Newsletter - May 2008
NMISA contribution to training in Africa
NMISA assisted metrology institutes in SADC with training on dimensional and volumetric metrology, enabling these countries to improve traceability in their heavy manufacturing industries.
Training courses were developed by NMISA metrologists, and the following individuals were trained:
- Mass training Mr. Geraldo Albasini from INNOQ (Mozambique) - Volume training, Mr. Dagmawi Woldetensai Berhe m QSAE (Ethiopia) - Volume training, Mr. Enkubahry Hamtamu Jakamo from QSAE (Ethiopia)
Funding the logistics associated with metrologists being trained outside of their home country is often a challenge for the SADC metrology institutes. The NMISA would like to acknowledge the PTB (Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt) of Germany for their donor funding sponsorship, without which the training would not have been possible.
In addition to the training, NMISA assisted in the field of temperature metrology by piloting a comparison of thermocouples in SADC. The comparison included a workshop where participants were trained on comparison protocol. It is envisaged that these activities will enable SADMET to partake more significantly in international and regional metrology activities.
CCQM meetings held at the BIPM, Paris
30 March – 4 April 2008
The Metrology in Chemistry Group at the NMISA ensures chemical measurement traceability for South Africa through their activities in the BIPM’s Consultative Committee for Amount of Substance (CCQM). The chemical activities at the NMISA reflect the working groups of the CCQM: Organic Chemistry, Inorganic Chemistry, Gas Metrology, Surface Analysis and Bio- Analysis (which has recently been introduced at NMISA).
The NMISA participated in numerous international intercomparisons. A delegation of six chemical metrologists attended the various working groups and CCQM strategic meetings to discuss results and measurement issues of past intercomparisons, and to plan future intercomparisons. A list of all the intercomparisons is listed in the tables 1 and 2 below.
One of the essential capabilities in organic analysis is the ability to assess the purity of a compound, and then assign a reference value to the material. The Organic Analysis Working Group (OAWG) has proposed a change in their approach to ensure international equivalence, by introducing three levels of intercomparisons. The first level is a long-term set of analysis that will underpin the fundamental capabilities, and will start with purity assessment. On the second level there will be ad-hoc intercomparisons to address specific issues or to establish specific measurement capabilities. Finally, there will also be intercomparisons that focus on laboratories that produce certified reference materials. While these changes pose some challenges to the NMISA’s Organic Group, the new structure will enhance the offerings of the laboratory to the South African industry.
In a similar way to the OAWG, the Inorganic Analysis Working Group (IAWG) has proposed changes in how future intercomparisons will be structured. The aim of these changes is to broaden the scope of a laboratory’s capabilities, and might have significant effects on how CMCs are submitted and accreditation is addressed in the future. For example, the Inorganic Laboratory at the NMISA is currently accredited to determine Pb in Wine (range: 0.1 - 0.2 nmol/g with an associated expanded measurement uncertainty of 3%). With the proposed change in structuring the intercomparisons, by proving the capability to measure Pd in Wine, one can broaden the measurement scope to the analysis of heavy metals in aqueous solutions, based on the laboratory’s proven ability to perform the sample preparations essential for preparing for this analysis.
The Surface and Microanalysis (SAM) group at the NMISA is one of the most active participants in the CCQM Surface Analysis Working Group (SAWG). The group participated in the elemental analysis of low amounts of nitrogen in a thin diamond-like carbon film, and proved themselves equivalent to the other participants, even though a scatter was observed in the results. Often such a scatter in the intercomparison results alerts the scientist to potential measurement issues and in this case, a special session was scheduled to investigate the reason for the scatter, as elemental analysis in the electron microscope is a very accessible, simple, quick and non-destructive way to determine composition of most solid materials. The NMISA will, in collaboration with researchers at BAM in Germany and NPL in the UK, play a leading role in addressing these issues.
Table 1. Intercomparisons completed in 2007/08
| Intercomparisons 07/08 | Working group | Description | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | CCQM-P85 | IAWG | Fe, Zn, Cd, Pb and Cr in Bovine liver |
| 2 | CCQM-P86 | IAWG | Se in pharmaceutical supplement |
| 3 | CCQM-K56 | IAWG | Ca, Fe, Cu and Zn in whole fat soy bean |
| 4 | CCQM-K30 | IAWG | Pb in wine |
| 5 | CCQM-P12.1 | IAWG | Cd, Cu and Fe in wine |
| 6 | CCQM-K51 | GAWG | 5 µmol/mol CO in N2 (Pilot Laboratory) |
| 7 | CCQM-K52 | GAWG | CO2 in Air |
| 8 | BIPM.QM-K1 | GAWG | Ambient Ozone |
| 9 | CCQM-P20e | OAWG | Theophylline purity assessment |
| 10 | CCQM-P90 | OAWG | Chloramphenicol in milk/td> |
| 11 | CCQM-P95 | SAWG | Determination of N in doped carbon layers |
| 12 | CCQM-P98 | SAWG | Ni/Fe in thin film alloys |
Table 2. Planned intercomparisons for 2008/09
| Intercomparisons 07/08 | Working group | Description | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | CCQM-P106 | IAWG | Cd, Cr, Hg and Pb in polypropylene for the European RoHS Directive |
| 2 | CCQM-K60 & P86.1 | IAWG / OAWG | Total Se and Se-speciation analysis of Se-rich wheat flour |
| 3 | CCQM-K51 | GAWG | 5 µmol/mol CO in N2 (Pilot Laboratory) |
| 4 | CCQM-K66 | GAWG | Purity of methane (CH4) |
| 5 | CCQM-XX | GAWG | Stack gas emissions – this intercomparison has not yet been assigned a number |
| 6 | CCQM-P115 | OAWG | Testosterone in human urine |
| 7 | CCQM-P114 | OAWG | Flame Retardants in Plastics - Selected PBDEs and PBBs) |
| 8 | CCQM K67/P108 | SAWG | Ni/Fe in thin film alloys |
Taking uncertainties further – A Special Interest Group in Statistics
A Special Interest Group in Statistics (SIG – Statistics) at NMISA was established in February 2008 to address a need identified across various metrology disciplines for a common approach to statistics, with particular reference to uncertainty of measurement.
