ILAC – OIML Partnership

 

ILAC and the International Organization of Legal Metrology (OIML) have a long standing relationship.

 

Memorandum of Understanding

The Joint ILAC-IAF-OIML Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed on 08 February, 2024.

 

Joint Assessments

The Joint ILAC-OIML Assessment Procedure in the field of legal metrology was published in February 2018.

 

Joint Declarations

Metrological Traceability

The Joint BIPM-OIML-ILAC-ISO Declaration on Metrological Traceability 2018 was updated and resigned on 13 November 2018.  

It reaffirms the Joint Declaration signed in 2011 that builds on the tripartite common statement and declaration issued by BIPM, OIML, and ILAC in 2006 on the relevance of various international agreements on metrology to trade, legislation and standardization.

Relevance of International Agreements

The Joint BIPM-OIML-ILAC Declaration 2006 on the relevance of various international agreements on metrology to trade, legislation and standardisation. This statement is a reflection of the ongoing close cooperation between ILAC, BIPM and OIML and promotes the use of the three existing Mutual Recognition Arrangements.

Joint BIPM-OIML-ILAC Declaration 2006 – Covering Letter

Joint BIPM-OIML-ILAC Declaration 2006

Joint BIPM-OIML-ILAC Declaration 2006 (French version)

 

Testimonial

“In my capacity as OIML Liaison Officer with ILAC and the IAF, and as Executive Secretary of the OIML Certification System (OIML-CS) at the Bureau International de Métrologie Légale (BIML), I am honoured to support the ILAC/IAF International Accreditation Day.

“Legal Metrology has a great impact on the economy and on society, since it provides credible measurements for trade, health, safety, environmental protection and law enforcement. As technology continues to advance, the need for Legal Metrology becomes increasingly felt and developing partnerships to keep up with these changes continues to be a priority for the OIML.

“Legal Metrology also facilitates data exchange and contributes to reducing the necessity to duplicate measurements. To this end, the OIML publishes International Recommendations which are model technical regulations to be used in each Member State as a basis for developing national regulations and which are in fact “international standards” in the sense of the World Trade Organization Technical Barriers to Trade (WTO TBT) Agreement.

“In 1991, the OIML set up the Basic Certificate System for type evaluation of measuring instruments. The System allowed national Issuing Authorities, which are designated by the OIML representatives in the various Member States, to issue OIML Certificates of Conformity based on measuring instrument testing according to the relevant OIML Recommendations.

“In 2005, the OIML established its Mutual Acceptance Arrangement (MAA) which strengthened confidence in national testing results by setting up an assessment of national Testing Laboratories responsible for type evaluation of measuring instruments. These Testing Laboratories were assessed either by accreditation or by peer assessment, using the criteria laid down in ISO/IEC 17025.

“On 1 January 2018, the Basic Certificate System and the MAA were replaced by a new OIML Certification System (OIML-CS). The OIML-CS is a system for issuing, registering and using OIML Certificates and their associated OIML type evaluation/test reports for types of measuring instruments (including families of measuring instruments, modules, or families of modules), based on the requirements of OIML Recommendations.

“The OIML-CS is a single Certification System comprising two Schemes: Scheme A and Scheme B. The requirements for the participation of OIML Issuing Authorities and their associated Test Laboratories in Scheme A or Scheme B are the same, but the method of demonstrating compliance is different. OIML Issuing Authorities are required to demonstrate compliance with ISO/IEC 17065 and Test Laboratories are required to demonstrate compliance with ISO/IEC 17025. For participation in Scheme B, it is sufficient to demonstrate compliance on the basis of “self-declaration” with additional supporting evidence. However, for participation in Scheme A, compliance shall be demonstrated by peer evaluation on the basis of accreditation or peer assessment.

“The aim of the OIML-CS is to facilitate, accelerate and harmonize the work of national and regional bodies that are responsible for type evaluation and approval of measuring instruments subject to legal metrological control. In the same way, instrument manufacturers, who are required to obtain type approval in some countries in which they wish to sell their products, should benefit from the OIML-CS as it will provide evidence that their instrument type complies with the requirements of the relevant OIML Recommendation(s). Setting up the OIML-CS has contributed to reinforcing the existing cooperation with ILAC and IAF.

“Recognition of test results and type evaluation reports is a first step, and the OIML will continue to explore the further development of the OIML-CS in order to establish a global approach which could include testing, initial certification of measuring instruments, initial inspection, and guidance on periodic in-service inspection of measuring instruments. Cooperation with ILAC and the IAF is essential to create confidence in measurement results and facilitate their use all over the world.”

Mr. Paul Dixon
BIML Assistant Director
OIML-CS Executive Secretary

OIML Contact Details
Tel: 33 1 4878 1282
Email: biml@oiml.org