CHAPTER 1. BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES
Article 1.1. - The idea of an interamerican metrology program had been promoted by many countries and organizations from the early nineteen seventies. In 1971, the need of cooperation in metrology in The Americas was emphasized during the Conference on Applications of Science and Technology in Latin America, held in Brasilia, Brazil. The fourth meeting of the Interamerican Council for Education, Science and Culture (Consejo Interamericano para la Educación, la Ciencia y la Cultura, CIECC), in Mar del Plata, Argentina, in 1972, adopted resolution 174, establishing a regional system for metrology and calibration (Sistema Interamericano de Metrología y Calibración, SIMYC). In 1974, the Organization of American States (OAS) and the National Bureau of Standards (NBS, now National Institute of Standards and Technology, NIST, USA) organized an international meeting on industrialization and standardization in Gaithersburg, Maryland, where regional metrology needs were discussed. The OAS, through its former Departamento de Asuntos Científicos y Tecnológicos, DACYT, convened a meeting in Buenos Aires, Argentina, at the Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Industrial (INTI), in 1975, to design a special project in the field of metrology, focusing on scientific, industrial and legal metrology. In 1979, as part of the special project on metrology the Interamerican Metrology System (SIM) was created, consisting of thirteen Latin American countries. Many institutions as Instituto di Metrologia "Gustavo Colonnetti" (IMGC, Italy), Instituto Elettrotecnico Nazionale Galileo Ferraris (IEN, Italy), NBS, Physikalish-Technische Bundesanstalt (PTB, Germany) were of great help for the creation of SIM. The long-standing support of PTB to many metrology institutions in Latin America through its technical cooperation program, has been beneficial in the formation and development of SIM. In 1992 PTB organized together with the Centro Español de Metrologia (CEM, Spain), and the Instituto Portugues da Qualidade (IPQ, Portugal) a meeting for constructing a metrology system, conceived at that time as Sistema Iberoamericano de Metrologia. Also in 1992, during a SIM General Asembly meeting, the OAS and NIST were invited to help in reconstructing SIM as Sistema Interamericano de Metrologia. Thus, in 1993 and 1994, these two organizations, with support from the US Department of State and the National Metrology Center of Mexico (CENAM), organized three regional metrology workshops in Caracas, Venezuela, Buenos Aires, Argentina and San José, Costa Rica, with participation of representatives from the government, scientific and industrial sectors in each country. The OAS and NIST also organized specialized courses and granted fellowships for a Flow Metrology course in Quito, Ecuador and the Caribbean Measurement Assurance Program, in San Juan, Puerto Rico. During the Summit of the Americas, held in December, 1994, in Miami, Florida, the Presidents of the Americas issued a Declaration of Principles, emphasizing economic integration and free trade, through reduction of technical barriers and promotion of technical cooperation programs on metrology and standardization. Following this Summit, the OAS convened a coordinating meeting in Rio de Janeiro, in January, 1995, attended by 25 countries, which agreed to promote a project to reorganize and revitalize SIM.
Article 1.2. - The Objectives of SIM shall be:
a) cooperate in the development of National
Metrology Institute in each country in the hemisphere;
b) contribute to the development of measurement infrastructure
required to promote equity in trade;
c) foster competitiveness and quality of the manufacturing
sector in order to promote trade and commerce;
d) identify sectors and institutions that can conduct
specific multinational activities in support of metrology;
e) contribute to the development of metrological infrastructure
required to protect the environment and to promote the general well-being
of the population, including its health and safety.
CHAPTER 2. GOALS, AND ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE
Article 2.1. - The Interamerican Metrology
System (SIM), is a regional agreement among the National Metrology Institutes
or the Institute responsible for the national standards of the member nations
of the Organization of American States, whose goal is to promote international
and regional cooperation, in order to contribute to the improvement of activities
in the field of scientific, industrial and legal metrology. For this purpose,
measures taken by the members will help to achieve the following:
a) the establishment of national and regional measurement
systems;
b) the establishment of a hierarchy of the national
standards of each country and their linkage with regional and international
standards;
c) the compatibility of results obtained from measurement
processes performed in laboratories within the system;
d) the development of competitive technical and scientific
personnel;
e) the collection and distribution of technical and
scientific information and documentation;
f) the linkage with the International Bureau of Weights
and Measures (Bureau International des Poids et Mesures, BIPM), the International
Organization for Legal Metrology (Organisation International de Metrologie
Légal, OIML) and other international organizations, specialized in
the area of metrology.
