of this tapioca problem. The plan was to be alert

throughout our stay in Thailand to any relevant observations and to

report these findinzs with special emphasis. On the last day,

however, it was found that a prior and superior investigation into the

problem had been made at the request of the Government of Thailand by

Cehave N. V. at the order of the International Technical Assistance

Department of the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs. It covered

the production and export control in Thailand, and the marketing in

Europe, of tapioca pellets as a raw material for the production of

compound animal feeds in the European Common Market. While the full

report of that study was not available, an advance 22 page surrmary had

7
been circulated. Additional non-technical points of importance emerge

which were not dealt with by the Survey Team. For example, it

revealed that certain import regulations at the European port of entry

are said to place a financial handicap on the use of superior pellets

made from steam dried chips. This alleged difficulty is outside the

scope of the Survey Team study and in no way negates our technical

conclusions which were applicable at the time of the Survey.

The conclusions reached by the Survey Team were:

a. The quality of the tapioca roots is not in question.

b. The yield could be improved by better soil preparation,

use of fertilizer, better weed control, and genetic

experimentation.

c. Better mechanical cutting machinery to produce smaller

chips might be introduced.

d. The cement floor, open air drying is objectionable.

Steam drying and pressing into pellets is preferable.

e. The standards for permissible raw cellulose (5%) and

sand (3%) are too high and encourage contamination due

to poor handling or intentional admixture of the

permitted amount. More than one of the several middlemen may be responsible for such contamination. Such

permissive standards provide no, or even a negative,

incentive for a quality product.

f. Sampling, test methods and the technical capability

to enforce the standards are available. However, substandard lots are so frequently cleared for export that

virtually all Thai tapioca shipped to Europe sells only at

a discount.

g. Bi logical (bacterial and fungus) contamination is a major problem and could be reduced by temperature control.

The temperature of the tapioca pellets at loading time

often exceeds 50°C. Harbor water temperatures are always

below 30°C, so that cooling should not involve a major

expense.

h. A standard for meal (powdered tapioca) content might be

introduced. The European animal feed manufacturer is

said to have trouble from high "meal" content of Thai

tapioca.

8
In the food preservation laboratory methods for preserving foods which

might be commercially exploited were investigated. For example, we

saw mushrooms that were being dehydrated. Convenience foods are becoming increasingly important in Thailand. Searches were conducted

for new foods that could be made from indigenous plants. We tasted

gooseberry and mango samples.

In the pulp research laboratory, tests were made to determine which of

the various woods that grow in Thailand could be used to make pulp for

paper. Short, medium, and long fiber woods are used to make paper.

All over the world there is a shortage of long fiber woods. A grass

grows all over Thailand that is a good source of the medium length

fiber for making paper.

Another laboratory was looking into how to process barium from barytes

deposits in Thailand. Presently barium is imported for making soda.

A new industry would be created if a conversion process could be

developed. Another laboratory was investigating the use of rice husks

to produce activated carbon for filters. One laboratory was air

conditioned. It housed a Cambridge scanning electron microscope used

for studying wood fibers. A staff member commented that he needed to

go abroad to learn how to repair instruments that are sold to

Thailand. The Department of Science does not operate an instrument

maintenance center. We were told that neither the Ministry of

Industry nor the Thai Government elsewhere has a strong calibration

center. Instruments must very often be sent back to the manufacturer.

We also went through the strength of materials and the cement testing

laboratories. There was an impressive X-ray instrument used for phase

identification using diffraction techniques. The chemistry section

laboratory had a small stock of NBS standard reference materials

supplied by NBS. The SRM's were kept for internal, not country-wide,

use. There were many uncoordinated chemistry laboratories. The

geological chemistry laboratory mostly analysed ground water for

hardness. The ceramic research and development laboratory served a fledging Thai industry that was making rapid progress. The woman with

whom we spoke received her preliminary training at Chulalongkorn

University, then studied and worked in Japan and the Netherlands. It was interesting to note that most of the section and laboratory chiefs were women. Some had been trained in the U.S.

1 .3 The Thai Industrial Standards Institute

The Thai Industrial Standards Institute (TISI) was headed by an Acting

Director, Mr. Chaiwai Sangruji and included a technical staff headed

by Mrs. Phani Na Rangsi , Miss Kanya Sinsakul and Mr. Vichit;

consultants resident from UNIDO were Dr. Kenneth Stephens from the

9
U.S.A. and Mr. Rohn Hopper from the U.K. Right at the end of the

team's stay in Thailand, Reiser revisited TISI for a half-day because

he judged this Institution to hold the key to progress in Thai

standardization services. It is also the institution, besides the

Department of Science itself, with which NBS could organize the most

constructively helpful follow-up activities in Thailand.

Implementing the Industrial Products Standards Act of 1968, TISI

develops and disseminates standards, through operation of broadly

based technical committees overseen by a high-level Standards Council.

The executive secretariats of the technical committees are provided by

TISI. Its staff provides information on existing national and

international standards on any product, service or test methodology,

so that the development work can be minimized. Adoption or at least

adaptation of existing standards is correctly preferred, but even in

such cases a consensus between all parties concerned is always

obtained. Sampling procedures are an excellent feature of TISI

standards. TISI staff are cautious in the use of mandatory

requirements available to TISI by law. A preference, rare in LDC's,

is shown for voluntary standards. However, where appropriate,

compulsion is used, which affects both indigenous and imported

products.

TISI has some of the usual administrative problems including

especially those of a low salary scale, so that the most experienced

staff are often attracted to industry. Imaginative public relations

efforts of TISI are commendable.

One of TISI's potentially most effective programs is the operation of

a quality marking scheme with clear guidelines to manufacturers on how

to obtain a license to display the mark on a specific product line.

The following steps are involved after an application is received by

TISI:

1. ) TISI inspects factory.

2. ) Random samples are selected.

3. ) A GOT or approved university laboratory tests the sample.

4. ) Evaluation of test results is made with feedback to

factory.

5. ) Technical assistance to factory is given if needed.

6. ) Report to Standards Council made.

7. ) Preparation and acceptance of a surveillance plan.

10
8. ) License is issued.

9.) Random surveillance and market sampling is continued.

10.) Routine tests based on standards are carried out by

the factory in accordance with TISI requirements which

may exceed those laid down in standard.

n.) Payments to TISI are made.

12.) Feedback to technical standards committees is encouraged.

The Survey Team members felt strongly that the achievements of TISI

under given conditions were remarkable. A gradually increasing

interaction with industry was foreshadowed with substantial benefits

to Thailand. Undoubtedly TISI and UNIDO staff would look forward to

any comment that the NBS/AID team had to make on the adequacy of the

laboratory facilities in relation to its certification scheme.

Unquestionably good test laboratory facilities would be one way of

increasing acceptance by industry of the quality marking scheme. On

the other side, TISI laboratories might take away or duplicate

unnecessarily existing facilities at the Department of Science and at

universities where the interaction with TISI has marked beneficial

effects. It is unfortunate that the team never had a chance to

discuss such issues in depth and consequently this report cannot

include a strong recommendation. The only consensus seemed to be that

if TISI establishes a laboratory it should be allowed to grow from

very small beginnings step by step for specific and crucial tests.

If the TISI marking scheme grows greatly, TISI will either have to

expand its staff or fail to fulfill its own standards of service. The

danger is clearly that either the important extension services or the

random inspections would be neglected.

1 .4 Department of Industrial Works

We were received by Mr. Udomsak, head of the Department of Industrial

Works. Through its Division of Factories, it operates an appreciable

portion of Thailand's industry including the utilities, 10% of the

sugar industry, 30% of the paper industry and 20% of the jute

industry. The rice wine industry, however, is in the Ministry of

Finance.

At the same time, the Department has regulatory functions over all

industry, including vocational training, industrial safety, pollution

control, etc. Throughout Thailand the relationship to labor is

paternal; the union movement is in its infancy. Midiation is not

n
needed although Japanese and Chinese employers are said to be rather

hard toward their workers on occasion.

The Department received instructions and guidelines from the National

Economic Development Board, but did not send up recommendations for

new policy initiatives. When technical problems arose the Department

of Science was contacted, but this did not happen frequently.

The associated Thai Management Development and Productivity Center was impressive but its functions were considered mostly outside the scope

of this Survey.

1 .5 Department of Industrial Promotion

We were received by Group Captain Wimon Wiriyawit, Director General of

the Department of Industrial Promotion and his Deputy Dr. Prabhas

Chakkaphak and other senior staff. In the Economics and Information

Division, the Department operates a progressive Small Industries

Service Institute which has had UN support and is encouraged by the

Thai Government. The principal function of this Department and topic

for our discussion concern the Industrial Service Institute which we visited later (see 2.4 and 2.6 below).

1 .6 Audience given by the Minister of Industry

An audience was given by General Krit Si vara. Minister of Industry who

was also Commander-in-Chief of the Thai army and Secretary General of

the National Executive Council. Present among others were Deputy

Minister Sa-ard, Mr. Saman of the Mineral Resources Department, Group

Captain Wimon of the Industrial Promotion Department, and Mr. Udomsak,

Chief of the Industrial Works Department. Despite the formalities

inherent in such an audience, a note of genuine welcome and

encouragement was clearly evident. Mr. Peiser conveyed a message from

the NBS Director, introduced the team, and described the limited goals

of the Survey. Dr. Corruccini. emphasized the great cost of basic

metrology and the need to make choices based on the real needs of

industry. It became clear there, and remained so throughtout our

stay, that all doors would be opened to give the NBS/AID team the

maximum opportunity to work for the benefit of the host country.

1 .7 Department of Mineral Resources

Mr. Saman explained that his Department was originally the Royal

Department of Mines, which was first moved to the Ministry of Natural

Development. Only in the previous year was his organization moved to

the Ministry of Industry. The major mineral resource of Thailand is

in the alluvial deposits in the South, from which tin is dredged (see

11.1). Mr. Saman warmly acknowledged assistance from experts through

12
USOM (USAID). Scholarships are offered by Gulf Oil and Conoco. The

geological survey of Thailand has been carried out on foot but the

satellite program will have a major influence. Thailand had

contracted with a German mission for a six year field study recently

concluded. We were not told of its principal outcome and did not feel we should ask for such information.

Although as Reiser pointed out, NBS and this NBS/AID team had

relatively little expertise in mineralogy and geology, Mr. Saman's

group raised two relevant problems on which the team could throw some

light. Both these turned out to be measurement problems throughout

Thailand.

a. ) The Division of Economic Geology needs time to 1/100

of a second in connection with its seismology work.

b. ) The mineral industry has trouble weighing ores,

especially on moving conveyors.

Among their laboratory equipment was atomic absorption spectroscopy.

X-ray diffraction, and absorption spectroscopy. They said they were

equipped for magnetic and seismic field exploration. Standard

reference materials were in limited use.

1 .8 Briefing by USAID (Bangkok)

On this day, and throughout the team's stay in Thailand, Mr. Donald C.

Marsden advised the team. He gave basic briefings on Thailand, its

people, its industries and agricultural products. Despite his many

other commitments, Mr. Marsden seemed available whenever a critical

question arose. The team on many occasions expressed well deserved

appreciation for Mr. Marsden 's guidance.

At the conclusion of the Survey, the Mission Director, Mr. Rey M. Hill

gave a debriefing interview to Mr. H. S. Reiser as team leader in

which he said that the interest shown by the highest levels of the

government of Thailand indicated clearly that the team had discussed

subjects of great importance and that the method of approach to many

organizations had been found to have had beneficial effects. Mr. Hill

for the future was hoping for follow-up activities by NBS especially

in the computer field in which the GOT needed consultation for better

utilization of existing facilities.

2. Visits of May 22

2.1 Ministry of Commerce, Office of Commodity Standards

The visit to the Office of Commodity Standards was most instructive

because of the enthusiastic tutelage of the Director, Mr. Rhot

13
Inganinanda. The OCS was established by the Export Conmodity

Standards Act of 1960. It deals with exports only. Its principal aim

is to establish and maintain a good reputation for Thai products. The

Ministry of Commerce determines what commodities must register for

each shipment. The Ministry then details an inspection team which

evaluates the prospective shipment by sampling and laboratory tests.

At present, ten products--mostly agricul tural --are under such control:

Keraf and jute, maize, castor beans, tapioca products other than

flour, kapok, grain sorghum, silk fabric (yardage), silverware, teak

"conversions" (i.e. sawed plank, but not logs, veneers, or furniture),

and marina salt (crude). Examination methods may be instrumental

(e.g. moisture content of sorghum and maize), wet chemical (e.g.

silverware), or visual (teak conversions). The exporter bears the

cost of the tests.

The OCS has prepared its own product standards for certain commodities

(OCS predated TISI). These standards tend to be based on the

requirements of the main customers. For example, the standard for

castor beans is based on Japanese requirements, since Japan buys 90%

of those exported. Similarly, the tapioca standard is based on EEC

requirements since this product goes largely to West Germany, Holland,

and Belgium. We noted that the Chief Chemist had been trained in

Japan and Germany, these being the chief customer nations of Thailand.

In case of disagreement between the test results of OCS and those that

may be obtained by the buyer, the purchase contract will usually

provide for independent testing and arbi tration--often in London. The

terms of the contract are always the governing factor in settlements,

once the character and quality of the shipment have been determined.

The necessity for the OCS program arose out of problems of the past,

e.g., cheap substitutes being represented as teak and Kanaf, kapok

seed waste furnished as paper pulp, and mislabelled silver and gold.

However, gold has not been standardized and the Thai sterling silver

standard if we understood correctly--does not meet highest assay

standards in London. The OCS has authority to punish exporters for

failure to meet export standards; the OCS can suspend or revoke export

licenses. On the other hand, the Ministry sometimes is able to defend

Thai exporters against unscrupulous or inaccurate claims of foreign

buyers, such as those who try to recoup losses from market

fluctuations by claiming short weight or poor quality. The work of

the Office is made difficult by the government's otherwise laudable

policy of favoring cottage industries in certain areas, such as textiles and silverware. Apparently the Office is adequately staffed

and can respond quickly to requests for registration; there was no mention during the entire tour of economic loss due to delays for

14
testing or of any consequent need for regional test facilities, themes

that loomed large in the corresponding Turkish Survey.

The OCS had a very small and congested wet chemistry laboratory with

12 people. Most wore the brown civil service uniforms.

2.2 Central Bureau of Weights and Measures

The Weights and Measures Act of 1923 (which incidentally specifies use of the metric system) is in force. It is apparently limited to the

basic measures of mass, length, and volume. This Bureau with branches

throughout Thailand and sections on a.) standardization, b.)

qualifications, c.) inspection, and d.) administration, licenses Thai users and sellers of instruments and measures for these quantities and

it certifies instrument types as well as each individual scale.

In the laboratory the team members saw one-meter and two-meter scales

with verniers and Sauter balances of various sizes and ages. These,

together with standard weights purchased from Germany, seemed to

comprise the so-called secondary standards of the Bureau, but it

proved difficult to ascertain just how or indeed the extent to which

they were used, and the location of the primary standards. In a workshop of spartan simplicity we watched adjustment and verification

of 7 1/2, 15, and 35 kg spring balances. About 500 were on hand.

Galvanized dispensers for liquids or granular products and 10 liter to

40 liter wooden buckets for grains were also on view. We were unable

to ascertain the accuracies required of any of these.

A petroleum testing laboratory in the Central Bureau of Weights and

Measures was established under the "Oil Fuels Act". It is equipped to

handle diesel fuel and lubricating oils. At present, research

laboratories desiring to have measurement standards calibrated can request a calibration from the Department of Science, and the

Department of Science is looking towards this Survey Team to recommend

a simple formula for instituting a reliable national calibration

service for which a desperate need is felt.

2.3 Chulalongkorn University (Bangkok)

Chalalongkorn University is reputed to be the one with the strongest

science and engineering program in Thailand. The Faculty of Arts and

Science was established in 1918 and benefited from grants from the

Rockefeller Foundation.

