The contribution of instrument calibration to product quality

All through the ages humanity has sought better value products with which to trade and improve the quality of life. The Craft Guilds and Liveried Companies were created to foster this ambition, and it was their success which generated trading companies who needed the support of governments who then in turn, became involved in fostering and regulating trade. In the UK, the NPL and BSI were established with suitable charters, controlled by Government via its trade ministry. There were parallel developments in other countries which inevitably led to bilateral and then multilateral trade agreements, the scene is thus set for highly organised competition in not only trade but product standards, safety standards and metrology. Competition for trade is thus not simply between manufacturing companies. Trade balances react on money exchange rates to which governments are very sensitive and will, in turn, react both overtly and covertly. Indeed, the management of trade and competition through the tools of national and international standards and trade agreements is now a major industry