Article 2.2. - SIM is organized as
follows:
a) General Assembly
b) President
c) Council
d) Executive Secretary
e) Technical Advisor
f) Subregional Coordinators
g) Permanent Committees
h) Technical Working Groups
Permanent committees are:
1. Technical Committee
2. Professional Development Committee
SIM is divided into five geographical subregions consisting of: Andimet, Camet, Carimet, Noramet and Suramet. The composition of the subregions and the organization of SIM are shown in Annexes A and B.
Article 2.3.
- Any equipment or other goods donated
to SIM for its technical activities shall belong to the Organization of
American States and shall remain the responsibility of the Executive Secretary,
until the OAS statutory period for equipment ownership expires. After this
period OAS ownership shall be transferred to the designated NMI aproved
by the SIM Council for disposal.
CHAPTER 3. MEMBERSHIP, RIGHTS AND OBLIGATIONS
Article 3.1. - SIM consists
of Members and Participants.
Member:
The national metrology institute designated as such by the appropriate national
governmental or other official authority of each OAS country as being responsible
for national measurement standards, or in its absence the organization responsible
for the National Weights and Measures System.
For any state that has more than one such designated
institute, the membership is held by one institute on behalf of all.
Participant: The participants are divided into three
categories:
a) Associate: reserved to National Metrology Institutes
and other Metrology related Organizations that show evidence of active technical
cooperation with at least three (3) SIM members.
b) Observer: reserved to International or Regional
Organizations with technical activities in Metrology and Metrology related
fields.
c) Correspondent: any non-member Institution interested
in Metrology.
Article 3.2. - Members have the following
rights:
a) elect and be elected as President;
b) elect and be elected as members of the Council;
c) represent their respective subregions in SIM committees;
d) serve in SIM committees, subcommittees, and working
groups;
e) take part in General Assembly meetings, submitting
proposals as well as having the right of speech and vote, as stated in Article
4.2;
f) represent SIM, in national, regional or international
matters in accordance with the Council's instruction;
g) receive General Assembly and Council minutes;
h) have access to official SIM documents under custody of Documentation
Working Group;
i) receive complementary financial support through
projects funded for SIM activities.
Article 3.3. - Rights of Associate
Participants
a) Attend General Assembly Meetings with the right
of speech and without the right to vote.
b) Participate in technical activities with Council
approval, without financial support from SIM
c) Receive information about SIM technical activities
and General Assembly Meetings
Article 3.4. - Rights of Observer
Participants
a) Attend General Assembly Meetings with the right
of speech and without the right to vote.
b) Receive information about SIM technical activities
and General Assembly Meetings.
Article 3.5. - Rights of Correspondent
Participant
a) With prior approval from the President, attend General
Assembly Meetings with the right to speech and without the right to vote.
b) Receive information about SIM technical activities and General Assembly
Meetings in which they participate.
Article 3.6. - Member obligations
a) Contribute to the objectives of SIM.
b) Comply with this Statute and with the applicable
Internal Regulations.
c) Promote the adoption of General Assembly and Council
resolutions with authorities in their respective countries.
Article 3.7. - Participant obligations
a) Contribute to the objectives of SIM.
b) Comply with this Statute and with the applicable
Internal Regulations.
c) Abide the decisions of SIM.
Article 3.8. - Admission of new members
and participants shall require a written request, addressed to the President,
and shall be endorsed by the Council and approved by the General Assembly.
CHAPTER 4. THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY
Article 4.1. - The General
Assembly is composed of one representative of each SIM member, having only
one vote each.