Apparently, many members of the professional staff of the Department

of Science received their undergraduate education there.

Unfortunately, the Survey fell in the period between terms. Thus,

laboratories and classrooms were empty, and but few staff members were

15
available. The following are some miscellaneous notes on a few of the

departments visited:

a. Mechanical Engineering: There were 80 senior students,

and a staff of 30. There were 12 MS candidates. The

Department was just converting the teaching from British

to SI units. One member of the staff served on a TISI

committee. We saw a conventional engines laboratory.

b. Industrial Department: Students could choose between two

options: Chemical Engineering and Industrial Management.

There were 22 seniors in each. The Department had little

equipment.

c. Civil Engineering: There were 400 students. The Department was well equipped for mechanical testing. They tested

for TISI and charged fees. We also saw hydraulics and

soil test equipment.

d. Sanitary Engineering: This Department had a four-year

program with 100 students altogether.

e. Electrical Engineering: A total of 400 students were in

this Department. There was a control systems laboratory and

a modern analog computer (Japanese). Ballasts and lamps were tested for TISI.

f. Physics: The Physics Department had 40 undergraduate

students and 12 MS candidates. Graduate laboratories

included a nice-looking nuclear spin apparatus being applied

to liquid crystal studies, and an X-ray diffraction apparatus.

With the latter, structures of some pure macromolecular

organic crystals supplied by the Chemistry Department had

been determined. The outlook of the Department seemed to be

to "do their thing" as pure physicists. Thus, there was no contract research or consultation in applied physics. The

faculty was trained mostly in English-speaking countries.

Laboratory technicians were plentiful. Typically they were recruited from among TV repairmen and given special training

for scientific laboratory work. Regarding metrology and

instrument calibration, the Department (and University) had

no special facility for such services.

2.4 National Energy Authority Laboratory

This organization (NEA) tests products under a law which gives it

responsibility for public safety related to power and energy. We saw testing of ballasts for flashover as a function of humidity, life

16
testing of switches, tests of wire and cable and switch housings.

Typically, they would follow lEC test procedures. (Ballasts and

incandescent lamps are manufactured in Thailand, but flourescent lamps are not. Wire and cable are also made in Thailand using imported

copper and PVC.

)

Their standards of resistance, voltage, and current were said to be

referred to those of ASTRC (see 2.9). They have a GE "primary

standard" watt-hour meter with certificate.

NBA performs some tests for TISI and it provides expert members of

certain TISI committees. We were told that conflicts of interest have

occurred between NEA and TISI, for example, regarding testing of

ballasts. This type of problem is common to all countries and is

inevitable. Any planner who writes that there should be just one responsible organization for all testing and regulatory control, fails

to appreciate important realities.

2.5 Thailand Chamber of Commerce

Our visit to the Thailand Chamber of Commerce was brief. It could

well be that we underestimated the technical and standards functions

it fulfills. It did not provide a forum for professional

technological and engineering discussion as do the corresponding

chambers in Turkey. The Chamber resembles more closely the U.S.

counterpart organization and thus falls outside the scope of this

Survey.

2.6 The Industrial Service Institute (ISI)

The Industrial Service Institute which has a branch at Chiang Mai

(5.5) assists entrepreneurs to develop and improve small businesses.

The Institute is in the Department of Industrial Promotion (1.4) and

was founded with much help from UNDP. Even now ISI welcomes foreign

experts sent by UNIDO and the ILO. Although ISI provides many other

services its technical aims are also extensive. It provides:

a. Seminars and Training Courses

_b. Consultation and Technical Management

c. Cost and Productivity Studies

d. Factory Planning

e. Advice on Quality Control

f. Demonstrations on New Manufacturing Techniques

17
g. Advice on Raw Material Evaluation

h. Feasibility Studies

i . Market Surveys

j. Design Consultation

k. Packaging Design

1 . Product Testing

In addition to an Administrative Division the principal units of ISI

are:

a. Extension and Training

b. Economics and Information

c. Design Testing

d. Packaging

e. Workshop

f. Chiang Mai Branch

The strongest expertise of ISI is in the following areas:

a. Machine Shop Practice

b. Tool and Die Design

c

.

Heat Treatment

d. Electroplating

e. Sheet Metal Working

f. Welding

g. Forging

h. Foundry Technology

i

.

Plastics Fabrication

j. Woodworking

18
Special facilities in the ISI building include:

a. Library

b. Conference and Lecture Halls

c. Design and Drawing Offices

d. Machine Shops

e. Welding Shops

f. Forge

g- Electroplating Shop

h. Chemical Laboratory

i

.

Model Foundry

j. Pattern Shop

k. Woodworking Shop

1. Plastics Forming Shop

We talked chiefly to the following staff members who gladly answered

our many questions:

° Mr. Ghamnu Vasinonta

Chief of Workshop

° Mr. Virot Vipa Tapaet

Senior Industrial Officer

° Mr. Manu Leopairote

Chief of Economics and Information

° Mr. Padetpai Meekun-iam

Chief of Design and Testing Division

° Mrs. Orapin Werawut

Chief of Administration

° Mrs. Nataya Chaiyarat

Designer in Packaging Division

The staff was very small compared with the tasks (about 20 with

appreciable technical experience). All were enthusiastic and felt

19
convinced they provided a badly needed service. They had contacts

mostly through UNIDO and AID with international organizations, but no strong linkage with the Department of Science, AIT, or ASRCT. Metal

and plastics technology are to be priority areas, but detailed

planning direction appeared not to be received from the Ministry of

Industry or higher planning groups. Some staff members felt they were

too busy to be responsive to other organizations in Thailand or higher

Governmental policies. Contact with some small industrial and

manufacturing units was good. However, ISI did not appear to be

widely known to industrialists on small companies.

The services of ISI appear to be well conceived, but it seemed strange

that even experts from abroad tend to work diligently within

institutions like ISI without establishing strong links with other

foreign experts in another like TISI. ISI and TISI would gain in many

instances by cooperating as a pair of organizations delivering to

industry distinct but related services.

2.7 Tanning Organization

The Tanning Organization is part of the Ministry of Defense but serves

the civilian as well as the military market. We were welcomed most

graciously by Major General Charoen Supapongse and Mr. Phon Chatura,

Chief of the Pig Skin Department. Miss Sunantha Phut Inart is the

Chief of the laboratory.

The Tanning Organization operates the biggest and most modern tannery

in Thailand employing over 500 workers. It processes cattle and

buffalo hides. The products are all kinds of leatherware. There is a severe quality problem due to lack of a refrigerated storage plant.

The output is mostly for the home market. After severe rejection

rates at several production stages, products appear attractive, are of

very reasonable cost and are marketed through the Tanning

Organization's own stores.

2.8 Ceramic Research and Development Center and Textile

Testing Services

The Ceramic Research and Development Center was under a Japanese

expert from the Tokyo Institute of Technology. He had designed and

built several kilns and furnaces with his Thai trainees. Students

were learning to handle raw materials and produce simple ceramic ware

and refractories. Unfortunately the Japanese expert claimed to be

unhappy with conditions and even with his Thai trainees. His

preference was to guide applied scientific research and install

elaborate instrumentation, and he was requesting funds for much stateof-the-art instrumentation. The perceptive guide from the Department

of Science had notice from Reiser's questioning that he had come to

20
the conclusion that the kiln building and pilot ceramic production

were more relevant here than the advanced research described. The

guide felt that after that determination questions on the applied

research, which the Japanese expert wanted to do, were irrelevant.

The Textile Testing Services, also under the Department of Industrial

Promotion of the Ministry for Industry, were well explained in terms

01" Thai development needs. Here Mr. F. Massam from Lancashire,

England, guided and trained enthusiastically 155 trainees studying for

two years. All kinds of fibers including silk were processed.

Spinning, dyeing, weaving, and finishing operations were learnt with

simple machinery. Quality control and other tests methods were part

of Mr. Massam 's practical course.

2.9 Applied Scientific Research Corporation of Thailand

The Applied Scientific Research Corporation of Thailand (ASRCT) is a semi-independent non-profit confidential consulting organization to

help industrial development, with a direct reporting line to the Prime

Minister's Office. It had received support from UNESCO and the UN

Special Fund. In addition to its laboratories ASRCT maintained a staff of economic, management and marketing consultants. ASRCT--so

the slogan says--"can help you make money." It has indeed success

stories to tell including those concerning:

a. ) basil oil production

b. ) tin plate production

c. ) a ferro-cement grain storage silo.

ASRCT had an information service, printing capability, national

measurements reference standards, the Center for Thai National

Standard Specifications (CTNSS), and the Instrument Repair and

Calibration Center (IRCC).

Our hosts described the IRCC first. It was said to be "ready to

service (for nominal charges) any instrument or equipment rendered

unusable because of faulty components, missing parts, inadequate or

missijig operating instructions, or inadequate calibration".

Apparently IRCC was instituted to serve the Government for repair and

calibration services of test instruments. However, it had not been

fully utilized and at the time of our visit was not suitably equipped.

We were told at the Department of Science that the Government does not

have a strong instrument calibration center and that instruments must

often be returned to manufacturers for repair or calibration.

21
An integral part of ASRCT was the Center for Thai National Standard

Specifications (CTNSS). Although the team visted CTNSS, observations

are now irrelevant because this unit has since been disbanded.

As long ago as in June 1969, Lai C. Verman, while ECAFE (Economic

Commission for Asia and the Far East) Regional Adviser for Industrial

Standardization, pointed to the disadvantages of proliferation of

standardization organizations in Thailand in his Advisory Service

Report on Standardization in Thailand. This problem remained

essentially unchanged and it had evidently not been possible to

implement the advice given by Verman. It might be well to quote

Verman 's principal conclusion:

"In conclusion it may briefly be stated that, after having studied the

existing structure of standardization activity in Thailand, among the seven of its agencies created under seven different statutes, the

author has found it necessary to recommend the ultimate creation of a truly national standards body, which would centralize all national

activity, enlist the cooperation of all interests concerned, eliminate

all duplication of effort, be able to project an authoritative image

nationally and internationally, and above all provide conditions for

the optimum utilization of the limited resources available in

developing economy to the best advantage."

He also found that the time was not quite ripe for taking such a step

immediately, but that the formation of a high-level consultative body

of all the existing agencies to help achieve the ultimate goal within

the next 7 or 8 years would be opportune. In the interim period this

consultative body would guide the country to move in the direction of

a central body and be entrusted with the responsibility for the

coordination of all standards activities among the various agencies.

He felt that this will prove a workable solution and help realize the

ultimate aim.

The Survey Team tended to support Verman on the problem but would not

feel qualified to press for the implied solution which looks so good

and simple on paper but cannot in practice be realized in Thailand,

India or anywhere. Besides one might well ask whether such an organization would not be so large that the problem of interdivisional

relationships within the organization could just supersede the

interorganizational problem. A more permanent system of cooperation

between governmental standards writing authorities may be a more

easily workable alternative and may serve Thailand better. In that

mode CTNSS should, for example, make full use of available U.N.

advisers in the country at other standards-writing organizations.

It should also be borne in mind that those who wrote the legislation

for ASRCT had the national standards, instruments and calibration

22
center in mind just as Verman advocates. Yet in practice ASRCT could

not by their services establish such a unique role. In practice and

despite ASRCT's excellent legislative and administrative location,

TISI and the Department of Science in their services to industry now seem to serve a more effective role.

2.10 Visit to Kasetsart University

The Survey Team was received by the Vice Director of Kasetsart

University who was a member of the newly formed Committee of eight on Policy for Science and Technology attached to the National Executive

Council in the Prime Minister's Office. Dr. Prapit Nanagara of the

Department of Science was also a member. The communications with the

Committee were being established, so that existing technical resources

could be used, the Government could ask the right questions, and the

technical community could listen to the issues and pass forward its

relevant advice. This last point seems to be of great importance.

The team had the impression that Thai professionals find it easier to

be directed by authority than to give that authority the benefit of

their advice. Good planning in science should go from bottom to the

top as well as the other way round.

Dr. Yongyut Chiemchaisri , a senior professor in the Chemistry

Department of the University, was not at all interested in any form of

administration, in any coupling between his activities and national

problems, or even in any cooperation with other professional chemists

working in other institutions. Although Dr. Yongyut 's views on these

issues were extreme, they do point to a characteristic of Thai

professional attitudes. Of course similar viewpoints are met in the

U.S. and other countries, but rarely to the same extreme. To

illustrate the existing national differences we give two illustrative

examples:

We raised the subject of the extent to which the Kasetsart University

advocated participation in professional technical societies in order

to foster good communicationszamong working professionals. Dr.

Yongyut startled us all with the statement that the people at

Kasetsart have a great deal to do and that people, for instance, at

the Department of Science also have a great deal to do, so why should

they ^pend a lot of time talking to each other.

The second example is the following:

We wanted to obtain some additional insight into the reasons for the

existing textbook shortage. Dr. Yongyut stated that in Thailand a university will use only textbooks that were written at the

university! This surprising rule was confirmed at other universities.

23
It seems that the communication problems faced by standards

organizations are not unique in Thailand.

2.11 Lever Brothers

At Lever Brothers (Thailand), Ltd., which manufactures Lever products

according to the central company's specifications, we were graciously

received by the Director, Mr. Tanee Intrasuit, and after a period of

discussion, went on a detailed tour of the manufacturing and testing

facilities. In the analytical laboratory, environmental control,

safety procedures, test methods, and analyses were carried out

according to the company book of procedures. The company specified

standard materials and test methods in great detail plainly written.

Government standards existed for soaps and were being developed for

detergents. The company was confident it would easily meet such

standards. Weighing scales were calibrated by a local engineering

company and were also checked by the Government of Thailand.

2.12 Thailand Iron Works

Factory manager Mr. Vitoon Siriyakorn met the Survey Team. This

Company galvanized and corrugated sheet iron which had been imported

from Japan. There was little to observe in the way of test methods.

Average thickness of the galvanizing layer was determined by average

weight. There was also a visual inspection. A large weighing scale

was calibrated occasionally by the Government.

2.13 Colgate - Palmolive (Thailand) Ltd.

At Colgate-Palmolive (Thailand) Ltd., we were received by the

Australian Plant Manager, Mr. P. D. McLeod, who expressed the

Company's interest in cooperating with government committees

developing standards. A tour of the manufacturing and testing

facilities was led by the Production Manager, Mr. Prasarn

Luhkraisiddhi , and the Industrial Engineering Supervisor, Mr. Sukawat

Smaksevi. As at Lever, everything was done according to the central

company's specifications. Various instruments were calibrated by

local engineering representatives. An interesting aspect of the

standardization process was illustrated by the laboratory desire to

have brightness testing included in Government specifications. This

laboratory possessed an instrument for such testing but not all the

soap companies did. Upon departure, we were presented with specimens

of the Company products for all the team members and Thai associates.

2.14 Port Authority of Thailand in Bangkok

At the Port Authority of Thailand we had a pleasant discussion with

Mr. Chit Chinphun, Mrs. Chunya Naksupa and Mr. Tavorn. The primary

24
measurements seemed to be of package dimensions (carried out with a tape measure) and of package weight (carried out with a scale

sometimes taken by truck to and from some other site.) The means for

recording temperature of biodegradable products and moisture content

would find applications, for example, for tapioca. The visit

concluded with a brief tour of the facilities.

2.15 Esso Standard Thailand Co., Ltd .

At the Esso Standard (Thailand) Company a number of laboratory

measurements involving properties such as viscosity were carried out

with instruments calibrated with standard reference materials. There

were, of course, also field calibrations involving measurements of

volume. The volume of incoming petroleum products was subject to

three measurements which could be intercompared: at the refinery, by

the tanker, and by this distribution center. All these were made and

compared according to Company's specified procedure. Local volume

calibration tanks were checked by the Government as well as by the

Company. Many similar examples were found in Thailand where

redundancy in measurements probably gives better compatibility and

even accuracy than might be expected from the lack of calibration

schedules or traceability to physical standards of high integrity.

