In another scale of expanding globalization, the Philippines joined the international community in observing World Metrology Day last May 20, which marks the signing of the Metre Convention by 17 countries on the same date 133 years earlier.

The Metre Convention is an international treaty that created three organizations to oversee the keeping of the metric standards and gives them authority to act on world metrology related matters. It is also designed to embrace a worldwide uniformity of measurement through the use of the International System of Units.

Metrology is the science of measurements that embraces both experimental and theoretical measurements and determinations at any level of uncertainty in any field of science and technology.

A current example of its usefulness is the construction of the European Airbus A380, parts of which are made in France, Germany, Spain, and UK and then transported to France for assembly.

Such international commercial collaboration and uniform product quality standards would be difficult without accurate validated dimensional measurements between the various national metrology institutes and laboratories of the countries involved.

The Metre Convention lists 51 member-states as of January 2008 along with 26 associate states and economies of the General Conference. The Philippines is an associate state of the convention. (Yen Ocampo, S&T Media Service)