In July 2001, APMP approached the SIM with a proposal to seek APEC funding for a joint APMP-SIM workshop addressing the implementation of quality systems in National Metrology Institutes. SIM agreed and a project proposal was submitted to the APEC Subcommittee on Standards and Conformance (SCSC). The project was eventually approved as APEC-TILF Project CTI 23/2003T.

   The main purpose of the project is to write test methods in generic terms to assist implementation of quality systems especially in developing NMIs. The project will identify the technical methods to be written, specify suitable traceability pathways and uncertainty estimations for these methods, and identify the appropriate method validation procedures. The project involves three steps:
1. An opening workshop started by presentations from the Chairs of the APMP Technical Committees (TCs) and SIM Metrology Working Groups (MWG: counterpart to APMP TC), followed by discussions to identify a list of the generic technical methods that need to be written and their outlines;
2. Interim activities in the APMP and SIM to obtain broader opinions and support for the harmonization of these procedures;
3. A closing workshop to ratify the on-going adoption of these processes in the APMP and SIM.

   The funding from APEC includes travel expenses for 6 APMP TC Chairs and 6 SIM MWG Chairs for each workshop. The 6 chosen fields are amount of substance, electricity and magnetism, length, mass and related quantities, photometry and radiometry, and thermometry. These were judged to be the most important to developing countries.

   As the first step, NRC/INMS of Canada, on behalf of SIM, hosted the first workshop in Ottawa from 30 July to 1 August, 2003. The workshop was very successful. Good progress was made in developing examples of generic technical procedures for several types of measurement in each of the five technical fields represented. The APMP and SIM Chairs for thermometry did not attend so there has been no progress yet in that field. In the other technical fields, APMP was represented by HY. So (TCQM), Y. Sakamoto (TCEM), K. Seta (TCL), N. Bignell (TCM), and DJ. Shin (TCPR). And R. Ediriweera attended the workshop representing APMP-TCQS. Total attendance was 37 (7 from APMP and 30 from SIM, including 15 from INMS).

   Copies of the presentations are available on the SIM website under password control. APMP members may learn the access information from APMP attendances.

   The participants will continue their work by e-mail and the project will end with a second workshop in Malaysia or Singapore in about six months.
The presence of APMP and SIM experts with ample discussion time also produced some ÒbonusÓ results beyond the original mandate of the APEC project. These included a better understanding and classification of the needs of developing NMIs, and the formation of a joint APMP/SIM working group on quality systems.

[Written by Y. Sakamoto based on "Report to SIM Technical Committee and Council"
prepared by Alan Robertson of SIM. Photographs are provided from Harold Sanchez of SIM.]