3. Visits of May 23

3.1 Association of Thai Industries (ATI)

This Association has 300 member firms. They are predominantly small,

but most of the large firms of Thailand are also members. At present

there are no state industries in the Association, although there is

nothing to prevent them from applying.

Economic development originally focused on agricultural products, but

has been turning towards industrial products with export potential,

e.g., cement, textiles, and beer. ATI recognized that this trend

necessitates paying attention to the field of product standards. They

admitted that the Government has an essential role in standardization

but felt that the rate of progress of Governmental activity in this area was too slow. Criticism of TISI seemed rather severe. The

example of the shrimp standard certainly was in part of doubtful

validity because it is based on the Codex Al imentarius . For another

example, ATI wondered why standards which have been developed by such

bodies as ISO, DIN, ASTM, etc., could not be recognized. Surely they

could be immediately adopted in translation, rather than developing

special Thai standards with the time-consuming committee work and

testing of products of local industry that this seems to necessitate.

There is a valid answer to this criticism. Thai standards often are closely similar to other national or international standards. The

25
selection from alternative sources is often a worthwhile activity.

Some adaptation to Thai conditions is rewarding besides introducing

committee members to problems, opportunities and choices. Similarly

trial tests have a strong and essential training function.

ATI put forv^ard the view that a quasi -private status of the main

standardization activity with government support might offer

advantages. LDC's that have attempted such organizations (e.g.,

Brazil) are turning away from that kind of organization. At any rate,

the budget of the GOT for standardization was seen as inadequate.

Although there was no Thai patent or trademark law, trademarks were nevertheless administered by the Commerce Department.

Regarding testing facilities, producers were generally thought to have

sufficient laboratory capabilities to assume control of their own products. Sophisticated methods were hardly ever required, given the

nature of products manufactured in Thailand. Thai industry supports

little or no R&D at its present stage.

ATI is ruled by a Board consisting of a President, three Vice

Presidents, two Secretaries General, two Treasurers, two Legal

Advisers, a Registrar, three Sergeants-at-Arms , and twelve ordinary

members. By this distribution of functions a wide participation by

many companies was assured.

3.2 The Coon Rawd Brewery Co. Ltd.

We were conducted by Mr. G. Glauninger, a German, who was the

Company's head brewmaster. The excellence of this modern plant, its

meticulous cleanliness, and the good quality of the product are a pleasure as much to behold as they are for the Company to show.

Addition of a percentage of rice is permitted in Thailand in place of

barley. This addition alters the taste perceptibly but not at all

unpleasantly. The turbidity test was beautifully displayed to

visitors but on questioning, Mr. Glauninger conceded that production

control rested on faster tests. Most of the product could have been

dispatched before the standard turbidity test would indicate certain

bacteriological impurities. The description of a possible technique

for curing a minor problem with a production control measurement may

have compensated the Company for our gracious reception. The visit to

this brewery was unique in the team's experience in that the tasting

of its product was not part of the tour. In evenings spent in

Thailand we had many other opportunities to enjoy that beer.

3.3 Si am Garment Ltd.

At the small Si am Garment Company we were received by the Manager, Mr.

Tweesak Dhepnukul . This factory made cotton shirts, blouses and other

26
garments. It employed mostly women. Many women pretend to be single

while they are actually married. In most companies married women are

not eligible for employment but benevolent employers do not inquire

too deeply.

Electric sewing machines are the only modern equipment. Work is done

by copying submitted patterns. Mr. Tweesak had only one hope from our visit and that was that we would obtain orders for his Company for the

U.S.A. Why else would we visit his plant? Our explanations were apparently considered polite rejections of his products. We tried to

make him understand with the result, we fear, that he was left with

the hope of receiving orders. He recognized that we had given no promises.

3.4 Thailand Carpet Manufacturing Co. Ltd.

The Thailand Carpet Manufacturing Co. Ltd. worked in conjunction with

sister firms in Taiwan and elsewhere. Carpets were said not to be for

export, yet are of high quality, hand knotted, and finished. The

finest quality of silk carpets were not attempted. Appreciable

technology transfer occurred through competitive British, German and

Swiss firms supplying dyes. Production controls and inspection

procedures were traditional. As no competition was feared and no competition for export was attempted, the Company was not open to much

work on standardization or innovative ideas, yet gave the impression

of a good organization with reasonable conditions for labor and an excellent product. Prices v/ere less than half of those prevailing in

the U.S.A.

3.5 Isuzu Motor Co. Ltd.

The Isuzu Company is a Japanese truck and bus manufacturer affiliated

with Mitsubishi. The above plant, in the suburbs of Bangkok,

assembled two models of truck chasses, a light truck and a heavy-duty

truck. It turned out 500 per month, about 70% being heavy duty

trucks. The Company claimed it sold 88% of all trucks and buses then

being sold in Thailand. (However, one saw many Mercedes as well.) Its

main customer problems arose from overloading of its vehicles. (The

team noted many examples of this in its travels. As an example, the

Datsuix pickups commonly used as jitneys were usually "loaded to the

gunwales" with passengers riding on benches in the five-foot long bed,

their personal effects on the canopy. One which we saw smartly

negotiating a mountain grade disgorged sixteen peoplel)

Most components used by Isuzu were imported from Japan, and were

tested before shipping. Batteries, radiators, and paint were produced

locally. However, the local sources were often Japanese affiliated or controlled. Production line controls included visual inspection of

27
paint and riveting, a brief driving test, checks of brakes, lights,

speedometer, and wheel alignment. If engine adjustments were needed,

they were performed at Mitsubishi in Bangkok. Measuring instruments

included a master speedometer, a "standard torque wrench", an electronic paint thickness gage, and the brake dynamometer. We were

unable to ascertain if the calibration of such devices was a concern.

The plant used less power handling equipment than its counterparts in

Japan. The manual operations that we observed were highly specialized

and unsophisticated. However, the workers' positions were constantly

changed so that a worker could learn the entire assembly process

within three to six months. They had two Japanese engineering

advisers who were there on two-year assignments. Formerly there were

as many as seven. The foremen were Thais. The labor force numbered

200. Our host was the Manager, Mr. Thavil Tandhapongse.

As in the case of Bangchun General Assembly Company (see below) the more sophisticated quality controls using physical instruments were

being performed out of Thailand by the parent company. Isuzu appeared

to be even more isolated than Bangchun from any dependence on Thai

national production standardization requirements or instrument

calibration facilities.

3 . 6 Bangchun General Assembly Co. Ltd.

This automobile assembly company, located outside Bangkok, was formed

by a coalition which favors local assembly and penalizes importation

of fully assembled cars. Individually they could not have justified

acquisitions of assembly facilities, but the collective venture had

proved successful. The cars were the GM Holden, Alfa-Romeo, and one

other. One might suppose that difficulties would arise from the

workers having to switch periodically from one assembly routine to

another but such problems had not materialized. The company started

with a nucleus of trained workers but most of the employees were

trained on the job. The plant manager worked previously in Singapore

and Manila, and he feels that Thai workers are superior.

The law required that domestic products should account for 25% of the

value of the car. However, this was somewhat ambiguous and was flexibly interpreted. They used domestic paints, sealer, and greases.

Domestic glass and rubber were in prospect, and perhaps later wiring

and mufflers. However, the automobile market was too small and was shared among too many makes for domestic manufacturing of more

sophisticated components to be economical. There would be advantages

to limiting the market to about three lines only, as has been done by

India and Korea.

28
Two problem areas were mentioned:

One was the variety of other national standards governing imported

components, e.g., screw threads, dimensions of tubing and fittings,

etc. The other was the unreliability of some domestic products. As

an example, the Company had been supplied a lot of nice-looking bolts

marked as high-tensile, which turned out to be made of an ordinary

grade of steel. The manager felt that the TISI mark on such items

would be a partial assurance, but that one would still fear

unscrupulous and unauthorized copying of the mark. (The Act of 1968

provides rather severe penalties for improper use: confiscation,

fines and imprisonment.)

There was little quality control to be seen here, since it was largely

performed elsewhere, either at the source of major imported components

(e.g., engine, drive train), or at the distributor's depot for

completed vehicles. Bangchun did test the settings of its spot

welding machines twice daily with visual, qualitative assessment of

the results.

Thus, although every effort was made by our hosts to be helpful and

informative, the visit was not very useful. It might have been better

to have talked to the management level of users of Bangchun products.

The larger and very interesting question of whether the Government's

policy on import taxation of automobiles is wise, is, of course,

outside the scope of the Survey.

3.7 Telephone Organization of Thailand (TOT)

The Telephone Organization of Thailand provides domestic and

international telephone, telegraph and telex services. Our visit was

to the Test and Development Center. We were received by the Chief of

the Center, Mr Olarn Phiendham.

The Center has been operated since 1964. It is a joint venture of the

Thai Government, UNDP and the International Telecommunication Union,

providing consulting, calibration and testing services, preparing

engineering instructions, and drafting standard specifications. The

Team believes that Thailand's communications industry can confidently

build on the technical resources provided by this Center. An HP 107

oscillator was the frequency reference. A Tracor 599 VLF tracking

receiver steered the oscillator to the 22.3 kHz Australian signal.

There are three Rhode and Schwartz crystal standards. They also had a Rhode and Schwartz rubidium standard. They tracked Rugby (16 kHz) and

Northwest Cape. They used a Fluke 207-1 VLF receiver on 22.3 kHz.

They got only the skywave from Northwest Cape. It was very smooth.

29
The voltage standard was a 1.019 3-volt standard cell. Tfie standard

resistance box had 1, 10, 50, 100, 200, 500, 600, Ik, 5k, 10k, GOk,

and lOOkohm resistances. The capacitance standard had a range of 200

pF to 0.1 uF. The inductance standard had a range of lyH to IH. These

were all sent to Hawaii for calibration (USAR PAC Standards

Laboratory)

.

The objectives of the Center included the following:

1. ) Setting up of a calibration laboratory to provide the

required services to all the telecommunication organizations

2. ) Developing specificationzterials and equipment to

suit local needs

3. ) Acceptance testing of stores, equipment and installations

in the different fields in the telecommunication organizations

4. ) Issuing of engineering instructions in the various fields for

adoption in the operating administrations.

Mr. Olarn explained that TOT prepares their own written standards.

These standards are prepared following procedures used by many

companies in Japan, U.S., England, and Europe. In some cases TOT

works with contactors in preparing the standards.

The Repair and Calibration Section at TOT maintained primary standards

for TOT. TOT had a mobile laboratory that travelled all over Thailand

visiting the TOT offices to perform calibrations. Another mobile

laboratory was to be acquired during the year following the Survey.

HF Time Signals: WWVH was received on 15 MHz and 20 MHz. Ordinarily

they could get WWVH at any time of the day or night, and sometimes

WWV. They could not receive JJY. WWVH was overlayed with BPV. We

could hear BPV tick plus a female voice. The recording quality was

fair. We were informed by laboratory personnel that we were in the

middle of a 3-day sunspot maximum which started on the previous day at

about 1400 hours. An additional recording of an HF time signal was

made. They said it was RIP in Mainland, China.

We saw their repair facility and acceptance testing laboratory. The

telephone cables they use are manufactured in Thailand. A local

factory could manufacture up to 900 pairs of cable. One local branch

was Phelps Dodge; the other was Yasiskee from Japan. About 80% of the

cable used in Thailand was produced locally. We also saw their

facility for type and acceptance testing of telephone hand sets. TOT

supplied a few microwave links for the television network. TOT was supposed to supply and maintain all television links in Thailand.

30
There was a microwave link for television programs as far south as Hat

Yai (close to Songkla) and as far morth as Chiang Mai. The next year

there was to be a link up to Khon Kaen in the northeast. The TV

network was used daily for newscasts. No circuit switching was involved.

The Public Relations Department of the Thai Government was directly

responsible for policy concerning the nationwide television network.

A police communication system was separate from all others, and came

under the Interior Ministry. The Post and Telegraph Department, dealt

with Intelsat. According to the Weights and Measures Act, the

Department of Weights and Measures has responsibility for commercial

standards of weights and measures as well as for maintenance of all

primary standards of measurement. The collaborative links between

these organizations was only loose. The NBS/AID team discussed on many occasions the benefits that Thailand would derive from closer

cooperation or reallocation of technical responsibilities.

3.8 The Hydrographic Department

The Hydrographic Department of Thailand has responsibility for

hydrography, geodesy, astromony, and time standards. We were received

by Lt. Cmdr. Dr. Permsak Vijjanukroh, Mr. Pitayakorn Pini tpouvadol

(Purdue MS) and Dr. Chawewan Koonkhamlert , who had recently received

the first PhD degree to be awarded by a Thai University. Her

accomplishment was being acknowledged by a display at the Rockefeller

Center in New York.

We were told that the Hydrographic Department would shortly begin

standard time broadcasts. One would employ frequency modulation at

104 MHz with 1 kW radiated power. Short-wave broadcasts at 1.2 MHz,

10 kW and an unspecified medium-wave broadcast were planned. The

format included time, frequency, weather information and disaster

warnings.

A single side band microwave link to EGAT was scheduled for

implementation before the end of 1973 which would provide time in

binary code once each second.

Dr Permsak had offered to conduct seminars for a number of agencies on

the applications for standard time. EGAT was the only agency that had

responded to his offer.

3.9 The Board of Trade of Thailand

The Board of Trade of Thailand is an independent organization formed

essentially by representatives of the Chamber of Commerce, the Trade

Association, State Enterprises, Cooperative Societies and Companies.

Its Annual Report 1972/3 highlights some recent contracts with the

31
Peoples Republic of China, some resistance to Japanese goods, an antiluxury campaign, and support for home-produced products. The Board

had an excellent publication program including the weekly "Trade

Bulletin" and advised the Government of Thailand on many trade and

business problems.

Our host was Mr. Rangsan and the Deputy Secretary. The tapioca

problem was again discussed from the viewpoint of the inspection

procedures carried out by the Board of Trade which some say simply

doubles the problem and expense of having consignments certified that

do not meet the standard. Similar problems existed for rice and other

processed agricultural produce.

3.10 Visit to Channels 4 and 9

We met with Mr. Tawat, head of the TV Technical Division, Thai TV Co.,

Ltd. It operates under the Department of Public Relations which has

stations at Lampang, Khon Kaen, Songkla, and Surat Thani. In addition

there are rebroadcast transmitters at some locations. Once each day a 15 minute newscast was broadcast live from Bangkok. The stations just

mentioned carried the live newscasts with the synchronization

information intact. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) TV

format was originally used in Thailand, but it caused trouble because

Thailand has 50 cycle power. Thai TV had to use 50-60 cycle power

conversion equipment at the transmitters, so they switched to the

International Radio Consultative Committee (CCIR) format. They still

had two stations that broadcast the FCC format, but all future

stations were to be in the CCIR format.

Mr. Tawat explained that Thai TV was the only "private" television

company in Thailand. The other television companies were owned and

operated by Government agencies. The Thai TV Company is owned by

"shareholders". The shareholders are the Thai Army, the Navy, the Air

Force, the Police Department, the Ministry of Finance, the Lottery

Bureau, the tobacco monopoly of Thailand, and the Government's Public

Relations Department, which is the major shareholder. The Public

Relations Department exercises very tight control over the Thai TV

Company, which is independent in the sense that it receives no revenues from the Government. The advertisers who sponsor its

programs are its only source of revenue.

The Thai TV Company owns and operates Channels 4 and 9 as well as a number of AM and FM radio stations. One of Thai TV's FM stations is

piped into hotel rooms. It is known to Thai's by its call letters.

Taw Taw Taw. Its carrier frequency is 99.5 MHz. That station carries

the "early bird" program which appeared to be very popular in

Thail and.

