The National Meteorology Institute of Ethiopia (NMIE) held discussion on a research entitled “The Role of the Private Sector in the area of National Meteorology Infrastructure” with the Addis Ababa Chamber of Commerce and Sectoral Associations (AACCSA) on Thursday at Hilton Hotel.
AACCSA Secretary General Getachew Regassa said that the Institute has been working to set national measurement standards, provide calibrations and, where necessary, to ensure comparability with the national standards of other countries for the purpose of international trade to support national manufacturing industries. Institute Director General Wondosen Fiseha said that the National Quality Infrastructure (NQI) comprises all the institutions (private and public) required to establish and implement standardization, meteorology, inspection, certification and accreditation.
Presenting the research Wondosen noted that metrology is the science of measurement and applied on production control, protection of the environment, protection of the safety and health; testing of quality of products; and ensuring fair trade for consumer protection.
The application of measurement science to manufacturing and other processes and their use in society, ensuring the suitability of measurement instruments, their calibration and quality control of measurements.
Wondosen also said that regulatory requirements of measurements and measuring instruments are essential for the protection of health, public safety, the environment, enabling taxation, protection of consumers and fair trade. The types of calibration services includes in-house calibration laboratory done at the permanent facility, mobile calibration laboratory done at the mobile laboratory facility and on-site calibration laboratory done at the customer facility (laboratory).
The research encompasses 30 manufacturers; major testing laboratories; legal meteorology authorities; calibration laboratories and the National Metrology Institute of Ethiopia. No foreign calibration laboratory has been registered in Ethiopia to provide calibration services. Currently there are no private calibration and verification laboratories which are operating in Ethiopia.
He also noted that the Institute calibration laboratories are the sole calibration service provider in the country, and Ethiopian airlines has a recognized in-house calibration laboratory; whereas METEC Quality Engineering Center has organized a calibration and testing laboratories recently.
However, 359,996 measuring equipment has been identified, NMIE doesn’t have a capacity to calibrate 24571 measuring equipment; NMIE has a capacity of 14000 per annum which mean 25 times less capacity compared to the need.
With regard to the experiences of other countries, over 25 calibration labs in Kenya; over 1000 in China; over 40 in Germany, over 10 in Korea among others while many manufacturers do also calibration services.
The research stressed on the private sector to participate in the area of the national quality Infrastructure in general and calibration and verification services in particular to fill the gap in capability issue.
DQS Ethiopia and other various private sectors participated in the discussion have believed on the essentiality of the applicable of disseminating the service to private sectors for improved implementation of meteorological infrastructure.
[TheEthiopianHerald]
