Regulation on the Organization and Functioning of the State Administration stipulates that the Metrology Office performs tasks related to the application of the system of legal units of measurement; realization, keeping, maintaining and improving national standards of Montenegro; ensuring metrological traceability for standardization of laboratories, organizing activities for calibration (calibration); appraises compliance of standards with metrological requirements; provides expert opinions for authorizing laboratories for certification of standards and other activities in the area of meteorology.
-Metrology Law, for certain types of measuring instruments, prescribes the obligation of certification. The process of verification of criteria is performed by the Metrology Office. Certification of standards is a process which includes review, stamping and issuing of certificates of verification, whereby it is stated and confirmed that this measuring scale is in line with metrology requirements, explains Vukoslavovic.
All instruments must be certified: for example, all the scales in shops and supermarkets, electricity meters, water meters, fuel tanks at petrol stations, taximeters need to be certified. Period of regular verification of these criteria varies from one to twelve years, depending on the criteria. For example, the regular shopping scales are verified every two years, taximeters each year, water meters every five years, and the electrical energy meters for a direct connection every twelve years. After examining these metres, in the case of fulfilment of metrological requirements, the metres are, as prescribed, branded with state trademarks.
-In order to carry out expert examination of metres, the adequate laboratories must exist where adequate tests can be performed, and the equipment used to perform the inspection instrument must be calibrated. Calibration is a set of procedures which, under certain conditions, show the relation between the values of parameters shown by a measuring instrument or measuring system or values represented by a materialized measure or reference material and the corresponding values expressed in standard values, stated Vukoslavovic.
What was financed by the EU: In this regard, the Metrology Office in the period from March 2013 to June 2015, took part in the project “Development of quality infrastructure and metrology in Montenegro" within the EU Action Program IPA 2011 in Montenegro. The main objective of the project was to strengthen the capacity of the Ministry of Economy and the Institute of Metrology to implement EU legislation, regulations and technical requirements.
- Within the project, Institute was present through its third component, which consisted of three parts. The first part dealt with the training of personnel to work on equipment that has been provided under the first part of the project ,,Development of quality infrastructure and metrology in Montenegro", which was implemented during 2012 and 2013, under which the equipment worth 600.000 Euros was delivered to the following laboratories of the Metrology Office: Laboratory for mass, Laboratory for temperature, Laboratory for volume, Laboratory for length and Laboratory for physical and chemical measurements. In order to train personnel for the operation with this equipment, in the framework of this project, eminent experts from the national metrology institutes of the EU were hired, says Vukoslavovic for Portal “Analitika”.
Three calibration laboratories: During 2014, three calibration laboratories of the Office have been accredited by the ABM –Accreditation Body of Montenegro and the CAA - Croatian Accreditation Agency- Laboratory for Mass, Temperature Laboratory and the Laboratory for Length.
-Within this project, three more calibration laboratories were planned and prepared for accreditation, namely the Laboratory for electrical size, Laboratory for Time and Frequency and Laboratory for pressure. In order to prepare these laboratories for the accreditation, eminent experts in these fields in the EU were engaged, who have contributed to the development of technical procedures and staff training, added Vukoslavovic.
Thanks to the equipment that has been provided through the IPA funds, through projects IPA 2007 and IPA 2011, the equipment for laboratories was provided, the training of staff held and all the conditions for the successful completion of the accreditation process were created.
Evaluators from CAA-Croatian Accreditation Agency and the ABM-Accreditation Body of Montenegro were in an official visit to the Institute of Metrology 1 and 2 July this year. They checked the documentation of the quality system in these labs of Institute of Metrology, were interested in howquality management system works and whether the international standard is fully implemented (EN ISO / IEC 17025: 2011).
Vukoslavovic says that they expect to receive soon official information that these three calibration laboratories are accredited by these institutions, and that the information will be positive.
-Certificates of calibration issued by the Metrology Office, within the field of metrology, pressure, electrical quantities and time and frequency, will soon be recognized throughout Europe. Entities holding scales in these areas, and who have been calibrating their scales and standards performed abroad, will soon be able to perform the calibration within laboratories of the Office, which will significantly reduce the cost of this procedure, explains Vukoslavovic for Portal “Analitika”.
The Government of Montenegro has recognized the importance of the Metrology Office, all activities carried out by the Office, and it largely helped its development, since the establishment in 2006, concludes Vukoslavovic.