32
The Thai Army had both radio and television stations of its own. Their operation is entirely separate from Thai TV. The Government's

Public Relations Department operates a number of television stations,

most of which were up-country. These stations were known as the

National Radio Network of Thailand. The Public Relations Department

administers the broadcasting laws in Thailand. The Communications Law

is administered separately by the Ministry of Communications. That

organization has responsibilities which apparently include activities

equivalent to those of the FCC in the U.S.A. All stations must

register with the International Frequency Registration Board (IFRB)

whose headquarters are at Geneva, Switzerland.

When a government agency operates a broadcasting station, its

activities are not controlled by the broadcasting law. If the Public

Relations Department wanted to use the NBS TV Time System and/or to

caption on Thai TV, they would not have to obtain approval from any

other authority.

The use of the TV Time System in Thailand would benefit the TV

networks themselves. The clocks at the local stations around the

country were not well coordinated at the time of the Survey. The only

nationwide broadcast was a daily 15 minute newscast. Mr. Tawat said

that they would like to have more network programs. One discouraging

factor was that they lost about 5 minutes of program time every time

they assembled the local stations into a network. Part of that time

loss was related to adjustments that must be performed, but another

part of it was because the clocks in the local stations did not all

read the same.

Airline terminal clocks are already coordinated adequately. However,

captioning carried additional interest for Thailand. There are a few

minutes of programming that occur at 7 p.m., 8 p.m., and 9 p.m. each

day with captioning. When queried as to whether this was partly aimed

at improving literacy, Mr. Tawat said that it was. Some sponsors

liked the captioning, but others did not. It was not done

universally. Mr. Tawat was enthusiastic about the captioning

opportunities associated with TV time.

3.11 The Provincial and Metropolitan Electricity Authorities

4PEA) and MEAj

At the Provincial Electricity Authority one survey team member (Larry

Gatterer) met Mr. Aroon, the manager of the engineering division, Mr.

Boonlert, the Chief of Standards and Construction, and Mr. Som Chai

,

the Chief of the Technical Section.

The Yanhee Dam had been completed and v^as in operation. The largest

generator at Yanhee is one megawatt. The Electricity Generating

33
Authority of Thailand (EGAT) takes care of the main power distribution

network from Bangkok north to a place called Tak which is the location

of the Yanhee dam site. EGAT is responsible for power generation at

Yanhee and for taking care of the main transmission line down to

Bangkok. PEA takes care of the local substations and the radial s from

the substations to the homes. EGAT's primary responsibility is with

regard to the generation of electricity. PEA's primary responsibility

is for distribution of electric power.

The Metropolitan Electricity Authority (MEA) generally has the same

duties as does PEA except that MEA serves only Bangkok, Thon Buri

Nonthaburi , and Samut Parkan. All the other provinces in Thailand

were taken care of by PEA. EGAT will control the power to be

generated by the many dams around Thailand.

The team did not obtain a clear picture of how electrical

standardization was coordinated, for example, with TOT's Test and

Development Center which had effective assistance from UNDP and ITU.

3.12 The Royal Thai Air Force Precision Measurement Electronics

Laboratory (PMEL)"

Mr. Gatterer went as the only NBS/AID team representative from abroad

to visit the Royal Thai Air Force Precision Measurement Electronics

Laboratory (PMEL) at Don Muang. He was accompanied by Ms. Kanya and

Mr. Ari of the Department of Science.

The meeting was with Ruths trom, Boonyamit, Suntus, and Papaat. The

USAF advisor to PMEL is Senior M/Sgt. Carl R. Ruthstrom. He was previously stationed at Lowry and has visited NBS Boulder. He was to

be leaving Thailand during July, 1974. Major Boonyamit is a member of

RTAF and was the officer in charge at PMEL. Colonel Suntus was Chief

of the Electronics Maintenance and Calibration depot at the PMEL. He was the prime mover here on maintenance calibration and he also had

visited the NBS Boulder Labs. At the time PMEL was an RTAF facility

but in a few years it was to become a tri -service facility. Thai Army

and Navy do not have PMEL's of their own. They received services

informally from this facility. The tri -service facility arrangement

was in de facto existence, but it had not yet been funded as such.

This PMEL was set up under the Military Assistance Program (MAP). The

new building will be roughly twice the width and about the same length

as the present one. The facility will correspond roughly to a type 2A or 2B facility. It is working toward a 2A facility. Note that the

Thai tri -service calibration center would then be removed from NBS by

only one intervening level, provided by Newark AF Station.

34
Sgt. Ruthstrom and Dr. Stephens (Quality Control Expert at TISI) had

already been in contact during the preceeding few months. Improved

communication among standards groups was noted. Previously there was almost none between military and civilian authorities. Sgt. Ruthstrom

suggested that if the Department of Science standards were controlled

with regard to NBS standards then it would no longer be necessary to

the tri -service calibration center to send its standards all the way

back to Newark for calibration. The USAF has four PMEL's plus two

transportable calibration units in Thailand. RTAF has this PMEL only.

The TOT people had suggested to Ms. Kanya (of TISI) that she should

set up a technical committee for calibration and coordination

standards. This committee would correspond in some ways to a professional technical association. Membership would be from TOT, Air

Force, TISI, ASRCT, and other interested parties. The calibration and

coordination people from these various organizations would also

participate. However, she cannot set up this organization on her own

because no committee may be set up without the permission of the

Minister. Major Boonyamit's comment was that the committee may be a good idea but that he cannot accept the opinion of the civilian group

unless his superior officer affirms that the advice is in accord with

existing policy. The Thai's have very great respect for their elders

and this respect carries over to their superiors. In Thailand people

wait for instructions from their superiors. They wait and tend not to

ask for permission.

The PMEL had standard resistors, capacitors, conductors, and saturated

standard cells. All were to be calibrated at the center in Newark.

They had a set of class S-1 weights. They used a John Fluke Model 207

MLF receiver and phase frequency comparator tuned to USN station at

22.3 kHz. They receive NWC from Northwest Cape. NWC uses a CS

oscillator. They had trouble with HF, since the requirement here was

for a stable frequency reference. Time (date) is provided by Royal

Thai Navy, Hydrographic Department. No Loran-C receiver is at PMEL.

They have a General Microwave Corporation Model 550 WWV receiver.

Reception had never been good, probably due to an antenna problem.

The PMEL would like to have a catalog of NBS publications. In the

past they had received and made good use of documents on microwave

measurements. They received these documents when they attended NBS courses.

In private discussion Sgt. Ruthstrom had highest praise for the Thai

experts at PMEL. He was then the only USAF advisor and felt he was no longer needed. Some parts of RTAF appreciated the vital need for good

calibration services in advance of some other segments of the Thai

technical community, where equipment was allowed to break down before

thought was given to a calibration step. Survey team members in other

35
places, too, noted widespread lack of good preventive maintenance and care in securing compatibility at least in their measurements. The

PMEL library was in English. Senior Thai staff could set up new laboratories for military use and carry their experience to civilian

life. Trainees showed superior intelligence and motivation; they were

carefully selected from volunteers.

4. Visits of May 24

4 . 1 Firestone Tyre and Rubber Co. (Thailand) Ltd .

Firestone is one of three major tire manufacturers in Thailand. The

others are Goodyear and Bridgestone (Japanese). Firestone's output

was all consumed domestically. We were received by Mr. Paul V.

Johnson, the Technical Manager, and supporting staff. They purchased

their materials on the world market wherever it was most advantageous,

but required conformity to Company specifications which were uniform

worldwide. They used nylon cord almost exclusively. This was bought

in Japan. Their steel lead wire and carbon black were imported from

India. They tried to use as much Thai natural rubber as possible as a social duty. Thai rubber was cheap in Thailand, though apparently it was not competitive in quality (cf. 8.6 and 8.7). They also found

Thai rubber troublesome to use because the quality was variable, since

it came from small plantations which lacked proper supervision and

quality control. (There was no TISI standard on rubber.)

Regarding quality controls, they used standard reference materials and

did tensile tests on the cord and wire. Occasional tires were sampled

for effective body strength, tread quality, ply orientation, and

bonding. Also they maintained records of the life history of selected

tires in real -life use.

4.2 Glass Organization <

The Glass Organization of the Ministry of Defense apparently expected

us on another day and was not, therefore, really prepared to receive

us. The first part of the visit was a tour of the manufacturing and

testing facilities. The latter involved measurements of density,

bubble content and residual stress. In all cases there was the

appearance that perhaps these could be improved in terms of accuracy

both by the use of better measurement techniques and by better

calibration methods. During discussion after the tour it was brought

out that there were fairly detailed government specifications as well

as buyer specifications for many bottles.

It was noteworthy that the team was not shown temperature and

refractive index measuring capabilities, nor chemical control of raw

36
materials and products. There appeared to be little interaction with

the viewpoint of the consumer.

4.3 The Battery Organization

At the Battery Organization of the Ministry of Defense we had

discussions with Mr. Ruenrom Khongsaisin, Chief of Quality Control

Division and Mrs. Oratai Swamiwat, Chief of Research and Development

Division, who gave us a rather extensive review of the materials and

product testing in all phases of lead-acid battery manufacture. Among

other things, it was brought out that the manufacturers'

specifications were more rigid than the Government's specifications

for batteries. This organization used Thai natural rubber in the

manufacture of this product and did not encounter the difficulties

with Thai rubber mentioned earlier at the Firestone Co. (4.1). After

the discussions, there was a tour of the laboratory and manufacturing

facilities. In all cases the test procedures and instrument

calibration techniques seemed to be under good control.

This organization clearly appeared to be serving the country v/ell with

a widely used product line. Consultation by a highly experienced

specialist would be needed to offer any further needed advice. The

Survey Team did not and could not be expected to deliver such

specialist advice in all fields covered.

4.4 Thai Plywood Co. Ltd.

At the Thai Plywood Co. we were taken on a tour by the very impressive

Assistant Manager, Mr. Uthai Sintuprama, who showed us both the

plywood assembly line and the pressed board mill. The mill was a highly automated plant which had been imported from Germany and the

assembly line was a manual -labor oriented line. Continuing the use of

the "manual" process was said to have the advantage of maintaining

many jobs. Some quality control measurements were necessary and these

appeared to be in proper operation. We were shown, for example,

quality control records concerned with plywood sheet thickness.

The industry as a whole would appear to be capable of a great deal of

expansion and diversification. Thailand has rich reserves of tropical

hard woods. Their planned exploitation and conservation would appear

to be economically and socially attractive. Many superior studies of

this potential are available. By good standardization information,

entrepreneurs in Thailand could be led into new markets without a need

for much capital investment or large-scale manufacture. However, it

should always be kept in mind that a natural resource can quickly be

lost through indiscriminate exploitation and good forest management is

a vital concern outside this Survey.

37
4.5 The Bangchark Oil Refinery

At the Bangchark Oil Refinery we were received by Refinery Manager Mr.

P. V. Chang, and a group of his associates. This is a 65 000 BBL per

day refinery which had been leased from the Ministry of Defense by

Summit Industrial Corporation (Panama) since 1965. Under the numerous conditions of this lease and with U.S. know-how. Summit had greatly

enlarged the capacity. The 1974 issue of "Investing in the Dynamic

Growth of Thailand" published by the Board of Investment in Bangkok

based on 1970 figures quoted only a 15 000 BBL capacity for this

plant. Virtually all crude oil was imported but exploration

continued. Oil shale found, notably 500 million tons in Mae Sot

(about 50 gallons per ton), awaiting new technology before

exploitation becomes economically feasible.

4.6 Thai Plastic and Chemical Co. Ltd.

The Thai Plastic and Chemical Co. Ltd. plant was managed by Mr.

Samchai Kongsala. It is a German-made PVC plant for resin and pellet

compound products. In the laboratory vyere many of the standard

instruments used to characterize polymers. These appeared to be in

appropriate and correct use. In the plant there was a small quality

control facility involving test extrusion, etc. The quality control

record was not explored.

4.7 Kimberley Clark Co. Ltd .

At the Kimberley Clark Co. of Thailand we were received by Dr. Kunjara

who showed us the plant which conformed to Wisconsin standards. There

was an attempt to use local talent and raw materials, but long

cellulose fiber pulp had to be imported.

As for standardization, discussion centered on the use of metric

sizes, the reliability of reagents supplied by Siam Science Services,

and the calibration of weighing scales. To this competent Company

staff there were really few unsolved technical problems. They were

supported by a very willing, loyal and stable work force. Safety

standards were Company, not labor, initiated and enforced with

responsive labor participation. Inasmuch as these attitudes were

typical of American firms policy, the acceptance and encouragement of

American manfacturers in Thailand may well outlast those from some other nations.

In the time available it was not possible to discuss the progressively

greater substitution of imported long fibers with medium length

cellulose fibers from local grasses, if necessary reinforced with

small amounts of other natural or synthetic high polymeric fibers.

Such developmental initiatives may not seem attractive to a company

38
like Kimberley Clark even if they were to show technical and economic

promise for Thailand. Support through the development of special

national standards suited to products for local markets may commend

itself.

4.8 Thai Textile Finishing Company, Ltd.

At the Thai Textile Finishing Company we were received by Mr.

Sutchichai Stifuengfung a civil engineer, Mr. Hermann Schmidt, the

thoroughly competent German technical advisor, and Mr. Yongyos

Adireksarin.

This was a most unhappy plant heading for disaster mostly for reasons outside the scope of this Survey unless you include the need for

market research before planning a manufacturing plant. The machinery

was well suited to volume production. However, likely customers are

small textile companies which whenever they have a relatively large

order for dyeing or even printing carry it out in-house rather than

subcontracting to a specialist company like the Thai Textile Finishing

Co. Ltd.

Mr. Schmidt said he had a severe technical problem, in that all his

factory hands came completely untrained, so that the factory became a school. While the large machines were largely idle or working on unsuitable and uneconomic runs, what better pastime than to train the

young Thai staff; what better way to learn a useful highly skilled

trade than from a meticulous task master? However, Mr. Schmidt was disillusioned and could hardly hide his disappointment with his pupils

and so labor too was unhappy.

A final problem was the lack of protection in Thailand for industrial

property. Mr. Schmidt prided himself with good justification for

innovative contemporary pattern design. The "screens" were executed

patiently with true craftsmanship. The new designs could be and often

were imitated as soon as the first bolt hit the market.

4.9 The Thai Teijin Textiles Ltd.

At the Thai Teijin Textiles Ltd. we were received by Mr. T. Komolphan,

a busy spinning, weaving and finishing plant. Our visit was too short

for useful comment other than that it appeared to be well run,

productive and profitable, employing a stable work force.

4.10 The Serm Suk Co. Ltd.

Mr. Chirdpan Bulsook, Director and Chief Engineer, received us at the

Serm Suk Co. Ltd. producing Pepsi under license with considerable

39
autonomy. Product standards were strictly enforced from New York.

Samples were also taken at random from the field. We were somewhat

surprised that quality of product could in fact be assured without

more impressive production and laboratory facilities than those

available. However, the team enjoyed the taste of samples on a hot

sticky day.

5. Visits of May 25

5.1 The Thai Asahi Glass Co.

At the Thai Asahi Glass Company, a subsidiary of the Japanese Asahi

Company, we were received by Mr. Sombath Phanichewa, Director Factory

Manager. The product of this plant is window glass made by the

vertical draw method.

There were problems with a.) the raw materials (the sand was too

coarse), b.) the electrical supply, c.) temperature and viscosity

measurement, and d.) the lack of standardization in the Thai building

industry. Nevertheless, the plant produced a well accepted product.