While many NMISA metrologists have, with great success, presented elementary courses teaching measurement uncertainty to the South African industry over the past few years, there is an increasing need at the highest level of metrology, as practised at the NMISA, to address complex measurement related problems in order to improve current measurement capabilities / reduce current measurement uncertainties. The SIG group consists of seasoned metrologists together with younger metrologists from across chemical, physical and engineering backgrounds that can put together their expertise to come up with solutions to these complex mathematical measurement issues.
With the increased trend towards using software and statistics to model uncertainty the SIG will focus on in-house knowledge sharing among the different metrology disciplines. To this extent, the first SIG workshop focussed on the use of GNU Octave for use in numerical simulation. Looking at the power of such packages, it quickly became apparent to the attendees that there are more effective ways to manipulate data than is offered by conventional office-based software.
The SIG colloquiums will also focus on case studies from the metrology areas so that specific problems regarding uncertainty can be addressed. Colloquiums will further serve as a platform where metrologists who attended uncertainty workshops or gained new knowledge in working group meetings at the BIPM can present short overviews of what they have learnt to the rest of NMISA
The SIG group will regularly publish their solutions to the measurement problems, and it is anticipated that the work of this group can lead to an advanced statistics course addressing complex measurement uncertainty problems in industry. Through this initiative a synergistic effect will be created where metrology at NMISA is advanced to the benefit of the South African industry where better measurement uncertainty for calibrated instruments leads towards more reliable, exportable products and goods being manufactured.
For more information, please contact Marcellé Archer via email
Annual SADC SQAM Meetings held in Cape Town, South Africa (5 – 10 May 2008)
This year’s annual SADC Standardisation, Quality assurance, Accreditation and Metrology (SQAM) structures meetings were held in Cape Town from 5 to 10 May. The meetings were hosted by the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), and were attended by over 70 delegates from SADC member states as well as international invited SQAM experts and observers from all over the world. The purpose of the meetings is to review activities carried out by each structure during the past year and to plan for items to be addressed in the coming year.
The meeting started with an official Opening Ceremony, and was graced by the South African Minister for Trade and Industry, the Honourable Mr Mandisi Mpahlwa, as Guest of Honour. In his address to the delegates the Minister highlighted the role played by SQAM in industrial development and trade facilitation and called on the SQAM practitioners to translate their technical but important subject matter into a language that even the common person on the street would understand. The Minister chronicled the economic development of SADC and its vision for the future and emphasised the importance of harmonised standards and a technical regulation framework as the basis for the smooth movement of goods in a free trade area and customs union. The Minister also presented Certificates of Appreciation to five past members of the SADC SQAM programme who had rendered exceptional service to the SADC region in the area of standards, quality assurance, accreditation and metrology. In her opening remarks, the Acting Director of Trade, Industry, Finance and Investment (TIFI) at the SADC Secretariat, Ms Boitumelo Gofhamodimo, shared with the delegates the support the programme receives from the Secretariat and how the programme also interlinks with other projects running within SADC.
Photo of recipients of the certificate of appreciation from the Minister of Trade and Industry Mr. Mandisi Mpahlwa. Three NMISA staff were amongst the recipients. Shravan Singh (middle) accepted an award on behalf of a past colleague, Dr Mukayi Musarurwa. Franz Dr Franz Hengstberger (third from right) and Donald Masuku (right) also received awards.
As has become the norm for the event, the Opening Ceremony was followed by a technical workshop open to the public where the theme was appropriately titled “Food Safety – 2010” in view of the upcoming World Cup soccer show piece to be held in South Africa in 2010. Five papers were presented at the workshop by internationally renowned experts. The papers demonstrated the complexity of dealing with feeding large numbers of people and the role that food safety standards and management systems can play. The theme “Metrology in Sport” was also coined by the guest speaker (Dr Seton Bennett) at the SADC Cooperation in Metrology (SADCMET) meeting the following day where he delivered a powerful presentation on “Metrology in Sport”, the theme for this year’s international World Metrology Day (20 May) celebrations.
