METROLOGY

NAME OF ECONOMY:     INDONESIA

ORGANISATION:               DIRECTORATE OF METROLOGY

CURRENT DEVELOPMENTS IN THE LEGAL METROLOGY SYSTEM AND DIRECTIONS OF FUTURE CHANGE

1.             INTRODUCTION

In Law Number 2, 1981 on Legal Metrology, which has been in effect in Indonesia from April 1, 1981 until today, it states that “legal metrology is metrology which manages the units of measurement, methods of measurement, and measuring instruments which involves technical requirements and regulations based on Laws which are aimed at protection of public interests in true measurements”.  Briefly it can be formulated that “legal metrology is metrology related to the unit system, measuring instruments, and measurement which submits to Government or official regulatory control”.

This law controls several important areas, that is regarding:  Units of Measurements, Standards, Measuring Instruments, Verification and Re-verification, Packaged Goods, Forbidden Actions, Punishments, Surveillance, and Investigation.

Based on this Law, legal metrology in Indonesia is administered by the Directorate of Metrology, Department of Industry and Trade (as the Central Office), the Division of Metrology of the Regional Offices of the Department of Industry and Trade in 27 Provincial Capitals and the Metrology Section of the Department of Industry and Trade 292 Municipalities and Regencies.

This Law replaces the Ijk Ordonnantie of 1949, which will be discussed later in this paper.

One very important element in order for Law to be well implemented is public awareness of its importance and its benefits.  This awareness will arise when they understand the significance of that Law.  For Indonesia with more than 200 million inhabitants spread over some 17,000 islands, this is not simple.  With limited personnel and equipment, the implementation of legal metrology is carried out through the education of every level of society, verification and re-verification of legal metrology measuring instruments, seminars, workshops, and the enforcement of sanction for those who violate this law.

Although every year there is progress made in the implementation of legal metrology, it has not yet to reach optimal results.  To confront this problem, the Directorate of Metrology has cooperated with institution outside of the Directorate.  This cooperation has involved handing over some of the work of testing certain measuring instruments, while authorisation (ratification), surveillance, and control is still under the Directorate of Metrology.  In this way, hopefully the implementation of the Legal Metrology Law can achieve maximal results.

2.                  DEVELOPMENT OF LEGAL METROLOGY IN INDONESIA

The implementation of legal metrology in Indonesia began on February 24, 1923 with the passing of the 1923 Weights and Measures Law (Ijk Ordonnantie).  Societal conditions, progress in science and technology, as well as social economic developments have caused the Ijk Ordonnatie to undergo four revisions, the final one being with the Legal Metrology Law as mentioned above.

At the start of the implementation of legal metrology in Indonesia, the emphasis was upon consumer protection and uniformity of unit measurements based upon the metric system.  With the present Legal Metrology Law, the emphasis has become broader involving protection of consumers and producers, safety, health and environmental protection.

The results achieved in the implementation of legal metrology have shown improvement every year, especially in verification and re-verification of legal metrology measurement instruments.

The implementation of legal metrology in Indonesia is carried out by 956 inspectors and 734 Administrative staff.

Standards and equipment used in metrology work are that the Directorate of Metrology, and Metrology Offices which are fully operable in 27 Provincial capitals and 28 Metrology Sections located in Municipalities and Regencies.  Thus not all Regional Metrology offices possess standard equipment for verifying and re-verifying.  These standards and other equipment come from Indonesia and abroad, both from direct funds from the Indonesian Government as well as from foreign grants and loans, particularly from Japan and France.

With the still limited number of personnel as well as standards and other equipment, the implementation of legal metrology has not yet achieved is optimal results, and in order to overcome these constraints, cooperation with other institutions has been undertaken especially to handle the testing of water meters and kWh meters which number more than 20 million units.

Although the implementation of legal metrology in Indonesia by the Directorate of Metrology has not yet achieved maximal results, the Directorate of Metrology has also set up the calibration of measuring instruments of technical metrology and industrial metrology possessed by businesses/factories/industries in connection with their efforts to obtain an ISO Series 9000 Certificate.

The calibration of measuring instruments of technical metrology and industrial metrology by the Directorate of Metrology can be briefly explained as follows:

a.              Several sections in the 1985 Government Regulation Number 2, as one of the regulations of the implementation of the Law on Legal Metrology mention that besides the task of implementing verification and re-verification of legal metrology measuring instruments, the Directorate of Metrology also implements the calibration of measuring instruments which are not legal metrology instruments (technical metrology/industrial metrology.

b.             Since 1975, the Indonesian Government established the Network of National Calibration and one of the members of the Network is the Directorate of Metrology.  One of the duties of the Network’s members is to calibrate technical metrology and industrial metrology measuring instruments owned by factories/businesses/industry in their efforts to obtain an ISO Series 9000 Certificate (while the duty and authority to verify and re-verify legal metrology measuring instruments is held absolutely by the Directorate of Metrology of the Department of Industrial and Trade).

