About NMISA
The CSIR was mandated by the Scientific Research Council Act (Act 46 of 1988, as amended by Act 71 of 1990) and the Measurement Units and National Measuring Standards Act (Act 76 of 1973, as amended by Act 24 of 1998) to maintain primary scientific standards of physical quantities for South Africa and compare those standards with other national standards to ensure measurement equivalence with the global community. This function was entrusted to the National Metrology Laboratory, a unit in the CSIR, until April 2007.
The National Metrology Institute of South Africa (NMISA) was established through the Measurement Units and Measurement Standards Act (Act 18 of 2006).
This act transferred all responsibilities for the maintenance, traceability and dissemination of national standards from the CSIR National Metrology Laboratory (CSIR NML) to NMISA.
The effective date of the establishment of NMISA was 1 May 2007.
- Our mandate:
- to maintain the SI units and to maintain and develop primary scientific standards of physical quantities for SA and compare those standards with other national standards to ensure global measurement equivalence. It must also provide reference analysis in the case of a measurement dispute and maintain and develop primary methods for chemical analysis to certify reference materials for SA and the region
- Our vision:
- to ensure that South Africa can prove measurement comparability and equivalence with the international community, in support of trade, in all national priority areas