Messages from the
BIML and BIPM Directors

Measurements for transport

Judging by the succession of themes and articles related to World Metrology Day over the recent years, it is quite evident that legal metrology is very much a part of our everyday lives. In many ways transport also plays a significant role in the lives of every one of us, every day:

• water, gas, and electricity must be transported from their source to their point of use, such as our homes or businesses;
• petrol and diesel must also be transported from their source through the refinery to the storage tanks and finally to our automobiles and trucks;
• much of the produce, vegetables, meat and other staples need to be transported from their source to the local market.

Road, rail, air, water, cable and pipe all provide a medium for the transport of people and/or goods. Many products such as our smartphones, computers or televisions are manufactured in one location and must then be transported to their respective retail outlets. Even water must often be transported over great distances to meet agricultural and urban demands.

Some 30 different OIML Recommendations relate to some form of transport and provide standards for the equipment used to measure various aspects of the transportation chain. These Recommendations provide solutions to a number of issues; a few of these are:

• R 99 Instruments for measuring vehicle exhaust emissions
• R 126 Evidential breath analyzers
• R 80 Road and rail tankers with level gauging
• R 106 Automatic rail-weighbridges
• R 134 Automatic instruments for weighing road vehicles in motion and measuring axle loads
• R 50 Continuous totalizing automatic weighing instruments (belt weighers)
• R 59 Moisture meters for cereal grains and oilseeds

Being able to safely, economically and accurately transport various items has become a vital part of the daily life of people in much of the world. Whether it is trading with our neighbors, the next town or locations half way around the world, we are all either recipients or providers of transport.

We hope you enjoy celebrating World Metrology Day with us again this year and look forward to once again marking the importance that metrology has in our world.

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Measurements for transport

Business and citizens around the world depend on access to safe and reliable transport. It is one of the factors that is most important in enabling a successful modern society.

Whilst the needs for new and improved means of transport are clear, it is also important that they meet increasing requirements for economy and environmental performance. Every type of transport, from bicycles to container ships, from cars to space craft are required to meet appropriate standards. They are needed as the basis for national and international regulation. They can specify requirements for every aspect of performance from safety and economy, to emissions.

The implementation of standards depends on measurement technology and measurement standards. Some of the most demanding that are underpinned by the work of national metrology institutes include:

• accurate and rapid weighing of shipping containers to ensure the safe loading of container ships;
• characterisation of low friction surfaces and aerodynamic shapes of aircraft to minimize fuel consumption;
• valid measurements of the chemical composition of vehicle emissions to support regulators and city authorities in controlling pollution levels.

As the demands for accessible and efficient transport increase, so demands like these for measurements and standards to underpin them will too. Some of these demands will ultimately be met by new technologies such as driverless cars and zero-emission vehicles, which in turn will generate new measurement challenges.

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