SLBS / NMI, NSB SIM T & F Workshop October 2012, Mexico Presenter: Kevin Charlemagne, SLBS

About Saint Lucia  Mountainous island with area of 616 km 2  Population (in 2010)  Main economic activities are tourism, financial services, telecommunications services, agriculture, agro-processing, construction, beverage production and manufacturing  Independent country in the British Commonwealth  Official language English but French Kweyol is also spoken by the majority

The Pitons/World Heritage Site

HISTORY  1911: Weights & Measures Ordinance gives Police Force responsibility for weights & measures  1970s: Price Control Dept (now Consumer Affairs) commences weights & measures activities  1994: SLBS begins joint verification with Consumer Affairs Dept. Four employees.  2000: Metrology Act No. 17/ 2000 repeals Ordinance  2001: Metrology Regulations No. 113/2001. Eleven employees.  2004: Relocated to new building. Area of 929 m 2  2012: Staff of 29 persons, five in Metrology Dept

Strategic Goals 2012/2013  Align our metrology programmes with national economic and social priorities  Sensitize the private and public sector policy makers to the importance of metrology in trade and industry  Advance the metrication of Saint Lucia

Programmes  Pattern Approval of Measuring Instruments  Verification & Calibration of Measuring Devices  Measurement Assurance  Measurement Disputes Investigation

Verification/Calibration & Measurement Capabilities  Initially developed to meet legal metrology requirements for commerce, health, safety and environment  Growing demand by local industry for verification/calibration services and testing  Prohibitive regional transportation costs have favoured development of local NLMS/NMI capability

SLBS Capabilities  Mass (weight): verification/calibration of weights, laboratory, counter/platform & hopper scales, weighbridges  Volume: verification of fuel dispensers & flow meters, test measures  Force: verification of compression machines  Time & Frequency: SIM GPS System

Customer calibration & testing requests/needs  Temperature: thermometers (for labs & food industry)  Pressure: manometers (on boilers), barometers, aviation  Electrical: digital multimeters, energy meters  Torque: torque wrenches  Dimensional: gauge blocks, micrometers, EDMs  Volume: large storage tanks, flowmeters  Mass: large mass (hopper scales)  Chemical: spectrometers, pesticide residues, heavy metals, water quality, biochemical, CEHI

Time & Frequency  NMI should have national time & frequency standard  Provide traceability to power company, telecommunications providers and regulators (ECTEL and NTRC)  Calibration of time & frequency equipment

Utilities  Power company maintains grid frequency at 50 Hz +/- 3 % through System Control Centre equipped with SCADA and GPS receiver  Telecommunications providers’ time reference through fibre optic network and interconnection

Telecommunications Regulators  ECTEL responsible for spectrum management, licensing, interconnection and other policy issues across five sovereign OECS countries  NTRC responsible for enforcement and type approval in individual countries  NTRC does spectrum monitoring through spectrum analyzer

T & F Challenges for SLBS  Temperature stability of laboratory  Upgrade uninterruptible power supply (UPS)  Need to demonstrate relevance and impact of time & frequency capability  Limited financial resources  Personnel

Progress/Way Forward  SIM Time & Frequency Measurement System donated in May 2010 through SIM Time & Frequency Working Group  SIM T&F Measurement System installed in May 2010 and now a SIM Time Scale (SIMT) disciplined system in 2012 with no need for manual steering  Active participation in SIM T&F Network and TFWG  Provide T&F traceability to industry  Acquire by procurement or donation a Network Time Server  “Time by the St. Lucia Bureau of Standards is…”

 THANK YOU  GRACIAS  MERCI