5.2 The Department of Medical Science

The Department of Medical Science operates a health laboratory,

serving as a national food and drug testing facility and in support of

medical research for diagnosis and prevention of diseases by all kinds

of laboratory examinations. There are 42 subordinated provincial

health laboratories, none of which the team visited. WHO has

established an Aedes Research Unit for the control of the Aedes

mosquito borne disease which has reached epidemic proportions (Dengue

Haemorrhagic Fevers). Interest of USAID is strong in the analysis of

narcotics, poisons and toxic substances. Bacteriological beverage

analysis was another area of competence. Radiation protection

services were rendered with the help of New Zealand and WHO. In the

chemical services there was an overlap of facilities with the

Department of Science, but little real exchange of equipment, staff

and experience. For example, the NBS standard reference materials did

not appear to be available readily to the Department of Medical

Science. Few members from the Health Laboratory seemed to be

available for v7ork on the standards committees of TISI. One chemist

felt he was too busy to consider such an assignment but would serve if

so directed. Conversely at the Department of Science and TISI an attempt was made to distinguish sharply between the protection of the

health of the public and the quality control of food products. Both

might require identical tests. The situation was similar in the

U.S.A. but activities of the professional societies facilitated a greater degree of cross -ferti 1 ization and interaction between

specialists serving different agencies.

40
5.3 Food and Drug Control Division

By contrast with the Department of Medical Science, the Food and Drug

Control Division is an administrative agency without in-house

laboratory services. It reports to the Under Secretary of State for

Public Health.

We were received by Mr. Panya Vanasatit, senior inspector; Mr. Tri

Sangthongton, head of the Technical Section; and Mr. Theera Satasuk,

head of the Registration Section. There are two Boards, one of Food

Control with 16 committees, and the other of Drug Control with 21

comnittees. Both have wide statutary powers. Laboratory work was done by request to the Department of Medical Science. The standards

activity of TISI was supported although the Food and Drug Control

Division was proud to be much the senior agency. Occasionally use was

made of the Laboratory of the Department of Science. It was here we

found a real will to call on the best available competence. Mr. Panya

actually encouraged laboratory personnel to describe new test methods

that might be available for food and drug control. Mr. Panya thought

a standard for maize (corn) should be given high priority. Food color

standards were a problem. An attempt was made to use TISI standards.

Mr. Panya deplored the huge number of organizations that claimed the

authority to issue licences by their own standards.

5.4 Industrial Service Institute - Chiengmai Branch Office

(see also 2.6 )

A Survey Team group flew to Chiengmai, the second city of Thailand,

located four hundred miles to the north of Bangkok in a pleasant wide

valley at the elevation of about one thousand feet. Chiengmai is a center for tourism and cottage industries.

We were given a very effective briefing by Mr. Theodor W. Lomnicky,

the UNIDO Project Manager attached to ISI in Chiengmai. The above

office is the center for ISI activities in a northern area of sixteen

provinces extending down to Nakhom Sawan. ISI was in the midst of a four-year project for laying the groundwork for the development of

small industries in the north. The immediate goal was modest - to

develop industries which are labor-intensive and which supply the

markej: needs of the northern region. Exports to immediate neighbors

such as Laos might be the next stage. The current activity consists

of surveys, definition of needs, identification of problems and

provision of services. ISI services consisted of management and

technology seminars, consultations, and assistance in preparing

applications for loans. The project was supported by allocations of

1 1/4 million bahts from the UN and 1 1/2 million bahts from the Royal

Government of Thailand (20 baht equals about U.S. $1.00).

41
The industries currently being developed are typically non-interactive

and involve "conversion" of materials, e.g., foundries and other metal

working, wood-carving, etc. An example of a desirable product which

could meet the above guidelines would be a water pump.

Regarding quality control, they were aware of its ultimate importance

but feel that it was not a major concern at the present stage. They

were aware of TISI and expect to call on it for appropriate assistance

in due time. The earliest assistance needed might well be to provide

seminars, for example, on packaging.

ISI very graciously provided transportation for the team during its

stay in the Chiengmai region and also the services of a guide, Mr.

Preecha Niyaboon, head of the Division of Extension and Training.

5.5 Chiengmai University

Chiengmai University had an enrollment of 7000, evenly divided between

men and women. It was about to start a graduate studies program. Dr.

Pimol Rienvatana, a young analytical chemist who had received his

graduate training in Canada, was kind enough to show us through the

Chemistry Department. Its size could be gaged from the first year

class enrollment of sixty. Incidentally, it was remarked that there

was an oversupply of chemists at that time in Thailand. We were

especially impressed by a very well-equipped instrument laboratory for

3rd year students in physical chemistry. Among the more elaborate

equipment of the department were an atomic absorption

spectrophotometer, an ultraviolet spectrometer and a Perkin-Elmer

infrared grating spectrometer. As an example of applied research by

the staff, some work on trace contaminants in water supplies was mentioned.

In the Physics Department we saw a nice nuclear spectroscopy

laboratory for 4th year students and for faculty research. There was

a small neutron source and a modern multi-channel analyzer.

The School of Engineering was just being started and consisted only of

a Civil Engineering Department at present. Industrial Chemistry was taught in the Chemistry Department.

Compared to Chulalongkorn University, the equipment that we saw at

Chiengmai was newer and the spirit seemed more enthusiastic. The

latter impression rests upon fleeting visits and exposure to very few

members of the two faculties, so it must not be taken too seriously.

5.6 Cottage Industries

The best known cottage industries of the region were located in

picturesque villages near Chiengmai. These were small establishments

42
each typically combining a showroom on the village's main street with

workrooms in the rear. Among the products featured are silks, wood

carving, umbrellas (bamboo frame), and lacquerware. The team had time

for only a hurried look at these establishments as it was near their

closing time when we arrived.

6. Visits of May 26

6.1 The Bangpa-In Paper Mill Factory

It is perhaps to be questioned whether we would have been given the

opportunity to visit this plant had it not been in the close proximity

of the famous and beautiful palace of a great liberal ruler. King Rama

V, who freed slaves and founded Chulal ongkorn University 100 years

ago. Our hosts insisted we must visit that palace on Saturday

afternoon. That visit taught us much of Thailand, its history and

culture.

At the Bangpa-In paper factory, we were received by Mr. Somchit, the

General Manager, and an enthusiastic staff. Three items stand out

from diverse topics of discussion.

a. ) Use of celulose fibers from local grasses.

b. ) Management of paper stock.

c. ) Lack of use even by Government of standard sizes of paper.

Evidently, TISI was not yet able to persuade various other Government

departments to use the same sizes. Yet the factory did not want to

give incentive price reduction for orders conforming to standard

sizes. The competition was said to be too servere between different

paper manufacturers. This argument may be false based on bad sales

policy. The tougher the competition the more worthwhile to capture

the orders for standard sizes with big runs and risk the loss of

inconveniently small orders.

6.2 The Si am Cement Co. Ltd.

The Si^am Cement Co. Ltd., operates thoroughly modern factories with

some modern quality control facilities for raw materials and products

using ASTM and other standards as well as some NBS standard reference

materials. They earned the TISI quality mark. The confident and

competent technical and other supervisory staff was given very fine

housing and recreational facilities. The safety standards for the

labor force did not appear to come up to American codes of good

practice. The Company enjoyed good relations with Government

43
generally and TISI in particular. It was financially sound and could

undertake some innovative development or research.

6.3 The Siam Iron and Steel Co. Ltd.

The Iron and Steel Company is associated with the Cement Company, and

also technically comparable to Western Steel Works with widely

diversified product lines such as existed in Pittsburg, Pa., until

about 30 years ago and in Europe even at this time.

The melting shops, the forge, the alloy steel foundry, the continuous

casting shop, the wire mill, the annealing bays, the pickling shop,

the sheet rolling mill, the machine shops, all had their typical

technical problems. The volume of any one product line was inadequate

to support all the staff and modern control equipment that ideally

would be desirable, a situation similar to that existing in some older

European steel works. The team was interested to hear that this firm

had retained as consultant Professor Robert Durrer, a Swiss steel

expert whom Peiser knows quite well. He is now really too old for

travel to Thailand and too much out of touch with current

developments.

Thailand was procuring an integrated steel plant from Japan. The Siam

Iron and Steel Company would then be able to cut down on its product

lines which should make the management of this very interesting

facility easier. In the meantime, Thailand should be proud that its

steel making knowhow as vested in this firm is on a much higher level

than commonly found in less industrialized countries. The Company

generously entertained us at its own lovely guest house where we were

privileged to spend Saturday night.

6.4 Chemical Fertilizer Co. Ltd.

Lampang is two hour's drive southeast of Chiengmai. The two towns are similarly situated in broad valleys which are separated by a range of

hills. Lampang Province is somewhat more highly industrialized than

Chiengmai. One of the factories in Lampang is that of the Fertilizer

Company at Mae Moh.

At this plant we were hosted most hospitably by the manager, Mr.

Somnuk Pradi tharany . This fertilizer factory produced ammonium

sulfate and urea. It was the only fertilizer plant in Thailand at

that time. However, a new factory was under construction in Bangkok

to produce fertilizers containing phosphorus and potassium. At

present such types must be imported. At the time of our visit

Thailand had no standards for fertilizers but TISI has since produced

one and a factory has been certified to that specification.

44
The Lampang plant is in an isolated rural location adjoining a lignite

open-pit mine. The lignite was used to produce process hydrogen by

the water gas reaction. (The CO2 which also was produced was converted to CO2, removed, and used with some of the product ammonia

to produce urea.) The nitrogen was produced on site by air separation.

The ammonia was produced from the nitrogen and hydrogen by direct

synthesis. The sulfuric acid needed to produce ammonium sulfate was

also made on the site, starting with elemental sulfur brought in from

Bangkok and supplemented by sulfur recovered from the lignite, where

its concentration is 1 to 1 1/2%. The plant was assembled by a German

contractor, and much of the process equipment was of German

manufacture. Lignite was unfortunately not common in Thailand; there

was only one other site in the south. The lignite mine was under

different management from the fertilizer plant.

Regarding process control, the lignite, sulfur, and feed water were

analyzed by wet chemistry. Conventional manual Orsat apparatus was

used for process gas analysis, and the Kjeldahl method was used to

determine the nitrogen content. The reproducibility of the latter is

about 1%. (The [NH^]2S0^ contains 21% nitrogen.) We also noted a bomb

calorimeter for determining the heating value of the lignite and a heated stage microscope for determining the melting behavior of slag.

The chief chemist was a recent graduate of Chiengmai University. He

had trained his own technican helper. He seemed to be cognizant of

the possibility of checking his analyses by use of standardized

reference materials, but this did not appear to be incorporated into

the regular procedures. The plant was losing money, and this was said

to be due to the fact that the Government fixed the prices of the

products at artificially low levels. Unfortunately, it also had the

appearance of a lackluster operation. Besides, such plants are rarely

economic below a relatively large scale.

6.5 Ceramic Industry (Lampang Province)

At the Piyachai Ceramic Industry Ltd., in Lampang we had a translated

interview with the manager who is of Chinese descent, but who has a Thai name. This factory which produced mostly mosaic tiles was based

largely on hand labor including the hands of the rather young. Some

measurements involved temperature, dimensions, and weight. They

claimed, to have no severe measurement problems. They had no government specification on their products.

6.6 Universal Food Co. Ltd .

This recently formed Thai -owned company located between Sampang and

Chiengmai operated farms (pineapple, asparagus), and a canning factory

managed by our host, Mr. Tsen. The plant, which the team toured, was

two years old and was visited recently by the King. It processed and

45
attractively displayed 35 products including baby bananas, lychee,

oranges, mango, sweet corn, water chestnuts, champignons, ketchup,

bamboo shoots, attap fruit, guava juice, papaya juice, and staw

mushrooms. The facility was clean, modern, and attractive. Three

hundred workers gave the place a busy air, though the full utilization

of the plant would only come in the following summer, when the staff

would reach five hundred. The machinery was mostly built in Taiwan

and appeared to be very modern. Although the plant was highly

mechanized, there was necessarily much trimming and sorting done by

hand. This was the only such factory in northern Thailand, though

others existed in central and southern Thailand. 70% of the output

was exported, 45% to the U.S., 18% to Japan, and the balance to Canada

and Europe. The products for export were subject to Government

inspection and control except that there was at the time of the Survey

no control on canned pineapple. We understand that since that time

the pineapple standard has become mandatory and that TISI operates

very close control over the industry. Generally, Thailand met U.S.

FDA requirements by controlling shape and color of fruit and the

content of sugar and water. Some sugar which must meet company

standards was purchased. They also performed microbiological testing

of their products and the handling equipment. The only quality

control problem mentioned was that the quality and ripeness of fruit

received from private growers was too variable. The factory's

laboratory was very clean and well -equipped, though apparently

deserted. Plans included a pineapple washing plant to be installed

within a year.

Regarding packaging, they used U.S. FDA can sizes and encountered

little demand for other sizes. The can blanks were made in Bangkok by

a company with British affiliation.

7. Visits of May 27

7.1 Si am City Cement Co, at Kang-Koy

Although it was Sunday morning we made a brief inspection of, and were

graciously received at, another of the large Si am City cement plants,

that at Kang-Koy. The raw material and product control were again of

a high order. The management was competent and market acceptance of

the product caused no problem, so we spent a little time examining the

large weight scales. It would be rash to conclude that this important

measurement could be as far out as it appeared at first sight, because

the cross-check with the volume measure of the trucks delivering fuel was a significant means of ensuring compatibility, at least to a little better than 1/2%.

7.2 C eramic Industry (Chiengmai)

The other half of the team on this Sunday continued its tour of

Chiengmai Province and visited a factory producing as its main product

46
1 X 1 inch unglazed ceramic tiles. These were made from local clays

but with imported pigments (Japan). The presses were made in Thailand

and seemed excellent mechanically. Control of these machines was manual, and the absence of automated machinery generally was conspicuous. The tiles were fired in a tunnel kiln at 1200°C. The

factory also produced some pottery, various slip-cast art ceramic

forms, and fire bricks of various shapes. It exported some of its

production to Laos and Viet Nam. We were told that TISI performs

abrasion tests for this factory. Unfortunately, it was difficult to

pursue such questions as quality control and standardization because

of the heat and noise of the operation, language difficulties, and

shortage of time.

8. Visits of May 28

8. 1 An Audience by the Governor - Chon-Buri Province

Chon-Buri Province lies on the Gulf of Siam southeast of Bangkok. At

the Governor's reception we were given an overview of the Province.

Its economy is a mixture of agriculture, industry, and tourism, the

latter two admittedly somewhat incompatible. Agricultural products

include sugarcane, pineapples, and tapioca. Industrial development

leans towards petrochemicals. A joint Japanese-Thai venture is to be

producing petrochemicals for local plastics manufacturing and for bulk

export. Two oil refineries already exist--one with a capacity over

60,000 BBL per day, and the other over 30,000 BBL (compare 4.5). The

tourism focused on beach resorts such as Pattaya and was largely

frequented by Thai's themselves.

Problem areas were:

1. ) Moderating the use of beach front for recreation

versus leaving space for refineries; and

2. ) assuring an adequate water supply.

There was no major river in this Province. The Government was building a new reservoir. Wells had to be relied on in some places,

e.g., at Pattaya. The effluent water from the tapioca and sugar mills

was badly polluted. Generally such natural surface water as existed

was of good quality. An exotic product for which water quality was said to be critical was orchids. They were successfully exported to

Germany! Regarding technological assistance, the provincial

authorities did make use of the Department of Science laboratories in

Bangkok and felt that a local branch in Chon-Buri would be useful.

8.2 Tapioca Association (see also 1.2)

We met with the President and Vice President of the Tapioca

Association of Chon-Buri in the store-front office of the Association.

47
This Association had existed for only 8 months, and was the only one

in Thailand. It was an association of millers, not of grov;ers. More

than half of Thailand's production of tapioca was said to come from

Chon-Buri Province. The production capacity was 400 tons/day.

They shipped one million tons of pellets and chips per year worth

1 1/2 billion baht ($100 million) to western Europe and Japan. The

Association was in the process of forming its own export company.

Tapioca comes from the root of the cassava plant and is essentially

just a source of starch. It contains typically 62% or more of

starch. The starch may be extracted for industrial use, or the

tapioca may be used as a component of cattle feed (Europe). Tapioca

for export was sampled for starch and silica content at loading ports

to support export licensing by the Ministry of Commerce. The

Association did not make these tests but it intended to establish a laboratory to do so. A silica content up to 3% was permitted as an allowance for incomplete scrubbing of the cassava roots, i.e., it was expected to be simply soil. However, it is widely believed that

exporters add sand up to the 3% limit as an adulterant. The price of

Thai Tapioca as quoted in, say Hamburg, is consistently a few percent

less than that of Java or Taiwan chips, due undoubtedly to the quality

factor.

