DOCUMENTS
 Country
Report Expertise Centre
COUNTRY REPORT 2006 - 2007
5.5
Metrology
The road map below summarises
the developments that remain to be achieved in the metrology
infrastructure in Turkey, before Metrology is well functioning
and lives fully up to the European practices. The road map
is organised with four levels: Training, Legislation, implementation,
and sustaining.
Abbreviations are as follows:
NOTIF: Notification process,
ORG: Organisation, MS: Market surveillance: NB: Notified Body,
QA: Quality assurance: UNIV: Universities: CIPM-MRA: Mutual
recognition arrangement under the Comité International des
Poids et Mesures, DL: designated laboratory under the CIPM-MRA.
A fully developed metrology
infrastructure could exist in 2011 according to the estimate
leading to the road map. ln the following text the process
is described in more detail.
5.5.1 The development of UME
As already mentioned, UME
satisfies the requirements for operating as a national metrology
institute; but some developments are still advisable. The
overall productivity of UME must be increased so that it properly
reflects the investment made possible from the World Bank’s
assistance. This should be done together with a reconsideration
of UME’s price policy so that UME, on one hand, does not compete
in an unfair way with the calibration market, and, on the
other hand, offers its services at a price that is competitive
on the world market.
UME should also become better
in networking within Turkey. Although UME’s national visibility
has increased during the period 2002-2006, it has a tendency
to work somewhat in isolation. An example is metrology in
chemistry, where UME has very limited competence, but still
it represents Turkey in the Focus for analytical chemistry
in Europe, EURACHEM. Here, the Turkish engagement could be
much greater, if UME was better in networking with the many
competent Turkish institutions within chemistry. As is detailed
below, UME could also actively engage in partnering with universities
to channel their scientific competences into practical metrology.
UME should also continue to assist the ministry for industry and trade
to make forecasts for the needs for laboratory facilities
and competent staff, so that investments are done in a well
balances way.
5.5.2 MIT’s organisation of legal metrology including market surveillance
Legal metrology is in an
early state of development with respect to the period 2002-2006.
The road map shows the ongoing project and training activity
within market surveillance and organisation of laboratory
structure. After this, it will be able to adjust the legislation,
before the practical implementation, including notification,
can take place. As the plans are to develop a decentralised
system with many different operators, a proper supervision
from the side of the ministry will have to be set up and operated
for some time, before the system of legal metrology is fully
running in Turkey. If things develop as presented in the plans
of the ministry in 2006, this target could be reached in late
2008.
5.5.3 Investigate the possibilities of universities and research institutions
Today a few universities,
such as Ege University and Middle East Technical University
play an important role in the Turkish metrology infrastructure;
but the majority of universities and research institutions
have difficulties combining their scientific mission with
the practical tasks of performing reliable measurements and
tests under strict quality control. And no university or research
institution has a formal role in the metrology infrastructure,
for instance as a designated laboratory under the CIPM-MRA.
In order to utilise the
enormous resources available for metrology at universities
and research institutions, the road map suggests training
interested university staff for the necessary quality assurance,
so that this is not a bottleneck for them operating a metrology
facility within their field. If successful, the project would
lead to a change of the metrology law, so these institutions
can operate as designated laboratories and offer their metrology
services in a global context. After some preparation, which
will involve the laboratories in question operating under
an accreditation, they should be appointed as designated laboratories
while UME remains the signatory laboratory to the CIPM-MRA.
In conclusion, these developments
could lead to a full satisfaction of the Acquis Communautaires
in 2011.
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