NMISA - Department of Trade and Industry

South Africa signed the International Committee for Weights and Measures (CIPM) Mutual
Recognition Arrangement (MRA) in 1999. The CIPM MRA was a response to a growing need for
an open, transparent and comprehensive scheme to give users reliable quantitative information
on the comparability of national metrology services and to provide the technical basis for wider
agreements negotiated for international trade, commerce and regulatory affairs. It is the basis for
the international acceptance of national measurement standards and for calibration and
measurement certificates issued by National Metrology Institutes (NMIs).
7 Situational Analysis
As the custodian of the NMS in accordance with the Measurement Act, NMISA develops and
maintains primary and secondary standards (chemical and physical quantities) for South Africa
and compares those standards with international standards to determine their equivalence and
ensure global comparability. These standards are disseminated to the South African industry
through a range of services and products and in the case of a measurement dispute, reference
analyses are provided to ensure conformity.
Technological advances over the past decade are placing stringent demands on metrology. New
areas in metrology, such as nanotechnology, optical techniques, quantum-based technologies,
material sciences, etc. are developing rapidly and require new measurement methods and
measurement standards. In response, NMIs are investing more funds into research activities and
are actively pursuing opportunities for collaboration with their peers in order to pool resources.
NMISA engages in research towards the improvement of existing standards and to facilitate the
development of new measurement standards to address emerging national needs.
7.1 Performance Environment
7.1.1 The International and Regional Environments and their requirements
As signatory of the Metre Convention, South Africa follows the SI system, as per the rules laid
down for the base units, derived units, use of references and other matters by the General
Conference on Weights and Measures (CGPM).
The International System of Units (SI)
The International System of Units - "Système International d'Unités" or SI units, was established
in 1960 by the 11th General Conference on Weights and Measures (CGPM).The seven base
units are a choice of seven well-defined units which by convention are regarded as
dimensionally independent:
• the metre, the kilogram, the second, the ampere, the kelvin, the mole, the candela
Derived units are those formed by combining base units according to the algebraic relations
linking the corresponding quantities. The names and symbols of some of the units thus formed
can be replaced by special names and symbols which can themselves be used to form
expressions and symbols of other derived units.
NMISA-12-0064 Annual Performance Plan 2013 – 2015 17
NMISA-12-0064 Annual Performance Plan 2013 - 2015 17