The Association is concerned about quality and the Province industrial

offices recently held a seminar for local producers on this subject.

A related problem is the manner of drying the product. Traditionally,

the chips are spread by hand on a concrete field to dry in the sun.

In the wet season, drying may take as long as five days, during which

time mildew may set in and adversely affect the color rating of the

product. They would like technical help in analyzing if it would be

economical to dry by artifical heat. Though costly, it would result

in a cleaner, whiter product with better defined moisture content.

They would also like R&D assistance in finding uses for the cassava

tops, and in developing products from fermentation of surplus tapioca.

The discussion grew very animated on the part of the President and was directed mostly to our escorts from the Department of Science.

Unfortunately not 10% of it reached us in translation. The President

was a large man and, seemingly, a very angry one. Both of these

attributes are rare in Thailand compared with executives in the U.S.A.

It seemed that he was expressing his discontent with the Government on

all issues affecting the Association with the nearest Government

representatives who happened to be available as his American

counterpart might be inclined to do. The main irritant seemed to be

the price squeeze on producers. One may note that the Association's

relations with the Government involve at least three Mini stories:

Argiculture, Commerce, and Industry. A lack of coordination is one alleged failure.

48
We concluded this visit with a look at the process including washing,

chopping, field drying, and pelletizing. (Compare relevant discussion

in 1.2 and 8.3).

8.3 S. R. Co. Ltd .

The S. R. Company produces tapioca flour. The capacity was 30

tons/day of which 95% was exported. They produced to the buyers'

specifications. Apparently there is no TISI standard. One such buyer

for which marked bags were being loaded was the Staley Co., Illinois,

U.S. The equipment was German, and the operation was highly

mechanized. Hand labor appeared to be used only for in and out

loading.

The laboratory looked simple but adequate. They determined starch and

moisture content and reported the residue as pulp and fiber. A

typical moisture content would be 11%. Their report also gave color

estimated subjectively, a count of foreign matter appearing as specks,

a sieve analysis, pH, and viscosity of dissolved starch.

The main world producer of tapioca flour is Brazil. (Compare 8.2 and

relevant discussion in 1.2).

8.4 Fish Sauce Factory

At the same time as one team group was in the south of Thailand

another was in the north in Rayong, Province. The company that latter

group visited bottles an allegedly popular fish sauce derived from

locally caught fish and sea salt. Because of increasing demand, the

fishing fleet was having to extend its operations as far as the

Cambodian offshore regions. Six grades of sauce were produced

depending on the kind and quality of fish used. There was a TISI

standard specifying protein content, kind of fish, etc., which was

used as a guide but not followed fully. They did not think the TISI

mark would be cost effective for them, as most people bought by price.

This view seems to conflict, however, with TISI's experience in

certifying a number of fish sauce manufacturers. The production rate

at this plant was 200,000 to 300,000 liters /month with a value of 1 to

2 million baht ($50,000 to $140,000). The factory employed 100

workers. The bottling equipment was Japanese. There was no laboratory.

8.5 Ratcha-Buri Province

Part of the team flew down South to Hat-Yai and visited Ratcha-Buri

Province where the Thai Government was having some problems in

exerting its authority in the jungles off the main highways. The

49
NBS/AID Team was warmly received by Government and local officials

with whom industrialization opportunities were discussed.

8.6 The Rubber Research Center (Songkhla Province)

Moving across the provincial border to the adjacent Songkhla Province,

the team was conducted through the Rubber Research Center where new processes and products were developed and tested. Much effort had to

be concentrated on processes by which dirt could be removed from sheet

rubber.

Good innovative work was being carried out but the team was requested

not to describe it in this report.

8.7 The Thai National Rubber Industry

Japanese buyers complain of the low grade of the Thai product although

they only pay at the price of the lowest cormiercial grade product.

Testing to be at all acceptable must be by a foreign expert--a British

specialist fulfilled this function at that time. On careful inquiry

it appeared that the small farmers typically were not rewarded for

good quality. They sold to middlemen to whom they were obligated by

debts and neither took enough care to prevent contamination in

handling even though the removal of dirt from rubber is far more

expensive than eliminating its introduction by proper handling. (It

is understood that this simple quality problem has been successfully

treated since the Survey took place.)

8.8 Prince Songklanakarin University (Songkhla Province)

Prince Songklanakarin University has some spectacular new architecturally innovative buildings. The large auditorium and the

buildings for engineering and agriculture stand out. The student body

and faculty were on the rise at the time of our visit. This generous

project was designed by the Government to encourage the south of

Thailand, connected to the rest of the country by sea or a very long

narrow strip of land, to feel an integral part of the economic,

political and cultural system.

9. Visits of May 29

9.1 Sam Hong Enterprise Ltd.

At Sam Hong Enterprise Ltd., we conducted a pleasant translated

interview with the impressive Mr. Narong Viratyosin, who was of

Chinese descent. This organization of 100 was managed technically by seven Taiwanese who controlled the plant and the Analysis Laboratory;

the products were ferromanganese and borosilicon. Forty percent of

50
the production was exported, especially to Malaysia and Indonesia.

There were no government specifications for either domestic or export

use, but the company specified the range of Mn and the maximum

contents of C, Si, P, and S in its products. These data were obtained

through measurements on each lot. They were said to agree

satisfactorily with the customers' own subsequent analyses.

Measurements carried out on the raw material from Chiengmai agree with

analyses which the supplier occasionally has made at a commercial

laboratory. A building was being constructed to house more modern

equipment.

9.2 Dole Thailand Ltd .

At Dole Thailand Ltd., a canner of pineapple, we had a friendly

discussion with plant manager, Mr. Walter C. Light. The information

obtained was similar to that for Universal Food Corporation. Dole had

its own farms and grew pineapples which were suited by size and shape

for canning. He only learned during our visit of TISI's pending

activity in this field.

9.3 Si am Kraft Paper Co. Ltd.

Mr. S. C. Bhargara was the General Superintendent of the Siam Kraft

Paper Mill at the time of our visit. A Company staff member was participating in the TISI program to establish government standards

for domestic use of paper products. He felt the process of writing

standards v;as too slow. There were at the time of the Survey no Thai

Standards for export. The Company followed TAPPI standards and test

methods. Some of the instruments required calibration by standard

reference materials using, for example, those from the Pulp and Paper

Institute of Canada. There was a large amount of effluent treatment

equipment which was needed since the bagas used to make the fibers

retains a substantial amount of sugar.

9.4 Thonburi Sugar Factory

Our translated discussions at the Thonburi Sugar Factory were with the

owner, Mr. Kitti Chinthammit, who is of Chinese descent. The

operation of this mill appeared to be somewhat of an art with

machinery adjustments being made by eye and experience. Nevertheless,

the product did meet specifications of the Ministry of Agriculture.

Similary, molasses supplied to industry must be at least 50% sugar.

Perhaps there was an effluent problem.

9.5 Thai Fermentation Industry Co. Ltd.

Our visit to Thai Fermentation Industry Co., Ltd. was shortened by

scheduling problems. We were conducted by the plant manager from

Taiwan and his associates requiring translations from Chinese to

51
Japanese to English to Thai. The Thai-China joint venture plant

appears to be well organized and operated. There was a TISI standard

which the Company has had translated into English. The tests were

carried out according to these standard methods although we did not see the test results for lead and other heavy metals (possibly because

of our limited time).

9.6 Preserved Food Organization

At the Preserved Food Organization, we were received by \\r. Prasant

Komopis, Plant Manager, who explained the background of his

organization which was founded in 1955 by a Royal Decree. There was a pilot plant at Kasetsart University. The large main plant was at Ban

Pong. Much of the dried, frozen and canned products were exported and

had to meet the appropriate customer standards such as those of FDA.

The domestic products had to meet the requirements set by the

University for Agriculture. The tests involved biochemical as well as chemical procedures. They concerned the raw materials, the

processing, and the products. Combat Rations were among the range of

products.

9.7 Fishmeal Factories (Songkhla Province)

Fishmeal is an important source of animal feed and is exported

especially for poultry to Malaysia. The handling of this product even

at the best of the factories was unsatisfactory and it was necessary

to warn that dangerous bacteriological contamination could arise and

have serious consequences. An expanded factory was being built and

improvement of conditions was in sight.

9.8 Fishery Center, Songhkla Province

Good harbor facilities are available and a sizeable fishing fleet

exploits some of the worlds finest fishing grounds.

10. Visits of May 30

10.1 Tanin Industrial Co. Ltd. (Bangkok)

The Tanin Industrial Company, which manufactured radios and television

sets, was not typical of the many enterprises that the team visited,

and yet it seemed to provide a most hopeful augury for the future of

economic development in Thailand. It did so by demonstrating that a Thai-owned and managed company could successfully utilize relatively

modern technology to produce consumer products that find acceptance in

the face of massive Japanese competition. Tanin, now 9 years old, is

the creation of two brothers, Mr. Udom Vidhayasirinun and Mr. Anek

Vidhayasirinun. The Company had 500 employees and occupied a clean.

52
modern plant. It had set up 200 local service facilites with factory

trained staff. They did not produce color TV. Most of the components

were imported from Japan but some picture tubes came from Taiwan. The

Company made its own printed circuit boards, labelled only in English,

speakers, coils and inductors, and it was setting up a factory in

Chengmai to produce electrolytic and air variable capacitors and

transformers. Metallizing of knobs and escutcheons and electroplating

of chassis, transformer shells, etc., also were done in the plant.

Plans existed to export both their components and complete radios and

television sets, initially aiming at Germany. They would make radios

to sell under the well-known brand, Blaupunkt. The cheapness of Thai

labor was clearly a factor. Assembly line girls earned 15 Baht per

day ($0.75) or 400 baht per month ($20), plus their lunches and

uniforms I This factor was drawing to Bangkok a new plant for National

Semiconductors (U.S.), a company which was already established in

Singapore for the same reason. In the Tanin plant, we saw lavish use of labor for hand-feeding of machines, hand painting of tuning dials,

etc. Regarding quality control and standardization, the company had

established their own procedures for stepwise checking during the

assembly process. They provided TV circuitry to handle both 525 lines

(U.S. -FCC) and 625 lines (CCIR), as both are transmitted in Thailand.

They generated an in-house test pattern for adjusting the TV sets and

used Japanese precision frequency generators for alignment. There

appeared to be no government standards in their field.

Various problems were identified, largely political and economic

rather than technical. The company was said to benefit from the duty

on imported components being less than for complete sets (30% vs 50%).

Japanese firms may dump sets on the Thai market at less than the local

cost. There was said to be much evasion of import duties on sets,

some smuggling, and much by-passing of duties via the U.S.-PX

channels. Japanese advertising was persuasive and wel 1 -financed.

Firms like Tanin had to buck the general public impression that Thai

goods are inferior to foreign ones.

10.2 Sanyo Universal Electric Co. Ltd .

Sanyo Universal Electric Company is a joint venture between Sanyo of

Japan (49%) and Universal of Thailand (51%). We were given a very

infojrmative tour by Mr. Maitri Mojdara, the Managing Director. The

Company manufactured air conditioners, refrigerators, water coolers,

fans, gas ranges, and television for the domestic Thai market only,

though they had expectations of exporting to other parts of southeast

Asia and the Middle East (Iran). They imported certain components,

e.g., compressors, sealed refrigeration units, and controls. They

were free to shop worldwide for these without necessarily having to

buy in Japan. For example, some refrigeration units were obtained

from Spanish affiliated Tecumseh (U.S.). Controls came from Sanyo

53
(Japan), Singer (U.S.), or Danfoss (Denmark). They assembled electric

motors, using imported silicon sheet steel. Sheet metal for

refrigerator shells was also imported, but forming vias done locally.

Plastic extrusions were also made locally.

The plant employed 600 persons. It produced 30,000 refrigerators,

30,000 fans and 45,000 television sets annually. These were their

large- volume products.

Regarding quality control, they had assembled their own procedures to

assure the adequacy of the plant operations and the performance of the

fully assembled products, but these, though adequate, were somewhat

unsophisticated compared to the technology involved in making some of

the imported components. Thus they checked the on-off temperature

limits of refrigerator controls and evaluated the capacity of

refrigerators by taking temperature vs time data on cool down, but

these were technically somewhat simpler observations than, say,

controlling the metallurgy and dimensions of valve plates in the

imported sealed refrigeration units. In these respects, their

operations rather resembled the Insuzu Motor, Co. plant described

earlier. We also saw some interesting statistical charts giving

defect counts by sections of their TV sets and by origin (i.e.,

whether due to assembly workmanship or part failure) but were not sure what use was made of these data.

The company made use of various product standards for guidelines,

e.g., those of Sanyo (Japan) and ASHRAE (U.S.). In the past, some of

its engineers had served on TISI committees, but they had come to feel

this was unproductive because progress was too slow and there was too

much time spent on insignificant details.

10.3 Thai Lamps

The Thai Lamps Company is an affiliate of Philips of the Netherlands.

It assembled incandescent lamp bulbs and imported fluorescent lamps.

We were given a vigorous and effective briefing by Mr. H. H. M. Van

Nieuwland, the Plant Manager.

The plant produced for domestic sale only. The sale of fluorescent

lamps was increasing by 15% annually, of incandescent lamps by less

than 10%. They had 30% of the domestic market for fluorescent lamps

and 40% for incandescent lamps. All fluorescent lamps used in

Thailand were imported. One of their problems was "dumping" in

Thailand by Korea and Taiwan. The government permitted payment of

import duties based on invoice value, which may be stated at an unreal istically low level so as to escape some of the tax.

54
The production line was surprisingly small and compact. The glass

bulbs, coiled filament, and bases were imported from Europe. Bayonet

bases are common in the Orient, but some screw bases are also used.

The assembly line used somewhat more labor than would be typical in

Europe. In fact, were it not for import duties, European machine-made

bulbs would undersell the local product.

Regarding standards. Philips applied uniform standards to its more

than forty factories around the world. These were based on lEC

standards but may be more stringent in some respects. The Bangkok

plant performed "complete" photometric, life, and mechanical tests.

Their standard lamps were under the control of Eindhover which

exchanged them periodically. They were calibrated at NPL of the U.K.

The Philips certificates on these stated that the accuracy of the

reference bank of lamps was 0.5% and that of a given standard lamp was

1.0% (in lumens). In their life testing, they controlled the voltage

to 0.2%, which v;as equivalent to 1% in life. Their integrating

"sphere" is actually an irregular hexadecahedron , developed by Philips

for use in its various laboratories. In response to a query about

possible specular effects, Mr. Van Nieuwland was emphatic, if not

dogmatic, that this had been investigated and found to be no problem.

The laboratory looked to be simple, adequate, and much used.

Incidentally, Philips sold standard lamps and photometric test

equipment to all comers. The Division of Physics and Engineering of

the Department of Science had purchased such equipment from Philips

but had not put it into operation yet. The purpose of this equipment

was not clear to the team, and there was some suggestion that the

Department may be floundering here.

Mr. Van Nieuwland was, to be plain, scornful of TISI committee work.

He had personally found it impossible to contribute, since all

discussions and documentation was in Thai. Obviously the management

of this company was confident that it can easily meet any reasonable

standards and that it was presently far ahead of the state of the art

in any locally operated testing and standardization laboratories.

10.4 La Petite (Thailand) Co. Ltd .

La Petite was a small company engaged in custom formulating and

packaging of pharmaceuticals for foreign concerns using imported bulk

components. Availability of women workers at low wage rates was undoubtedly a key factor in its viability. It was a clean wellorganized plant.