The meetings of the five SADC SQAM structures (SADCMET, SADCSTAN, SADCMEL and SADCA) centred on advancing issues supportive of the regional integration agenda noting that the SADC free trade area (FTA) would be launched this year and that the Customs Union (CU) is targeted for launch in 2010. The main highlights of the meetings noted were:
- Report on the imminent adoption of the Sanitary & Phytosanitary (SPS) and Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) annexes to the SADC Protocol on Trade which would further strengthen the enforcement of health, safety and environmental standards among others, when products are traded across our borders,
- Report on the operation of SADC Accreditation Service (SADCAS), a unique regional venture that will enable conformity assessment bodies in SADC countries to access internationally recognised and cost effective accreditation services within the region,
- Updates on the preparations for the implementation of the SADC/EU SQAM support project funded by the European Commission and intended to build capacity in regional SQAM institutions,
- Agreement on the efforts to be made to archive training materials coming out of the SADC/EU SQAM Project for further use in future,
- Report on the growth of the continental metrology organisation AFRIMETS as an internationally recognised Regional Metrology Organisation (RMO) in Africa where SADCMEL and SADCMET are key sub-regional metrology organisation (SRMO) stakeholders,
- Report on the other SADC projects that have links with SQAM such as the SADC/UNIDO Industrial Upgrading and Modernisation programme and the Food Safety – Residue Control capacity building project which is also funded by the European Commission. Members agreed to proactively prepare for the role they will need to play in the implementation of each of these projects.
- There was agreement to start implementation of the SADC Quality Award scheme so that the first regional quality awards can be presented at the annual SADC SQAM meetings in 2009.
- The signing of a cooperation agreement between SADCSTAN and ASTM, a major standards organisation of the USA, and
- Reports, presentations and messages of goodwill and support were received from representatives of regional and international SQAM bodies.
The meetings however noted that the region was still experiencing challenges in the area of representation by its experts at international SQAM organisations which means that by and large SADC could be perceived as a “standards taker” rather than a “standards maker”. The WTO Agreements on SPS and TBT strongly encourage the participation of all stakeholders in the formulation of international standards so that their concerns are taken into account. Members also noted that more resources are required to translate documents into French and Portuguese so that experts from SADC countries that use those languages can meaningfully participate in the regional work on standards and technical regulations harmonisation. More resources are also required to enable the various technical committees to travel to meetings and carry their SQAM activities.
Fibre optics laboratory acquires new laser modules for Telecommunications industry
The fibre optics laboratory has received two new laser modules (so-called impulse lasers) at wavelengths 850 nanometres and 1625 nanometres. The commissioning and application is planned for the coming 3 months. In the period before March the laboratory has already successfully commissioned a similar new impulse laser (1550 nanometre), which was received near the end of 2007; has successfully validated calibration results obtained with it, and has successfully calibrated reference optical fibres for the NMISA and a telecommunications industry customer.
For many years prior to this purchase, the laboratory had only a 1310 nanometre impulse laser and could therefore perform calibration of these reference fibres only at this wavelength, which had been a shortcoming because optical fibre characteristics vary with wavelength. The addition of the above mentioned new wavelengths enables reference fibre calibration at a set of representative wavelengths for fibre optic networks and telecommunications, and paves the way to interpolate results to wavelengths of interest inbetween. The reference optical fibres referred to above serve to calibrate test and measurement instruments known as optical time-domain reflectometers (OTDRs), i.e. instruments, which are very important for telecommunication networks and enterprise local area networks, because of their use during network installation, upgrading, troubleshooting and maintenance.
Metrology standards for broadband telecommunications
The increased popularity of broadband internet in South Africa has placed a significant demand on the technology driving the internet, namely telecommunications lasers.
The market penetration rate for mobile users in South Africa increased from 2.4% in March 1997 to an estimated 84% in March 2007[1]. Cellphone (mobile) communications devices rely significantly on fibre optic lines for carrying the information long distances. More mobile users ultimately require more accurate lasers to transmit the information.
The NMISA has been working on the development of new optical frequency standards, and several calibration standards have been developed over the last 5 years. The project ultimately requires an optical clock, which must be designed in-house. Work has begun with the appointment of Dr. Johan Burger, an expert who will lead the project. Dr. Johan Burger is a renowned expert in fibre lasers, a relatively new technology that will play a big part in driving these telecommunications networks in South Africa.
Appointments for 1 April 2008 to 1 June 2008
| Name | Position | Start date | Area |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sibusiso Jozela | Metrologist | 1 April 2008 | Electromagnetic metrology: Ionizing Radiation laboratory |
| Margaret Ludere | Metrologistr | 8/1/2008 | Chemical metrology: Gas laboratory |
| Michael Khoza | Metrologist | 4/2/2008 | Electromagnetic metrology: DCLF |
| Fikile Mazibuko | Human Resources Administrator | 1/2/2008 | HR |