Governor's Speech on the Occasion of World Metrology Day

            The field of measurement and calibration is one of the most important scientific and technical fields enabling for economic growth and industrial development, and its role is increasing in light of what is happening in our dear country of qualitative transformation and unprecedented development at all levels.

            The National Measurement and Calibration Center (NMCC) is one of the technical pillars which SASO is proud to carry out within the scope of its work. This center is the national body entrusted with the provision of national standards of measurement, maintaining their accuracy and then achieving the principle of metrological datum to link national units of measurement with the international system. Since the establishment of this center, continuous developmental steps have begun in accordance with the appropriate environmental and normative standards in order to preserve the metrological values of the national units of measurement and the associated uncertainty in order to qualify them for emulation with corresponding international standards.

            NMCC has achieved great successes during the year 2017, notably the completion of its first participation in the European Association of National Metrology Institutes (EURAMET) in the field of length measurement, and the results were among the top four countries from (37) participating countries.

              Furthermore, the infrastructure of the laboratories of the NMCC has been developed through supporting it with technical equipment which enables it to carry out necessary benchmarking in order to achieve international support in its field by completing the preparation and launching of 30 specialized laboratories.

              In addition, three chemical laboratories have begun operating to produce reference materials, these are; the gas measurement laboratory, the organic chemistry measurement laboratory, and the electrical chemistry measurement laboratory. These laboratories are equipped with the latest equipment which enhances the Kingdom's regional leadership in this field. Reference materials produced by the NMCC will serve as an alternative to imported materials and as an important assistant to achieve metrological datum of the results of chemical measurements to SI units, which will strongly support the application of quality systems in chemical laboratories in the Kingdom and in GCC countries, making the Kingdom one of the few countries in the Middle East to produce reference materials.

              Our generous Kingdom is at a historical stage, which our leadership has established, through Vision 2030. Since the field of measurement and calibration is one of the central elements of the quality infrastructure system, SASO is implementing the legal calibration initiative as part of the National Transformation Program 2020. This initiative aims at achieving the requirements of fair trade by establishing a calibration system for the most important measurement tools used in commercial transactions. SASO has made great progress in launching this initiative and will be soon implementing it on the ground.

              SASO works rapidly to meet its national obligations in its field of competence and is always keen to keep abreast of the global movement in all the fields in which it operates. It has 4 technical teams specialized in preparing standard specifications and technical regulations in the field of measurement and calibration and continues to work towards continuous development and improvement in order for Saudi Arabia to be a pioneer in this field regionally and globally.