The laboratory contained equipment for spectrophotometric, melting

point, ash, water content, optical rotation, pH, etc., determinations

and for wet chemistry--al 1 rather simple and straightforward but

55
clean, neat and evidently much used. Bacteriological tests were also

performed, as were tests for the presence of "pyrogens", i.e., feverproducing components such as killed viruses or bacteria. The test for

pyrogens involved injecting a rabbit and monitoring its rectal

temperature with a simple electronic probe.

The manager volunteered a comment that the team had heard elsewhere:

Selling a product labelled "Made in Thailand" to Thais was difficult.

Experience has led them to expect an inferior product.

11 . Visits of May 31

11.1 Offshore Tin Mining (Phuket Province--a South-West Coast

Island)

Before returning by air to Bangkok, the team was fortunate to be

allowed to visit off-shore tin dredges, which differed little from

Malaysian tin dredges on inland artificial lakes, except for the

additional problems from sea water corrosion. (One dredge of newer

design was very troublesome.) All dredges are owned by small companies

but operated by Landon Tin. The local staff had no knowledge or interest in potential applications of the off-shore mining techniques

to other ores under the sea.

The dredged mud and sand were washed back into the sea without

apparent effect on the fish life.

The high density tin concentrate from conventional separators on the

dredge was taken to shore where a smelter produced tin ingots of high

purity. Some key products were recovered and sold. The remainder

were stored in huge mounds. Niobium, tantalum, the rare earths and

titanium might be recovered.

The quality of the tin is contolled by chemical analysis based on an NBS standard reference material, which is here believed to be "low" in

the certified tin content. Some support from an Australian laboratory

was claimed but later at NBS the discrepancy was discounted.

11.2 The Asian Institute of Technology

The brief team visit to the Asian Institute of Technology does not

justify a description within this report. However, AIT appears as a major teaching institution and as a resource for applied science

research and development. Its faculty is distinguished and drawn from

all Asian countries with some U.S. and European members.

Such international or regional institutions tend to become most

responsive to their local environment. AIT may be no exception and

56
thus have some problems in attaining its full anticipated impact in

countries other than Thailand. AIT distributes good literature on

its facilites, courses and services.

11.3 Far East Superintendence Co. Ltd .

We had a most informative discussion with Mr. W. C. J. Hermans, Chief

Chemist. FESCO is an affiliate or branch of a worldwide commodity

testing combine. This organization has representatives in major parts

of the world under various names. The parent company is Societe

General de Surveillance of Geneva. Their basic business is the

independent determination and assurance of the quality and quantity of

goods to be shipped. However, they are willing to undertake any kind

of testing that falls within their competence. Procedures and

equipment of the member companies are their local responsibility.

There was some communication between the companies for mutual

assistance, but no central source of standards, in contrast to the

policy of Philips.

In Bangkok, FESCO undertook weight and quality examinations of such

diverse products as mineral (wolframite, scheelite, fluorspar, barte),

seed cakes, tapioca pellets, and pressure cylinders. Thai wolframite

is free of molybdenum and could command a premium in the world market;

however no premium was being realized at that time.

Regarding pressure vessels, they tried to follow U.S. DOT

specifications, though they found them unintelligibly written. They

used both X-radiography and ultrasonics for testing such vessels.

They referred some tests to affiliates having special capability,

e.g.. X-ray fluorsence testing went to an Australian affiliate. In

Thailand they used the facilities of the Department of Science, which

they regarded as relatively well-equipped but slow. Unfortunately,

the nature of FESCO' s business was such that speed was essential;

problems arose and were dealt with almost on a day-by-day basis.

The laboratory equipment included a Techtron grating instrument for

atomic absorption spectrophotometry, a polarimeter, Mettler balances

(good local service are available for these), and very busy wet

chemistry facilities staffed with 5 women and 2 men. Mr. H. Erwans

felt they had no significant calibration problems in their laboratory.

In the field, however, large-scale weighing of goods in motion on conveyors and other loading equipment at the 1% accuracy level is not

possible although such a capability would be very useful. On this

visit, the final gaps were filled in the story of tapioca. Ninety

percent of the tapioca pellets end in Holland via German traders as feed for cattle, pigs, and poultry. For this use only the starch

content matters; here tapioca competes with corn. Discoloration is

not an important factor. It is easy to produce tapioca with no more

57
than 1 1/2 to 1% of sand. However, adulteration up to the allowed 3%

is widespread in Thailand and there is a tendency to overshoot the

addition of dirt followed by extra-legal ways to evade rejection.

Government inspection was tried for one year but proved to be slow and

inefficient. This brought private sampling and testing firms into the

fi€ld. If a shipment passes inspection in Thailand, the foreign buyer

pays 95% of the agreed billing, subject to reanalyses on unloading and

possible further negotiation. The lower price that Thai tapioca

commanded truly reflected its lower quality and is not artifical. The

ultimate buyer seldom rejected on the basis of quality, because the

lower price compensated him adequately. From this, it appears after

much sound and fury that "the tapioca problem" has evaporated. The

buyer is satisfied, and the seller has gotten what his product was

worth. There would seem to be sensible reasons for dropping the 3%

limit on silica and tailoring the price of each shipment to its starch

content, but the benefits would be rather marginal (also see 1.2 and

8.3).

11.4 Weights and Measures Laboratories

It is usually considered an appropriate function of government to

assure that equity prevails in the marketplace and to provide the

necessary technical services to government, industry, and business so that commercial measurement losses are minimized.

To build effective programs of legal metrology, one prerequisite is to

enact a modern, up-to-date law (general and broad in scope) and

support this with regulations having the force and effect of law

(i.e., specification and tolerances for weighing and measuring

devices, requirements for packaging and labelling, etc.). Another

requirement is to supply a legal metrology service with adequate

physical standards (kilogram weights, volumetric test measures, and

length measures) to adequately test scales, meters, tapes, and net

content of packages. These field standards should be directly related

to the nation's primary standards of mass, length, and volume with

appropriate accuracy and legal certification. The government benefits

from an effective program of legal metrology, for instance, as the

largest single purchaser of commodities by reducing losses due to

shortages and the public benefits from being given confidence in the

government services as the "third man" in all commercial transactions.

Individual industries, too, may realize sizeable savings in the

purchase of raw materials and sale of goods produced.

The team, therefore, returned to the Central Bureau of Weights and

Measures (see 2.2) to discuss the possible recommendations for

revisions of the Thai Law of Weights and Measures BF2466 (1923). It

recommends the Metric System but is tolerant on the use of some

58
customary units. There are problems with some definitions, at least

in their translation into English, and with the approvals of weighing

and measuring instruments. The verification of the meter standard at

the International Bureau of Weights and Measures is an example of an unrealizable requirement. The penalties for lack of verification

marks on many instruments throughout the country appear to make most

traders liable to imprisonment. Revision of the law is, therefore,

desirable prior to which action a careful study of corresponding laws

of other countries should be made, discussed, and debated so that the

important choices for a modern weights and measures law can be

considered.

12. Minister of Industry's Council, Closing Session, May 31.

General Krit, Minister of Industry, convened his Council to meet the

NBS/AID Team and to thank them. He listened to the summary statements

of all team members. These statements are here reproduced in full:

12.1 H. Steffen Peiser, Chief, Office of International Relations , U.S. National Bureau of Standards

Your Excellency, General Krit, Gentlemen. The NBS/AID for the Survey

Team of Standardization and Measurement Services in Thailand feels

honored to meet with you once more. Split up into smaller groups, we have visited many manufacturing and related centers throughout your

country. Team members have discussed problems and exchanged practical

knowledge with your technical personnel. We, these team members, have

become acquainted with a delightful land and a most charming people.

Thailand has enormous potential due to its resources, natural and

human. The technical training, knowledge and professional devotion of

our Thai colleagues demand the highest respect and recognition. Your

Ministry's officers have been wonderful hosts. The team feels deeply

indebted.

Today we will give a tentative outline of the topics of our proposed

report. You will detect among us a recurring conviction that it is

not primarily a lack of technical know how or even of technical

facilities that seems to slow progress in Thailand's

industrialization. There does, however, appear to be a need for

resoljjte from-the-top technical systems planning and interinstitutional coordination. Planning cannot be based on technical

solutions alone. Implementation must always be coordinated with

socio-economic goals and cultural background. The NBS/AID Team is in no position to make recommendations outside its technical competence.

Yet, we will not evade issues. We will make observations which you

can turn into vigorous actions that could have profound impact on industrial progress in Thailand.

59
Before we proceed with our technical presentations I call on Dr. R. J. Corruccini to perform an important and pleasant duty on behalf of NBS.

12.2 Presentation of Books by R. J. Corruccini, Former Deputy

Director, Institute of Basic Standards

My, own organization, the National Bureau of Standards, has put a collection of its best and most recent work in the field of

measurement into a set of volumes which the survey team would now like

to present to you for the Department of Science.

We also would like to present a copy of a study recently completed by

NBS of all aspects of conversion of the U.S. from the so-called

Customary British System to the metric system of measurements. Since

in Thailand the metric system is already in wide use, as authorized by

the Law of Weights and Measures of 1923, your country may reasonably

feel a degree of detachment from this problems even so we hope that

this study may be interesting and illuminating as an example of one way to approach the analysis of a difficult national problem with a technical basis but having powerful social overtones.

Many quality judgments are subjective, e.g., the texture and

appearance of fruit, or the handling and ride of an automobile.

However, the quality of modern industrial products is more likely to

be measured quantitatively by a physical instrument, e.g., the size

and shape of the internal parts of an engine, or the light output of

an electric lamp.

In making instrumental measurements, one question should never be

overlooked: is the instrument correct? If it is not, how can one find that out and how can one obtain correct results? Answering these

questions is the job of national standards laboratories such as NBS.

Generally speaking we strive to assure correct results by:

1. ) Maintaining accurate basic standards; length, mass,

time, and temperature.

2. ) Calibrating instruments for others by comparison with

the basic standards.

3. ) Furnishing devices or materials of accurately known

characteristics (SRM's) which others may measure,

thereby ascertaining the accuracy of their own instruments and the correctness of their experimental

procedures

.

60
These services support quality control in manufacturing, and the

acceptance of goods in foreign countries. They are put on a uniform

international basis by comparison measurements made at BIPM or directly between national laboratories.

They can be transmitted to laboratories even in countries which do not

maintain basic standards by various channels: e.g., via instrument

manufacturers with international distribution, private instrument

calibration facilities, international navigational and radio

timekeeping facilities, cooperation between national military

services, and direct assistance from national laboratories of friendly

countries.

The basic concept of assuring that measurements are meaningful should

never be lost sight of, regardless of the level of sophistication

involved. Otherwise the operation of measurement becomes empty of

significance, and wasteful of time and resources.

12.3 Mr. Sang Sup Lee, Industrial Advancement Administration,

Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Seoul, Korea

Your Excellency, Ladies and Gentlemen. It is certainly a great honor

for us to have the opportunity of delivering, to you, some of the

views we have formed during our short survey mission here in Thailand.

Since my friends here will bring out and discuss, with their

expertise, various aspects related to our mission, please permit me to

confine myself to making a few observations on the testing laboratory

services, especially with reference to my own country, Korea.

Before embarking upon those prefessional matters, I wish to express my

deep gratitude to all of you and others who are not here with us today, but who have kindly extended cordial hospitality and co- operation during our visits to various organizations here in Thailand.

I have certainly learned a lot and benefitted greatly. The benefits

will be well shared with people in my country.

All of us know that, despite certain differences between Thailand and

Korea, there are quite a number of aspects which are common both to

them_and to many other countries which are in the process of laying

the sound foundation needed for attaining rapid but healthy industrial

development.

Accepting these assumptions, let me briefly refer to Korea's

experiences in my field and the problems that have been confronting

our country in recent years, as this may have some bearing on relevant

institutions in Thailand.

61
Firstly, I feel that there is some overlapping and, on the other hand,

too much diffusion of our standardization and research activities,

perhaps in both our countries. Of course, it is desirable to have as many research and standardization activities as possible. However, I feel we must be careful to avoid much diffusion in a country where

financial sources and experimental facilities are rather limited.

In the early part of this year the Republic of Korea took strong

measures towards the rearrangement and consolidation of various

organizations doing rather similar work. We have been striving to

carry out standardization, quality control, weights and measures

calibration and testing laboratory services in a much more systematic

manner through a newly established organization.

Second, we have the problem of insufficiency of laboratory facilities,

particularly in the provincial towns. The task which we have to

tackle is the nation-wide improvement of the analytical and

experimental laboratories. We feel this task must be urgently

performed in order to keep pace with the nation's policy of

decentralization of industries. We have been carrying out a study to

find effective ways and means of making the best use of the very

limited facilities available in the provincial towns. In this

connection, I have been really impressed by the branch office of ISI

located in Chiengmai. I have no doubt that it will continue to

contribute greatly to the development of small and medium scale

industries in that locality.

Our third serious problem is a shortage of skilled technicians. In

Korea, even though we have been giving special allowances to those

government officials who are engaged in technical, engineering and

research work, there are still considerable differences between what

they receive and what their counterparts in private enterprises

receive. I feel that this is one of the common phenomena prevailing

among the developing countries in Asia. If the quality of the

officials with technical tasks is inferior to that of people working

in private firms, it is not reasonable to expect the government

officials to provide technical guidance and solve the problems of

private firms. I feel strongly that a considerably greater number of

competent engineers and technicians in the field of calibration is

needed.

In this particular field, we are planning to recruit competent college

graduates, to provide them with special training abroad, and to impose

on them a duty to serve the Government on a contract basis. We are also considering means of curbing the outflow of competent specialists

to private enterprises by providing them with sufficient incentives.

62
The final but the most important point which I wish to make is that

top level officials should appreciate the urgent need to develop upto-date technologies. I believe more importation of foreign plants

and technologies will not be sufficient to attain industrial

development in a real sense. Moreover, in many instances, I have

observed that the top officials, even though they may fully realize

the needs for such development, become rather reluctant once it comes

to the stage of allocating funds. This may be owing for the fact that

the effects of such inputs are not always immediate and clearly

visible. It is my opinion that, in many instances, too low priority

has been given to projects that will lay the foundation for healthy

industrial development.

In Korea, we have been striving in every possible way to move away

from the category of developing countries and achieve the status of a semi -advanced country during the second half of the 1970's. I am very

glad to note that Korea is gradually giving higher priority to the

development of this crucial area.

Please excuse me for saying so much on what has been happening and

what is going to happen in Korea. I hope some of our experiences and

some things we are planning to do will be of practical interest to

you. I am eager to see all of us cooperating in a more effective

manner to solve our common problems and bring prosperity to all our

nations

.

12.4 Werner Y. F. Ning, Director, National Bureau of Standards , Ministry of Economic Affairs, Taipei, Taiwan, Republic

of China

It is my understanding that the protection of industrial property is

essential to the industrialization process of a country. It is

generally recognized that "Industrial Property" comprises primarily

patents of invention, patents of industrial design, and trademarks.

All of them are the results of creative activities. In the process of

industrialization, the exploitation of natural resources and the

utilization of human brain resources are equally important. When we

speak of utilization of human brain resources, it is generally agreed

and has been widely demonstrated that the protection of the results of

the__creative activities of the human brain is the best way to attract

people to use their brains in the field of invention and design.

As an administrator of the patent system in a country similar to

yours, I just like to draw your special attention to the following

benefits you may enjoy if patent protection is available:

(1) Patent protection offers an incentive to the inventors. As yo

know, by definition, invention must be something new. In the

63
process of industrialization, a country needs both new products and new processes.

(2) Patent protection attracts foreign investors to bring new techniques and processes into your country. Patents must be

considered as a kind of capital. Manufacturers of products

protected abroad do not risk undue exposure to imitation

by in-country manufacture if they also have in-country

patent protection.

(3) Patents must be respected in connection with foreign trade.

A patent is only protected within the jurisdiction of the

country where the patent is granted. Imitation of

patented products is not only morally wrong, but such a product will also be confiscated upon the entry into the

country where it is patented. Home produced goods that do

not respect patents are unsuited for export.

