The Role of National Metrology Institutes

Most countries have their own National Metrology Institute (NMI), which is recognised globally and is part of an international system for ensuring the comparability of measurement standards and measurement capabilities. Each NMI maintains, and houses, its country’s national measurement standards and provides traceability to the SI at stated levels of confidence (also known as measurement uncertainty).

NMIs are part of the infrastructure responsible for coordinating scientific metrology globally, alongside legal metrology and industrial metrology. In this free short course, we will take a look at the different areas of metrology and the important role that NMIs play. We will also look at some of the specific activities that NMIs undertake, as well as some examples of services offered by NMIs that help maintain critical national infrastructure (with specific examples of work done at NPL used for demonstration).

Learning Outcomes

By the end of this course, learners will:

Be able to differentiate between the three branches of metrology — industrial, legal and scientific
Understand the global metrological hierarchy associated with scientific metrology and where NMIs fit into that structure
Be able to explain the role of an NMI
Know how NMIs operate and why they are necessary
Recognise NPL as the UK’s NMI and understand its role in maintaining and disseminating the national standards
Be able to explain some key areas where the work of NMIs is very important, including maintaining the international time scale and monitoring greenhouse gas emissions.