Many newcomers to quality infrastructure (QI) struggle to understand the role of metrology, a key domain within the discipline. It can be challenging to grasp how metrology forms the backbone of a QI system, not only in terms of physical metrology, such as measuring weights, length, time, or temperature, but even more so when it comes to chemical metrology.
A recent project scoping mission to Pakistan highlighted how busily textile and garment exporters prepare for the upcoming EU regulations affecting their sector. The Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR) is particularly relevant to them and will include the Digital Product Passport (DPP) as an essential implementation tool. By 2027, textile & apparel exporters must have implemented DPP solutions that satisfy EU import controls.
Continue readingIn a June 2024 Solar Energy Special, the Economist called solar energy generation the “least obtrusive revolution imaginable.”(The Economist 2024b) According to the International Solar Energy Society, solar power is on track to generate more electricity than all the world’s nuclear power plants in 2026, its wind turbines in 2027, its dams in 2028, its gas-fired power plants in 2030, and its coal-fired ones in 2032.
Continue readingInsights about an economy’s present and future demand for quality assurance services are essential for developing a national quality infrastructure (NQI). Gaining a clear understanding of the needs and demand for QI services in a country complements the analysis of supply-side data, resulting in more sound decisions on QI development programs and their scope. A proper demand assessment is critical to both the capacity building of individual QI Institutions and the identification of effective reforms of the overall NQI in a country. Although the need for demand-driven NQI development is emphasized by funding agencies such as UNIDO and PTB, the demand side is still often neglected.
Continue readingIn 2018, the World Bank and the German Metrology Institute (Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt, PTB) commissioned the elaboration of a Comprehensive Diagnostic Toolkit to provide an instrument that helps to assess the supply side of a national quality infrastructure (NQI) system in a country.
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Quality Infrastructure for Development 