The NRC is Canada's national metrology institute (NMI) and is a signatory of the International Committee for Weights and Measures Mutual Recognition Arrangement (CIPM MRA). The CIPM MRA was developed in a response to a growing need for an open, transparent, and comprehensive scheme to give users reliable quantitative information on the comparability of national metrology services and to provide the technical basis for wider agreements negotiated for international trade, commerce, and regulatory affairs. The CIPM MRA is the first route to metrological traceability listed in ILAC P10:2020 ILAC Policy on Metrological Traceability of Measurement Results (soon to be replaced by Global ACI-TECH 1-011 Policy on Metrological Traceability of Measurement Results).
The Quality Management System of the NRC's Metrology Research Centre for measurement services and certified reference materials meets the expectations of the CIPM MRA and conforms to the requirements of ISO/IEC 17025:2017 (General requirements for the competence of testing and calibration laboratories) and ISO 17034:2016 (General requirements for the competence of reference material producers).
Under the terms of the CIPM MRA, the NRC has specific Calibration and Measurement Capabilities (CMCs) approved and invites international peers to review our quality management system and technical capabilities.
The CIPM MRA requires NMIs to demonstrate equivalence and competence of their stated calibration and measurement capabilities and to demonstrate the effectiveness of their quality management system. Whether or not third-party accreditation is used, the final approval is granted by the BIPM through its regional metrology organization - in our case the Sistema Interamericano de Metrologia (SIM).
We have received approval from SIM for our Metrology laboratories. The SIM approval for a specific metrology area is available on the NRC Digital Repository and upon request.
The ultimate recognition for our measurement services is the publication of our CMCs at the Bureau international des poids et mesures (BIPM) webpage which defines the scope of our approval. Under the CIPM MRA, all participating institutes recognize the validity of each other's calibration and measurement reports for the quantities, ranges and measurement uncertainties specified in the BIPM Key Comparison Database (KCDB).
The Quality Management System of the Metrology Research Centre applies to standard and non-standard measurement services and all CRMs listed on our website. It also applies to all services with NRC's declared CMCs and to other services as identified by each metrology area.
For specific services, such as the Glow Discharge Mass Spectrometry (GD-MS) Analysis, the Metrology Research Centre also maintains a third-party accreditation by an accreditation body signatory to the International Laboratory Accreditation Cooperation Mutual Recognition Arrangement (ILAC MRA) (soon to be replaced by the Global ACI MRA). The certificate of accreditation for our accredited capabilities is available on the NRC Digital Repository and upon request. The scope of accreditation is published on our accreditation body's website.
Please contact us at NRC.Metrology.Quality-Qualite.Metrologie.CNRC@nrc-cnrc.gc.ca if you require further information.