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NCWM Announces Weights and Measures Week: March 1-7, 2012

Dépèche transmise le 27 février 2012 par Business Wire

NCWM Announces Weights and Measures Week: March 1-7, 2012

LINCOLN, Neb.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Funding reductions for weights and measures agencies result in undetected inaccuracies, whether intentional or unintentional, which adversely affect consumers and honest businesses in every sector of the marketplace.

“It is time to get our word out”

Kurt Floren, Chairman of the National Conference on Weights and Measures, wants to use the week of March 1-7 to bring awareness to the importance of his noble profession. That week is designated each year as Weights and Measures Week and Mr. Floren’s theme this year is “Taking Measure of Our Worth.” Floren stated, “The investment in regulatory oversight varies among states, but, on average, is about 70 cents per resident per year. It’s time for taxpayers and legislators who represent them to realize that they, as consumers, stand to lose much more than that in a single trip to the store or gas station without it.”

Floren, Director of Weights and Measures in Los Angeles County, California, said regulatory officials and business operators alike worry that history may repeat itself as regulatory oversight decreases. “We could be returning to 1905, before there were standards of accuracy and fairness for the marketplace,” said Floren. “It was a time when dishonesty and inaccuracy were all too common and honest businesses found it difficult, if not impossible, to compete fairly.”

Most consumers take for granted that they get what they pay for. Weights and Measures Week is a reminder that equity in the marketplace exists largely through the efforts of inspectors working behind the scenes. “We used to worry about our ability to keep up with new marketplace technologies, such as bar code scanners, wireless measuring devices, and interfaced computer systems. Now, many jurisdictions worry for resources to simply perform basic tasks of placing test weights on a scale or checking the accuracy of gas pumps.”

“It is time to get our word out,” said Floren. “We have long been the invisible third party in every transaction, but that invisibility produces a lack of awareness of the critical value of our services. Businesses must demand a marketplace in which competitors are accountable. Taxpayers and legislators must recognize weights and measures oversight as essential services that benefit all through assurance of accuracy in packaged goods, product measurements, and transactions.”

The National Conference on Weights and Measures is a professional nonprofit association of state and local weights and measures officials, federal agencies, manufacturers, retailers and consumers. NCWM has developed national weights and measures standards since 1905. The organization brings appropriate and varying interests together to keep pace with innovative advancements in the marketplace.