| Commerce cannot exist without Legal Metrology, as the mandatory checking of devices is a fundamental component of the conduct and sustenance of trade, according to the Guyana National Bureau of Standards (GNBS).Devices verified by the GNBS include scales, masses and measures, storage tanks, flow meters, measuring rules, electricity meters and petrol pumps.Also included are devices used at shops, markets, supermarkets, rice and sugar industries, manufacturing companies, hospitals and health centres, airlines and shipping companies, post offices, petrol stations and bulk terminals.The entity has noted that it is essential for the manufacturers, suppliers and consumers of goods and services to have mutual confidence in the accuracy, precision and reliability of the measurements made at every level.“In our everyday lives, people make many purchases that rely on confidence in a system that ensures accurate weighing and measuring of goods. Likewise, businesses need to know that they are also trading in a fair market place where no one company has an unfair competitive advantage,” the Bureau stated.The entity underscored that the accuracy of measurements made in commerce – for example, the weight of one kg of potatoes or chicken determined by a scale in the local market, is ultimately traceable to physical standards used by the GNBS, which are traceable to International Standards.Adding that this traceability allows for accurate and reliable measurements on the local and international markets, GNBS stated that this provides for consistency of measurements worldwide. Consumers can therefore have confidence in the accuracy of the local systems of weights and measures.All importers of weighing and measuring devices are also obligated to ensure that devices imported are verified by the GNBS as required by the Weights and Measures Act before offering them for sale. Vendors and Shopkeepers must ensure that the devices they are using are recommended for commercial trade.Persons using various devices to transact business can submit those devices for verification at the GNBS Head Office, Sophia and Sub-offices in New Amsterdam,Arthur Moats Jersey, Anna Regina and Lethem.In Guyana, a legislative and practical enforcement programme governed by the 1981 Weights and Measures Act is in place to ensure that consumers receive the correct quantity of products purchased.This objective is achieved by ensuring that all weighing and measuring devices used in commercial trade are verified by Guyana National Bureau of Standards (GNBS.) |
