Metrology

Historical background
The course of metrology started as the fourth training programme at CBE. The course was established to train Inspectors of Weights and Measures for the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Marketing. Before its establishment at CBE, inspectors of Weights and Measures were being trained in the United Kingdom. The number of inspectors needed then was big and costs of training abroad were prohibitive. This is why, in 1978 the Government of Tanzania decided that the course be conducted locally and CBE was selected to host the course.

At the beginning of 1979, Advanced Diploma course in Legal Metrology was introduced. In 2007 the curriculum was reviewed and changed to Bachelor Degree Course in Legal and Industrial Metrology. In the same year the curricula for Basic Certificate, Ordinary Diploma, and Postgraduate Diploma courses in Legal and Industrial Metrology were developed and are now offered at the College. Later, in 2016, during the curricula review process, the course was renamed from “Legal and Industrial Metrology” to “Metrology and Standardization”.

What is Metrology and why it is important?

Metrology is the technology or science of measurement and its applications. It plays a central role in scientific discovery and innovation, industrial manufacturing and international trade, improving the quality of life and protecting the global environment. The importance of measurements is enormous for economy, society, medical sciences and much more. For example, critical economic, social and medical decisions are based on results of measurements. Wrong measurements can have major consequences which are both direct (loss of profit, death of patient, failure of equipment) and indirect (incorrect environment protection, inefficient business plans)

What is standardization and why it is important?

Standardization involves the development and provision of standard, and supply of information on standards to interested parties. It takes place on various levels. Companies, trade association and consortia may produce standards for their own purpose. For national application, a national standards body may develop a national standard or may adopt a national standard that has been developed by International consensus and published by one of the main international standard organizations (ISO, IEC, ITU, Codex, Alimentarius Commission, etc).
The Metrology Department at CBE is committed to training students on processes of establishment of standards, adopting and application of calibration, inspection and verification. However, CBE imparts skills to metrology student on various standards in measurements and their traceability processes.

Employability of Metrology Professionals
The demand on metrology personnel in African countries is very huge, especially in market surveillance, metrology control of measuring instruments, measuring and prepackage control in Legal Metrology Department (LMD). Calibration laboratories including the National Metrology Institute (NMI) and metrology laboratory require metrologists. Therefore, metrology graduates from CBE are guaranteed of employment both in public and private institutions.