Article 4.2. - It is within the General
Assembly's authority to:
a) elect the President Institution and the President
for a two-year term (can be reelected for a second consecutive term);
b) define the policies of SIM;
c) review and amend this Statute and the Rules of Order,
whenever necessary;
d) review and accept the Council reports;
e) ratify, with a vote of simple majority of the Members
present, the resolutions set forth by the Council;
f) approve the admission of new members and participants
with the vote of the simple majority of the Members.
Article 4.3. - The General Assembly
shall:
a) meet normally every year;
b) meet in the event of exceptional circumstances,
when requested by a simple majority of SIM Members, or by the Council;
d) conduct its meetings according to Rules of Order, developed by the Council
and approved by the General Assembly.
CHAPTER 5. THE PRESIDENT
Article 5.1. - It is the President's
responsibility to:
represent SIM, preside over the General Assembly and Council meetings present
the Council's report to the General Assembly execute, once approved by the
General Assembly, all actions, necessary to fulfill the objectives of SIM.
coordinate all SIM activities, keep in contact with the Permanent Committees,
Working Groups, with the Office of Science and Technology of the OAS and
with other national and international organizations.
The home institution of the President provides all
technical and administrative support necessary for the SIM President to
fulfill the responsibilities of the Office. The home institution is not
to be reimbursed for this support.
Article 5.2. - In the case the person
serving as President can not continue in that capacity, the member Institute
will name a substitute as the new President, subject to the Council´s
approval and ratification at the next General Assembly. In the case the
Institute that holds the Presidency can no longer serve in that capacity,
the Council will elect a provisional President from among its members, who
will serve until the next General Assembly.
CHAPTER 6. THE COUNCIL
Article 6.1. - The Council is composed
of the President in office, the Coordinators of each of the five Subregions,
the Executive Secretary, the Technical Advisor, the Chairmen of the Permanent
Committees, the SIM Representative to the JCRB, and the Past President.
Article 6.2. -The Subregional Coordinators
are elected by the Subregion members for a three-year term; they may be
reelected for a second consecutive term.
Article 6.3. - The Council shall:
a) meet, at least twice a year or when convened by
the President or by a simple majority of its members, its quorum shall be
a simple majority of its members;
b) meet in private sessions unless the President or
a simple majority of its members convene an open meeting for designated
participants and/or observers;
c) take decisions with the vote of a simple majority,
if the vote is a tie, the President shall decide;
d) create working groups for specific tasks;
e) prepare the Council's report to the General Assembly;
f) appoint the Chairmen of the Technical and Professional
Development Committees;
g) prepare annual proposals for funding of SIM activities,
and designate a member to submit the project to the OAS.
Article 6.4. - It is within the Council's authority to:
a) implement and enforce the recommendations of the
General Assembly;
b) convene the ordinary meetings of the General Assembly;
c) draft the yearly activity schedule of SIM, following
the guidelines set forth by the General Assembly and submit this document
to the consideration of the SIM Members;
d) enter agreements with national and international
entities;
e) designate from its members, SIM representatives
before government, entities, conferences, as well as national or international
organizations;
f) appoint the SIM representative to the Joint Committee
of the Regional Metrology Organizations and the BIPM (JCRB);
g) make recommendations to the General Assembly on
the admission of new Members and/or Participants;
h) draft SIM's proposal of Technical Projects with
annual budget for submission to the OAS;
i) constitute task forces from within the Members,
Participants, and special guests as appropriate;
j) decide on the custody (in trust) and ultimate disposal
of any equipment donated to or acquired by SIM;
k) approve the use of the name SIM and the SIM logo
for any activities.
Article 6.5. - Subregional coordinators
shall have the following duties:
a) in collaboration with other Council members, generate
proposals for development activities and execute them, if approved;
b) act as liaison between the working groups and the
Council;
c) assist in drafting SIM's policies;
d) promote the exchange of information as well as the
coordination between member countries within the subregion;
e) foster an equitable participation, as well as the
fair distribution of benefits and responsibilities among Members within
the subregion, in regard to SIM activities;
f) keep close contact with each one of the Members
within the subregion and maintain updated information in regard to their
measurement capabilities;
h) promote the comparison of standards from Members
within the subregion;
i) act as liaison between Members within the subregion
and the Council, channeling their proposals to the Council and vice-versa,
allowing SIM resolutions to be viable and have the maximum support of Members
within the subregion.
