Weights & measures Dept for Dutch Caribbean

Four employees from Bonaire, two from St. Eustatius and one from Saba have completed a training successfully in the last two weeks to become Metrology Inspector or Inspector of Weights and Measures, a press release from RCN Netherlands said. The training took place in The Netherlands and was given by Dutch Superintendent Verispect. A Curaçao Weights and Measures Department employee who currently performs calibration activities and supervision in the Dutch Caribbean also was present.

Bonaire, St. Eustatius and Saba are going to monitor the use of calibrated measuring instruments on the market from 2013. The Ministry of Economic Affairs, Agriculture and Innovation is paying for the training and the equipment with which the employees will work.

The programme will be completed on Bonaire in the spring, when the equipment has been installed. From then, the islands themselves will check the kilowatt-hour and water meters, scales, gas pumps and industrial liquid meters, the press release said.

The Weight and Measures Act of BES [concerning Bonaire, St. Eustatius and Saba, ed.] contains rules for measuring instruments used in trade, such as the requirements with which the instruments must comply and the conditions under which they may be used. These measuring instruments are controlled by the Weights and Measures Department and tested against the legal requirements. With calibration and recalibration, the government ensures that no faulty equipment comes onto the market and that the instruments used measure correctly, the press release concluded.

Source: “The Daily Herald” 2012-10-19