Category Archives: Metrology

Geographical Indication – place-linked quality of products

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Geographical indication of product quality

Mexican Tequila, Darjeeling Tea, Roquefort cheese, French Champagne, Italian Prosciutto di Parma and Parmigiano-Reggiano (Parmesan) cheese, Ecuadorian Cacao Arriba, Colombian Coffee, South African Rooibos herbal tea, Scotch whisky, Munich beer or Phu Quoc fish sauce from Vietnam. These are all famous examples of origin-linked indication of product quality. Hearing such product names provides an affirmation with customers about trustworthy quality, a long tradition in the production and legal brand protection.

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Reform of the quality law in Costa Rica

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Central American success model

Costa Rica is a small, innovative country in Central America. Long ago, the government decided to abstain from having an army and instead invested in environmental protection and technological innovation.[1] Costa Rica has evolved from a developing country to an industrialised economy. In May 2020, it became the 38thmember of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). [2]

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Quality Infrastructure 4.0

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The Fourth Industrial Revolution

We are in the midst of a fundamental transformation that will radically change the way we live, work and interact with each other. This transformation began before COVID-19 but has accelerated through the pandemic. Klaus Schwab, the founder and Executive Chairman of the World Economic Forum, speaks in this context of a “Fourth Industrial Revolution”, which will be in its scale, scope and complexity a transformation, unlike anything humanity has ever experienced. Although we do not know yet precisely how it will unfold, the expected changes must be integrated comprehensively and inclusively (Schwab 2017).

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Quality infrastructure helps to meet the Sustainable Development Goals

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In a previous blog post, we asked whether a new definition of quality is needed. Our answer was affirmative, emphasizing that nowadays quality must always be measured by how it relates to environmental, social and economic sustainability.

In this post, we follow this logic to examine the relationship between Quality Infrastructure (QI) and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in more detail. In 2015 the United Nations adopted the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, which provides a framework for peace and prosperity for the planet and its people. 17 SDGs form the core of the 2030 Agenda. The SDGs demand concerted action in a global partnership to end poverty and other sufferings, improve human health and education, reduce inequality, foster economic growth, combat climate change and preserve oceans and forests.

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BIPM’s Key Comparison Database

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Quality Infrastructure Data

For ten years, we are dealing with the question of how to measure the development and performance of a country’s Quality Infrastructure.[1] Our continuous effort involves comparing the level of development of different countries and measuring the progress of development of a country’s Quality Infrastructure. You can compare this data with other indicators such as population size, economic power, competitiveness, exports, etc. The Quality Infrastructure measurement requires a reliable database in the areas of metrology, standardization, accreditation and conformity assessment. This blog post deals with metrology data and thereby initiates a series of blog post dedicated to QI-Data specifically.

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