Article 6.6. - SIM representative to JCRB
Article 6.6.1. - SIM representative
to JCRB shall be from an institution signatory of the CIPM MRA.
Article 6.6.2. - SIM representative to JCRB shall have
the following duties:
a) represent SIM in the JCRB meetings;
b) present regular reports to the Council about JCRB
activities and any decisions taken.
CHAPTER 7. THE EXECUTIVE SECRETARY
Article 7.1. - The Executive Secretary shall be a staff
member of the Office of Science and Technology of the OAS, or a designee.
Article 7.2. - The Executive Secretary
shall:
a) assist the President in the accomplishment of his
duties;
b) collaborate with the President in the settlement
of affairs before national and international organizations;
c) keep the SIM Member directory updated;
d) be the custodian of all SIM documents;
e) keep a register of all OAS equipment in the SIM
program with information on the equipment type, quantity, year of purchase,
intended use, Member having custody and contact person;
f) transfer all OAS owned equipment to the SIM Council
for disposal as soon as they reach the OAS expiration age of three years.
CHAPTER 8. THE PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE
Article 8.1. - The Professional Development
Committee shall be composed of a representative of each one of the SIM subregions,
selected by the subregion members for a three-year term.
Article 8.2. - The Council appoints
the Chair of the Professional Development Committee for a three-year term.
Candidates must be affiliated to and proposed by SIM Members. The Chair
may serve for a second consecutive term.
Article 8.3. - It is the responsibility
of the Professional Development Committee to:
a) promote activities for the improvement of technical skills among laboratory
personnel within the region;
b) carry out studies to determine the training requirements
and capabilities within the region;
c) promote the exchange of information in regard
to training;
d) request from international organizations support
for training programs in the field of metrology, for SIM Members;
e) present the annual budget for the Committee to the Council;
f) perform other activities related to professional
development, as recommended by the Council.
CHAPTER 9. THE TECHNICAL COMMITTEE
Article 9.1. -The Technical Committee
shall be composed of
a) the Chair of the Technical Committee
b) the SIM representative to the JCRB
c) the Chairpersons of the Technical Working Groups,
plus
d) one member from each of the SIM subregions selected
by the Subregion members for a three year term; the subregional coordinator
may serve for a second consecutive term.
Article 9.2. - The Council appoints
the Chair of the Technical Committee for a three year term. Candidates must
be affiliated to and proposed by SIM Members. The Chair may serve for a
second consecutive term.
Article 9.3. - The Technical Committee
appoints the following Technical Working Groups: Metrology Working Groups
(MWG), Legal Metrology Working Groups (LMWG), and Documentation Working
Groups (DWG).
Article 9.4. - It is the Technical
Committee's responsibility to:
a) promote closer collaboration among SIM Members in projects related to
metrology and measurement services,
b) optimize the use of resources and services of the
Members and foster the development of these services so they may satisfy
regional demands,
c) document the traceability of measurement systems
in SIM Members and encourage the regional acceptance of this traceability,
in accordance with international definitions and trends,
d) study the comparison needs of the SIM Members,
e) supervise SIM comparisons, taking the necessary
measures to expedite them in case of delays,
f) harmonize procedures proposed by Working Groups to perform comparisons
of SIM laboratories,
g) propose to the Council the SIM representative to
the JCRB,
h) advise the Council in regard to technical matters
in metrology,
i) perform other technical activities, as recommended
by the Council,
j) coordinate activities of the Technical Working Groups,
k) promote closer cooperation between SIM and the BIPM to carry out the
key and supplementary comparisons called for in the CIPM MRA,
l) promote cooperation between SIM and OIML as well
as other legal metrology organizations,
m) prepare the annual budget for the Committee.