Trademarks are closely connected with quality control. A trademark

has been considered by the trademark owner as an integral part of his

assets. A trademark serves as a guarantee of the quality of the

product. As a rule, a trademark owner does not just maintain the

quality of his product, but also improves it willingly. The better

the quality, the larger his market. The result of such a chain

reaction is mutually beneficial to the trademark owner and the consumer.

For your reference, may I tell you very briefly about my experiences

in the administration of industrial property in my country:

The total number of patent applications filed with the Bureau from

1950 to 1972 is more than 30,000 and the number approved is in the

neighborhood of 12,000.

Based on nationalities, around 50% of the applicants are Chinese, 20%

American, 19% Japanese, and 11% nationals from other countries. Among

them, there are 38% from chemical industries, 4% in electrical

engineering, and 6% in mechanical engineering.

From 1954 to 1972, the total number of trademark applications examined

was more than 53,000, the number rejected was around 9,000, and the

number registered was in the neighborhood of 44,000.

The statistics of the trademark applicants show that the first in

number was Chinese, the second, Japanese and the third American, and

that chemical products was the first, food products was the second,

and textile products was the third in number of trademark

appl ications

.

64
In conclusion, even if you think that at the present time the

implementation of a patent system is premature, it seems to me that it

is already late to start training patent examiners. Normally, it

takes at least four or five years. If I can be of any further

assistance, please do not hesitate to let me know.

12.5 Fahrettin Can, Assistant Professor, Orta Dogu Teknik

Universi tesi , Middle East Technical University , Ankara, Turkey

I was very much impressed by the enthusiastic and cooperative attitude

of the Thai people. They all appear to be hard working and willing to

accomplish things, for others as well as for themselves.

On the other hand, I believe that modern technology requires

specialization on the part of people, and use of sophisticated and

very expensive equipment. Highly trained, specialized personnel and

capital resources to purchase the costly equipment are usually scarce

even in highly developed countries. It is more so in countries like

Thailand and Turkey. We must, therefore, make the best use of such

talent and equipment whenever we can have them available. This

requires a systematic and conscientious cooperation among persons,

departments, agencies, universities, ministries, companies and even among nations. This is the only way we can afford such personnel and

equipment.

To serve the purpose, it would be very helpful if all organizations,

big or small, government or private, would carefully reconsider their

organizational structures, redefine their objectives, determine the

functions that have to be performed, group the functions, and assign

them along with proper authority by specifying the duties and

responsibilities, and have all this followed up by the top management

or high government officials and see to it that the organization is

staffed with capable persons who can operate in harmony.

12.6 R. K. Eby, Chief, Polymers Division, U.S. National Bureau

of Standards

Your Excellency, Ladies and Gentlemen.

I am honored to have an opportunity to present to the Ministry of

Industry a summary of my observations during our survey of Thailand.

A necessary component of any standardization, quality control and

testing program is the measurement of various properties of products.

This, of course, must be accomplished with appropriate measuring

instruments and the instruments must be calibrated so that the numbers

which they yield have useful meaning. Now, most instruments are

65
calibrated originally by the manufacturer. However, it is incorrect

to assume that this calibration will remain valid indefinitely

independent of time and the conditions to which the instrument is

exposed. Therefore, instruments require recal ibration. Usually we accomplish this by measuring the appropriate property of a material of

known stiffness, chemical composition, etc. Such materials are produced by the U. S. National Bureau of Standards and are known as Standard Reference Materials. A good example is the Light-Sensitive

Paper used in the textile industry to calibrate the lamps with which

the fading of dyes is measured. These are frequently carbon arcs for

which the characteristics vary markedly from time to time in one fading lamp and from one fading lamp to another. If the buyer and

seller of textile materials wish to specify fading properties in their

contract and if they both wish to verify these in their laboratories,

it is necessary that they calibrate their lamps with the same Standard

Reference Material. This is the role played by the Light-Sensitive

Paper which finds use not only in domestic trade but also in

international trade in textiles. Indeed, such a material will

probably become eventually an international Standard Reference

Material

.

There are very many standard materials and I have looked for the use

of these in appropriate applications during my visits to laboratories

in Thailand. I am happy to say that I have found many such materials

in use to test, for example, rubber compounding procedures, the burst

strength of paper, and in a number of applications in the Department

of Science. However, I have not found them in use everywhere that

they should have been. I have three observations that might be of some help in improving the situation:

a) An appropriate Department, such as the Department of Science,

should take an active and central role in identifying the

real needs for such materials in industry and encouraging

their use.

b) To help in (a), the Department selected should send a representative to a Symposium, "Standard Reference

Materials and Meaningful Measurements", which the National

Bureau of Standards is holding this October to consider the

needs for and roles of Standard Reference Materials in

industrial technology. This person should also spend some

time as a Guest Worker at the National Bureau of Standards

learning about our Standard Reference Materials program.

c) When the real needs of industry for Standard Reference

Materials have been identified, the National Bureau of

Standards can help initiate a corrective program by

providing, free, a reasonable amount of such materials.

66
In conclusion, it is my feeling that these three actions would

contribute strongly to the filling of a need which I have observed for

the wider use of the Standard Reference Materials in Thailand.

12.7 T. M. Stabler, Special Assistant for International Programs , Office of Engineering and Processing Standards, U.S. National

Bureau of Standards

Among the fundamental considerations of any industrial or industrializing nation are programs of legal and scientific metrology

basic to commerce at all levels: in production - in the purchase of

raw materials; at the wholesale or distribution level - in the buying

and selling of finished commodities in quantity lots; and at the

retail marketplace - where the general public purchases products for

personal consumption. Examples are food and clothing, gasoline and

household fuels, and commodities for personal care, health and safety.

The basis for programs of legal metrology is the requirement for

equity in trade, that the buyer and seller receive just compensation

in pay and in commodities purchased. It is usually considered an appropriate function of government to assure that equity prevails in

the marketplace and to provide the necessary technical service to

government, industry, and business so that commercial measurement

losses are minimized.

To build effective programs of legal metrology, the first step is to

enact a modern, up-to-date law (general and broad in scope) and

support this with regulations having the force and effect of law

(e.g., specifications and tolerances for weighing and measuring

devices, requirements for packaging and labeling, etc.). The second

step is to supply the legal metrology service with adequate physical

standards (kilogram weights, volumetric test measures, and length

measures to adequately test scales, meters, lengths, and net content

of packages). These field standards should be directly traceable to

the nation's primary standards. of mass, length, and volume for reasons

of accuracy and legal certification. A laboratory or system of

laboratories for scientific metrology should be considered for

accurate industrial and commercial measurements, and should adequately

support the needs of government, industry, universities, and legal

metrology.

In addition to well-qualified, trained personnel, the program of legal

metrology should be planned and administered by experienced officials

to obtain the maximum benefits this program can provide.

The benefits may include significant savings to the nation's economy

by controlling measurement of commodities at the export/import

stations by promoting the use of international standards for

67
comrnodlties introduced to foreign trade (participation in

international standards organizations is recommended). The government

can benefit from an effective program of legal metrology as the

largest single purchaser of commodities by reducing losses due to

shortages and by building confidence in the government service as the

"third man" in all commercial transactions. Individual industries may

realize sizeable savings in the purchase of raw materials and accurate

measurement of goods produced. The general public - "consumers" - will benefit directly from effective weights and measures control.

Only the use of approved (accurate) weighing and measuring instruments

should be permitted in the marketplace. Only packages containing the

correct net quantity should be sold.

On the international scene, it is in the nations where equity of

commercial measurements is assumed to be accurate that the greatest

shortages may occur. In the past, measurement surveys of certain

marketplaces have indicated shortages in more than 50% of all devices

tested and packages checked. Programs of legal metrology and

international standards are of sufficient economic impact that

consideration should be given to their early implementation.

12.8 L. E. Gatterer, Time and Frequency Division, U.S. National

National Bureau of Standards

During my brief stay in Thailand I have attempted to survey resources

and applications related to time standards. Before I discuss my

impressions, perhaps I should define two terms that I must use,

namely, frequency and date.

If the little hand on your wrist watch goes around once every twleve

hours, then your watch is said to be on frequency. It runs at the

correct rate. If the two hands point where they should, the date is

accurate. That is, your watch reads the correct time. Frequency and

date are two fundamental terms of timekeeping.

In Thailand, people need frequency standards (i.e., oscillators) to

check the frequency of radio transmitters, electric power generators,

and many electronic instruments. On the other hand, people who must

coordinate activities at different locations need date standards

(i.e., clocks). For example, if the people at Chiengmai and Songkla

v/ant to use seismic readings to measure the direction of travel and

speed of the shock wave from an earthquake, then they must be able to

make a very accurate determination of the dates at which the shock

wave is detected at each of the two locations. The Department of

Mineral Resources has informed us that the seismic people need to be

able to date their measurements with an accuracy of 1/100 sec, and

they don't know how to do it.

68
Another example of the need for date information in Thailand is

related to nation-wide television broadcasting. I am told that some program time is lost each time that the local stations are connected

into the nation-wide network hook-up, because the clocks by which the

individual local stations schedule their programs do not all read the

same date.

The seismic date problem involves the highest accuracy requirement I have encountered, but there may be many others that I did not

discover. I have been able to identify a number of techniques that

could satisfy this requirement. The careful use of HF time broadcasts

from China and Hawaii stands out as one method that is relatively

cheap and simple.

It appears that HF time signals are presently receivable at most

locations in Thailand with reasonable reliability. I will be available

to communicate with anyone having a special antenna problem or other

difficulties.

From my extremely brief survey, it appears to me that careful use of

HF time broadcasts will solve most existing needs for date information

in Thailand. But it seems likely that in the not too distant future,

Thailand may wish to acquire new electronic systems which will depend

on more accurate date information for their day-to-day operation.

In the United States, for example, the electric power distribution

people tell us that they could take advantage of millionth second date

information to locate electrical faults in their networks. People

interested in automatic vehicle location systems want accuracies even better than a millionth second.

NBS has been studying how to disseminate information from the time

standard with such accuracies. One technique we have developed may be

of great interest in Thailand. This technique takes advantage of the

fact that television picture information is sent in bursts. In

between the bursts there are very short time intervals during which

the communication channel is empty. NBS has developed equipment that

can inject time information into these empty spaces. The microwave

networks that carry the TV signals and the time around the nation are very-stable, providing the basis for a very accurate and practical

time dissemination system.

Anyone who has a specially equipped TV receiver can press a button and

see the time displayed on his TV screen. Or the time signals can be

channeled directly to the system that needs it.

But there is a side benefit of this technique that may be of special

interest in Thailand. I learned that some TV programs in Thailand are

69
overlaid with subtitles or captions. The spoken words appear ?t Uu

bottom of the TV screen in written form. These subtitles can be used

with foreign language films of course, but they have other

applications too. They open up a new world to deaf people, and they

can be used to increase literacy or to teach a foreign language. But

advertisers sometimes object to them, because the captions are distracting to some viewers. The captions are overlaid on the films

prior to transmission, so everyone must see them.

An interesting aspect of the NBS TV Time system is that the equipment

that must already be installed for the time signals can also be used

for captioning. When captioning is done by this approach it is

optional to each viewer whether the subtitles are displayed on his TV screen or not. He merely throws a switch if he wants to see the

captions.

It would be possible to provide both sound and captions in more than one language if it should be desired to do so. At present the

translated sound track is sometimes broadcast separately in Thai over

FM radio. But it is perfectly possible, using the NBS technique, to

broadcast both sound and captions in several languages, nation-wide,

using the TV channel only. Each viewer could then select the language

of his choice, and could have captions as well if he wanted. It would

be a great satisfaction to be a part of opening up this new world to

deaf people, whose greatest desire is to be able to communicate better

with the rest of the world.

The main point though is that there are many interesting opportunities

that depend on better time dissemination. I have two recommendations

to make with regard to the organization of time standards in this

country.

The first is that you give careful consideration to the organizational

location of your date and frequency standards in this country before

you modernize your timekeeping capabilities. The standards of length,

voltage, and other physical units may in the near future become

closely interrelated with frequency. So it will be beneficial to

place your time standards physically close to your other primary

physical standards.

The second recommendation is that you work with private concerns, or

else you designate a group that will be responsible to help other

agencies with time dissemination problems. You may not wish to make

that the sole activity of a group, as the activity will probably not

be large, unless Thailand acquires some new date dependent systems.

But it might be useful to have a place where an agency like the

Department of Mineral Resources can go for help when they need it. It

might make sense to have the dissemination people physically close to

70
the time standard, and it would probably even be desirable to have the same people keep time and offer dissemination advice.

In closing I will mention that in order to satisfy its own needs, the

United States is planning to begin maintaining extremely accurate date

coordination between the bank of atomic clocks at the Loran C station

at Sattahip and the principal clocks in the United States. So if

Thailand should desire to coordinate its own time scale with the

international time scale, the means will soon be at hand to do so.

Addendum: The television time dissemination technique described in

this presentation is an experimental system. It has been tested

extensively and successfully, but it is not an operational system in

the United States.

The television format in use in Thailand is somewhat different than

that in use in the United States. Therefore, modified equipment would

have to be constructed before the television time dissemination system

could be tested in Thailand.

71
NBS-114A (REV. 7-73)

U.S. DEPT. OF COMM.

BIBLIOGRAPHIC DATA

SHEET

1. PUBLICATION OR REPORT NO.

NBSIR 76- 1190

2. Gov't Accession

No.

3. Recipient's Accession No.

4. TITLE AND SUBTITLE

Standardization and Measurement Services in Thailand

5. Publ ic at ion Date February 1977

6. Performing Organization Code

7. AUTHOR(S)

H. Steffen Peiser and Robert S. Marvin

8. Performing Organ. Report No. NBSIR 76-1190

9. PERFORMING} ORGANIZATION NAME AND ADDRESS

NATIONAL BUREAU OF STANDARDS

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

WASHINGTON, D.C. 20234

10. Project/Task/Work Unit No. 1560370

11. Contract/Grant No. TA(CE)5-71

12. Sponsoring Organization Name and Complete Address (Street, City, State, ZIP)

Agency for International Development

Department of State

Washington, D. C. 20523

13. Type of Report & Period

Covered

NBS Report-May 22 -

^A <^ A JUhe- 1^ 197" 14. i5ponsoring AgehTyx^ocr^ -i--'/ -

15. SUPPLEMENTARY NOTES

16. ABSTRACT (A 200-word or less factual summary of most si^ificant information. If document includes a significant

bibliography or literature survey, mention it here.)

A survey of standardization and measurement services available in Thailand was carried out in May and June of 1973 as part of a National Bureau of Standards

program sponsored by the Office of Science and Technology of the Agency for

International Development. The Survey Team included five NBS staff members, three

third-country participants, and an approximately equal number of professional

Thai participants, headed by the overall Survey Director, Dr. Charoen Vashrangsi of

the Department of Science in the Thai Ministry of Industry. A total of universities

,

government departments and private organizations were visited by some or all of the

Team. The schedule of visits was so heavy that no time was available for

discussion and formulation of formal recommendations. Thus the report is largely

a brief factual account of the various visits, although a few comments and

suggestions are included.

17. KEY WORDS (six to twelve entries; alphabetical order; capitalize only the first letter of the first key word unless a proper name; separated by semicolons)

Measurements; quality control; standardization; testing facilities; Thailand

18. AVAILABILITY [^Unlimited

1 ! For Official Distribution. Do Not Release to NTIS

1 1 Order From Sup. of Doc, U.S. Government Printing Office Washington. D.C. 20402. SD Cat. No. C13

IX i Order From National Technical Information Service (NTIS)

Springfield, Virginia 22151

19. SECURITY CLASS

(THIS REPORT)

UNCL ASSIFIED

21. NO. OF PAGES

79

20. SECURITY CLASS

(THIS PAGE)

UNCLASSIFIED

22. Price

$5.00

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