CMC and International Comparison

CIPM MRA and CMC

In response to economic globalization, the Comité International des Poids et Mesures (CIPM) Mutual Recognition Arrangement (MRA) was signed in 1999 by the CIPM that is consisted of the individual countries with represented by National Metrology Institutes (NMIs), signatories to the Meter Convention. This CIPM MRA is a historic agreement for the wider acceptance of National Measurement Standards and of Calibration and Measurement Certificates issued by their institutes, and thereby provide governments and other parties with a secure technical foundation for wider agreements related to international trade, commerce and regulatory affairs.
For example, under the CIPM MRA, each country relies and recognizes mutually the traceability system of the national measurement standards of other NMIs and approves the calibration data as in equilibrium and acceptances the calibration and measurement certificates. When the testing instrument is traceable to the own national measurement standards, the measurement and calibration certificate of product is also approved in other countries.

In order to achieve the goal of the CIPM MRA, National Metrology Institutes (NMIs) and Designated Institutes (DIs) in individual countries develop and maintain their national measurement standards and declare the Calibration Measurement Capabilities(CMC) by establishing the quality system, taking peer reviews by signatory NMIs and DIs, and participating the related international comparisons in each measurand. Once finally approved CMCs, the data will be registered in the database (KCDB Appendix-C) undertaken by BIPM, and they will be maintained and regularly updated as new CMCs are submitted or revised and approved. The number of CMC registrations is 24736 as of 13 April 2012. Japan has been registered 996 CMCs which is ranked in 8th place in the world. (Table 1)

Table 1. The number of registered CMC top 10 ( as of April 2012 )

	Country	Acoustic & Ultrasonics Vibration (AUV)	Length (L)	Time & Frequency (TF)	Temperature (T)	Photometry & Radiometry (PR)	Mass & Related Quantities (M)	Electricity & Magnetism (EM)	Radioactivity & Ionization (RI)	Amount of Substance (QM)	Total
1	U.S.A	32	49	11	89	134	122	329	533	980	2279
2	Germany	76	91	25	101	76	200	273	264	531	1637
3	Russia	72	20	36	137	87	59	325	329	470	1535
4	U.K.	42	52	12	59	129	81	338	194	454	1361
5	China	53	50	28	23	27	55	216	195	521	1168
6	Japan	8	33	27	39	49	106	133	248	473	1116
7	Korea	41	28	24	59	41	49	141	214	487	1084
8	France	60	27	11	97	29	102	301	244	120	991
9	The Netherland	6	77	26	64	13	92	238	78	259	853
10	Mexico	40	22	9	15	22	112	87	0	306	613
	Total	1073	1426	675	2064	1243	2778	7090	3903	5441	25693

The CIPM MRA organizes the framework of ensuring the international reliability and promotes the barrier-free trade. Ensuring the traceability of the registered CMCs, the test certificate will be surely available across borders when the reliability of the data attached products and foods are requested to show to the customers and the regulating authority.

International Comparison

The result of the international comparison is a vital evidence to declare CMCs for NMIs and DIs as it is stated above. In each Consultative Committee which is set up every metrology field under the CIPM, key comparison that is an international comparison of the key in each field is conducted.

In principle, CIPM key comparison is conducted by the institutes which possess high technologies and abundant experiences in the field (normally by NMIs and DIs of CC members). After the CIPM key comparison, those institutes are regarded as pilot laboratories and they conduct RMO (Regional Metrology Organization) key comparison. RMO members and other laboratories may participate in the RMO key comparison.

The result of RMO key comparison is linked to the CIPM key comparison through the institutes participated in the CIPM key comparison, and it will be a vital evidence to declare CMCs as well as the result of the CIPM key comparison. Meanwhile, the supplementary comparison is individually conducted by the RMO for which is not covered by the CIPM and RMO key comparisons.

These results of international comparisons are registered to the database which are undertaken by BIPM (KCDB Appendix-B) and updated on the website. 1081 of international comparisons are registered in KCDB as of April 2012. Japan is ranked in the 4th place in the world with 390 international comparisons participations. (Table 2)

Table 2. Top 10 of the number of participation to the international comparison

	Country	1999	Apr. 2004	Jun. 2006	Aug. 2007	Jul. 2008	Jun.2009	May. 2010	May. 2011	Apr. 2012	May. 2013
1	Germany	59	323	445	454	470	505	530	547	575	600
2	U.K	70	282	356	280	384	376	391	403	422	432
3	U.S.A.	51	282	330	335	349	361	384	400	417	432
4	Japan (NMIJ)	42	188 (186)	263 (256)	284 (277)	300 (293)	319 (312)	341 (333)	361 (353)	390 (381)	407 (396)
5	France	48	205	227	308	318	332	353	369	389	406
6	Korea	16	143	209	238	262	269	288	303	332	354
7	Russia	30	139	194	222	240	270	287	301	322	340
8	China	28	134	175	193	204	227	242	253	277	302
9	Italy	15	122	207	210	215	223	236	244	257	272
10	Australia	17	111	166	182	195	211	224	233	249	257
	Total	-	-	608	741	801	879	936	1003	1081	1188