CHAPTER 10. THE TECHNICAL WORKING GROUPS (TWG)
Article 10.1. - The Technical Committee
appoints the Chairmen of the TWGs.
Article 10.2. -The members of the
TWGs shall be persons with expertise in the technical area of the Working
Group.
Article 10.3. - The TWGs shall be
composed of at least five members, at least one from each subregion. The
SIM Members are entitled to membership in all MWGs.
Article 10.4. - It is the responsibility
of the Metrology Working Groups to:
a) coordinate and ensure the efficient implementation
of SIM comparisons, as well as the proper dissemination of their results,
b) propose guidelines for the conduct of comparisons and dissemination of
their results to the Technical Committee,
c) review the calibration and measurement capabilities
(CMCs) of the SIM members for inclusion in the SIM database and submission
to the JCRB through TC Chaiman
d) review the CMCs from National Metrology Institutes
belonging to other Regional Metrology Organizations, in the framework of
the CIPM MRA.
Article 10.4.1. - MWGs are organized
as follows (corresponding to the CIPM Consultative Committee structure,
except Units):
MWG1- Electricity and Magnetism (EM)
MWG2 - Photometry and Radiometry (PR)
MWG3 -Thermometry (T)
MWG4 - Length (L)
MWG5 -Time and Frequency (TF)
MWG6 - Ionizing Radiations (RI)
MWG7 -Mass and related quantities (M)
MWG8 - Amount of Substance (QM)
MWG9- Acoustics, Ultrasound and Vibrations (AUV)
MWG10- Flow
Article 10.5 - It is the responsibility
of the Legal Metrology Working Groups to:
a) promote the development of the technical infrastructure
necessary for implementation of legal metrology in each country,
b) provide technical assistance for countries developing
legal metrology systems.
Article 10.5.1. - LMWGs are organized
as follows:
LMWG1-Laws and regulation
LMWG2-Metrological control of Measuring Instruments
Article 10.6. - It is the responsibility
of the Documents Working Groups to:
a) prepare, review and, when necessary, propose to modify the SIM Statute,
the Rules of Order, and Terms of Reference and other general documents to
promote the efficient and effective operation of SIM,
b) to establish a data base with the purpose of documenting
and diseminating the results of the comparisons organized by the MGWs,
c) to promote the implementation of quality systems
in SIM-Member laboratories, in accordance with the requierements of the
CIPM MRA.
Article 10.6.1. - DWGs are organized as follows:
DWG1- Bylaws and operations
DWG2- DataBase
DWG3- Quality Systems
CHAPTER 11. THE TECHNICAL ADVISOR
Article 11.1. - The Technical Advisor
shall be a staff member of NIST, or a designee by NIST.
Article 11.2. - It is the responsibility of the Technical
Advisor to:
a) advise the President and the Council on technical
matters in metrology,
b) coordinate technical activities, when requested
by the Council or the Technical Committee,
c) collaborate with the Professional Development and Technical Committees,
as well as with the Executive Secretary, in the promotion of the exchange
of information between NIST and the other Members of SIM.
CHAPTER 12. DISPOSAL OF SIM EQUIPMENT
Article 12.1. - The SIM Council shall
determine the recipient of SIM equipment among SIM members which was received
on transfer from the OAS or through donation from any other source as it
deems appropriate. All donations shall be transparent, without further obligation
of SIM and become the exclusive property of the Member to which the disposal
is made.
CHAPTER 13. GENERAL REGULATIONS
Article 13.1. - In General
Assembly and Council resolutions, use may be made of the English, French,
Portuguese or Spanish Languages. The reference language will be the one
in which the documents are developed. The Executive Secretary will maintain
all reference documents plus an English version of the ones developed in
another language.
Article 13.2. - This Statute and/or
the Rules of Order may be amended by a vote of two thirds of SIM Members.
Article 13.3. -
Situations not covered under this Statute shall be resolved by the Council,
pending ratification by the General Assembly.
CHAPTER 14. TERMINATION OF SIM
This Statute was approved in Heredia, Costa Rica, on September 23, 1998.
It was first ammended in Miami, Florida, USA, December 13, 2001.
