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.
The scope and competencies of accreditation have developed considerably in recent decades. Accreditation bodies (AB) demonstrate their competence by participating in international agreements such as the IAF Multilateral Recognition Arrangement (MLA) and the ILAC Mutual Recognition Arrangement (MRA). Building on this basis, we have developed a novel indicator to assess the accreditation experience of an economy.
Please read our article published in the IAF Outlook:
Continue readingAs we continue our efforts to measure quality infrastructure (QI) development and improve QI data collection to understand QI’s contribution to economic growth, we turn our attention to metrology. We examined the relationship between the Global Quality Infrastructure Index (GQII) and the number of metrology patents filed to understand whether it would be a suitable proxy for metrology development. We expect a strong positive relationship between the variables of interest, suggesting that countries with higher metrological competencies will likely have more metrology patent applications.
Continue readingThe “GQII-Report 2023: Insights and Trends on Economies Using Metrology, Standards, Accreditation and Conformity Assessment Services” was published earlier this year using 2023 data. The GQII database and ranking integrate information on quality infrastructure (QI) in 185 economies. Each edition collects and analyses data on standardization, metrology, accreditation and conformity assessment activities. Data from multiple sources is used to ensure comparability and a formula is used to calculate each economy’s score and position in the global QI ranking.
Continue readingDigitalisation of accreditation services
Since 2020, accreditation bodies worldwide have increasingly digitalised their services. Accreditation has followed a universal quest for leaner and more efficient business processes, higher productivity, and lower costs. At the same time, digitalisation aims to improve the customer experience and communication as well as the transparency of the accreditation system.
Continue reading
Quality Infrastructure for Development 