Spring greetings from the NIST Office of Weights and Measures! OWM is pleased to showcase our new and ongoing projects related to electric vehicles and dynamic liquid proving systems, Metric education programs, and international legal metrology activities in this issue of Measurement Matters. We recently hosted NCWM leadership at our Gaithersburg campus to further develop our soon-to-be-officiated Memorandum of Understanding between our organizations. We are also very excited to welcome our new Weights and Measures coordinators and our new student associates to our office!
NIST Metric Kitchen: Educational Website Launched
The NIST Office of Weights and Measures (OWM) Metric Program invites you to see what’s cooking in the NIST Metric Kitchen, a new educational website that includes a recipe gallery and culinary measurement guidance. Special Publication (SP) 1290, NIST Metric Recipes, was developed for both new and experienced chefs interested in building experience using a kitchen scale to measure ingredients in grams and K-12 educators that teach cooking techniques and related life skills topics in the classroom.
Charging Your Electric Car: Ensuring Accuracy for EVSEs with Traceable Transfer Reference Meters
Owners of electric vehicles are coming to rely on public commercial chargers, but how can they be sure that they are getting the electrical energy they pay for when they use them? The answer to this question – as with all regulated measurement devices – is the establishment of metrological traceability. Specifically, this traceability chain links the end-use device, with reported units of energy in kW-h, to the relevant primary standards used to realize the definition of the International System (SI) base units ampere and second which are based on universal physical constants.
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Small Volume Provers (SVPs): Small-Scale Measurement Devices with a Big Impact
Over the past few years, the United States has imported (and exported) about 8.5 million barrels per day of petroleum. Assuming that one barrel is worth $75, (the price of a barrel of crude oil on March 1, 2023), then the amount of petroleum traded by the U.S. comprises a total of roughly 230 billion dollars per year. Assuming these figures, a 1% error in the measurement of petroleum products equals 2.3 billion dollars on a yearly basis. It is fairly obvious that the accuracy of these measurements is therefore crucial.
To measure the continuous flow of liquid that travels through a production pipeline, a meter is installed in that pipeline. But how do you regularly check the accuracy of the meter without removing the meter, discontinuing the flow of product, or discontinuing the metering process?
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UPDATE on the 2023 Editions of NIST Handbooks 44, 130, and 133
Due to a vendor printing error and specialized paper supply issue, the printed versions of the three NIST Handbooks were significantly delayed for this cycle. However, the printed copies of the 2023 Editions of NIST Handbooks 44, 130, and 133 should begin to arrive this week.
Please know that the electronic versions (DOCX, PDF formats) of the 2023 NIST Handbooks 44, 130, and 133 are and have been available on the NIST OWM website:
Also note that NIST OWM will continue to provide printed copies of the NIST Handbooks 44, 130, and 133 through at least the 2026 Edition cycle. We will be sure to provide the weights and measures community ample notice before we make any changes to our print distribution plans. Please contact our office owm@nist.gov if you have any questions.
From left to right: Maritoni Litorja, Mahesh Albuquerque, Diane Lee, Gene Robertson, Katrice Lippa, Don Onwiler, Tina Butcher, David Sefcik, and Elizabeth Benham during the NIST visit.
NIST OWM Hosts NCWM Leadership
NIST Office of Weights and Measures (OWM) was pleased to host National Conference on Weights and Measures (NCWM) leadership, Don Onwiler, Executive Director, Mahesh Albuquerque, NCWM Chair, and Gene Robertson, NCWM Chair-elect, for a return visit to NIST Gaithersburg, MD campus this February 2023. Don, Mahesh, and Gene met with nearly all the OWM staff to discuss current topics related to NCWM committee work and to discuss further plans for cooperative weights and measures training between the two organizations. They also visited with Rich Montgomery, Tina Butcher, Ralph Richter, and David Sefcik in the OWM Video Studio and discussed the creation of NCWM marketing videos and other potential training products.
As an integral part to both NCWM and NIST’s current strategic plans, Don, Mahesh, Gene, and Katrice also met with NIST Legal Counsel to further refine our developing Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between our organizations. The intent of this MOU is to reaffirm our desire to continue the mutual cooperation between NCWM and NIST to support the development of uniform and equitable weights and measures standards and enhance and strengthen the promotion of uniformity in State and local weights and measures laws, regulations, standards and practices. The MOU will be based on the foundational relationship between NCWM and NIST but will also serve as guide to our future collaborative and strategic activities over the next 5 years. This includes elements such as the unique roles of NIST technical advisors and NCWM Committee Coordinators, the continued development of the NCWM Committee Handbook, collective weights and measures training opportunities, and NIST’s plans to maintain both the existing electronic format and develop digital versions of the NIST Handbooks 44, 130, and 133. Our aim is to have the MOU finalized and signed and celebrated at the 2023 Annual NCWM meeting this August.
Switzerland Hosts OIML Certification System Management Committee
Could your measuring instrument manufacturing company benefit by having a significantly improved acceptance rate for your products in global markets? If yes, then obtaining a certification through the OIML Certification System (OIML-CS) may provide the critical evidence needed that your instrument type complies with the requirements of the relevant OIML Recommendation. As we continue to harmonize domestic and international requirements, test procedures, and type evaluation for measuring instruments, this will become increasingly important for all stakeholders both here in the US and abroad.
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OWM Welcomes New Weights and Measures Coordinators, John McGuire and Loren Minnich
NIST OWM is pleased to announce the addition of two new Weights and Measures Coordinators, John McGuire and Loren Minnich, to our staff. Both John and Loren bring extensive expertise with the interpretation and application of NIST Handbooks 44, 130, and 133.
They have also served in numerous leadership roles within their state weights and measures programs, regional weights and measures associations, and the National Conference on Weights and Measures (NCWM) participating on and chairing various standing committees, task groups, and subcommittees.
Please help us welcome John and Loren as they transition into their new roles as NIST technical experts and their continued support of the U.S weights and measures system.
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Welcome 2023 Spring Montgomery College Interns!
Lloyd Bekele and Arghavan (Angie) Tehrani have joined the Office of Weights and Measures (OWM) as Professional Research Experience Program (PREP) interns. Through the PREP and other programs, NIST collaborates with universities, such as Montgomery College, Rockville, Maryland to offer Science, Technology, Engineering STEM students work experience opportunities.
Both interns are working part-time over 15 weeks with their mentor, Elizabeth Benham, to analyze and implement website updates, research new metric recipes and develop companion NIST Metric Kitchen demonstration videos, and publish education outreach activities that highlight the importance of science, measurement, and the metric system. For students, this internship is an opportunity to enhance their education as well as help NIST develop a diverse, world-class pool of scientists and engineers to support our mission.
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Weights and Measures in the News |
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