3.             ORGANISATION

The  Directorate of Metrology is under the Directorate General of Domestic Trade Department of Industry and Trade.  The Division of Metrology is under the Regional Offices of the Department of Industry and Trade in capital of Provinces, but the Section Metrology is under the Offices of the Department of Industry and Trade in every city or region.

4.             SERVICE RESPONSIBLE FOR METROLOGY

The National Standardisation Council has established a National Standardisation System, according to which there are three service (institute) responsible for:

·         the Legal Metrology Service;

·         the Technical/Science Metrology Service (under the Indonesian Institute of Sciences);

·         the Nuclear Radiation Metrology Service (under the National Atomic Energy Board).

4.1         National Service of Legal Metrology

In accordance with the Legal Metrology Law No. 2, 1981, the Minister of Industry and Trade is responsible for the implementation of legal metrology.

The service (institute) of the Ministry of Industry and Trade which is responsible for legal metrology activities at national level is:

Directorate of Metrology

Ministry of Industry and Trade

Jalan Pasteur No. 27

40171   BANDUNG

Telephone:            62-22-443597 / 62-22-430609

Fax:                      62-2-4207035

Telex:                   28176 BD

The main tasks of the Directorate of Metrology are:

·              to manage physical reference standards (mass and length);

·              to draw up technical regulations for measuring instruments;

·              to recruit, educate and train metrology officials (metrology engineers and legal metrology technical);

·              to carry out type evaluation and to issue type approvals for measuring instruments to be imported or produced;

·              to implement relations with the OIML.

Thirty-five engineers and scientists and technical officers are involved in testing and type approval at the Directorate of Metrology.  There are 364 Province and Sub-province trade measurement inspectors.

4.2         Local Verification Services

There are 55 Local Verification Services throughout Indonesia.  Their main tasks are:

·         to manage physical reference standards (mass and length);

·         to verify measuring instruments and control reliability of mass, volume or total content of prepacked goods;

·         to investigate contraventions of the Legal Metrology Law.

4.3         Laboratories Responsible for Maintaining National Measurements Standards

The National Standardisation Council has appointed two metrology institutional laboratories as national laboratories having custody of national measurement standards.

They are:

·         the Directorate of Metrology, for national standard of mass (kilogram prototype K46);

·         the Research and Development Center for Calibration, Instrumentation and Metrology at the Indonesian Institute of Sciences, for national standards of length, temperature, time, electric current and light.

4.4              Instrument Calibration and Evaluation Systems

In accordance with the Standardisation System, the calibration of measuring instruments which are not subject to legal metrology control are carried out by the Calibration Center that is accredited by the National Standardisation Council to calibrate measuring instruments of given quantities.  The Calibration Centers unite in the National Calibration Network.

The procedure and requirements for obtaining accreditation are regulated by the National Standardisation System.

5.                  ACCREDITATION AND CERTIFICATION SYSTEMS

5.1              Accreditation Systems for Calibration and Testing Laboratories Tractability to National, Regional, International or Foreign Measurement Standards.

There are two principal of disseminating standards of measurements which are traceable to the Indonesian Primary Standards.  The first methods is through the National Accreditation Board (KAN) which is concerned with measurement of a scientific and technical nature:  the second is through the regional offices of the Directorate of Metrology.

5.2         Applied Meteorological Activities in Product Certification.

5.3         Applied Meteorological Activities in ISO 9000 Quality Management Systems.

Indonesia has adopted the ISO 9000 series of standards in their entirety as the national quality standards.  The series was published in Indonesia as SNI 19-9000 in 1991 Quality certification to ISO 9000 is provided by the KAN.

6.             OTHERS

6.1         National Cooperation

In order that the meteorological functions can be conduced well, it is necessary to make cooperation with national Institutions, Institutes and laboratories.

For the above purpose, the Directorate of Metrology has cooperated with Department of Information, Department of Internal Affairs, Center Laboratory of Research and Development of Calibration, Instrument and Metrology, Indonesian Institute of Science (PUSLITBANG KIM-LIPI), the Police Department of Republic of Indonesia and with the other Institutes of laboratories.

6.2         International Cooperation

In the framework of increasing the capability of human resource and metrology , means the Directorate of Metrology has cooperated with Institutes or laboratories in the industrialised countries, such as CERLAB in France, NRLM  in Japan and NSC in Australia.