Mr. Al-Mulla
HE Mr. Nabil Amin Al-Mulla, GSO Secretary General, delivered a speech in which he thanked GOIC for this outstanding initiative that helps raise awareness to the importance of metrology and its key role in various aspects of our daily lives, the wellbeing of humanity and the scientific and industrial advancement. “We praise GOIC for this initiative that deserves to be supported by all means”, he said.
Mr. Al-Mulla reiterated GSO’s support of this important event: “We would like to benefit from the recommendations and outcomes of the 1st GMF to improve metrology-related activities in GSO member countries. We look forward to working with all parties to support this valuable initiative promoting joint Gulf ventures.”
HE the Secretary General explained: “GSO’s foundation was to promote the economic agreement and as a key requirement for the GCC Customs Union. GSO, the regional independent measurement authority based in Riyadh started working under the Cooperation Council of the Arab States of the Gulf in 2004. The Organization endeavours to develop and coordinate various metrology activities between GCC countries, including issuing Gulf standard specifications and technical regulations and developing unified systems to guarantee conformity of metrology activities.” He added: “The GSO is deploying relentless efforts to build a comprehensive set of regulations and procedures aiming at laying the foundation of a GCC quality infrastructure that is in line with internationally recognised and accepted rules, systems and practices. This reflects the commitment of GCC countries to fulfil the obligations arising from their membership of the World Trade Organization (WTO).
HE Mr. Al-Mulla underlined GSO’s achievements in the world of metrology at two main levels: a. updating metrology-related legislations and aligning them with international practices; b. promoting technical capacities in the field of metrology to guarantee international recognition. He explained: “GSO issued and adopted a unified system of legal metrology regulations and explanatory guides for all GSO member states that is in line with international legislations and meets the needs of member states at the same time. Furthermore, to reinforce technical capacities of member states, GULFMET was founded to boost efficiency of national metrology laboratories. The objective was to gain international recognition by being in line with the international regulations.”
Mr. Al-Mulla stated: “During the CIPM meeting in Paris on the 15th and 16th of October 2015, the International Committee for Weights and Measures (CIPM) granted GULFMET a provisional international recognition as a regional metrology organisation (RMO) having met the requirements.” He congratulated metrology professionals and called upon GSO member states to benefit from this achievement to promote metrology-related activities in their countries.
GSO Secretary General concluded: “We hope to see concerted efforts in support of the now internationally recognised RMO - GULFMET - to promote metrology in its various fields. Our ultimate objective is to meet the requirements of scientific and economic development, to fulfil the needs of the Gulf industrial sector and to protect customers. This is how we give metrology activities the attention they deserve at the regional level.”

Keynote Speaker
Keynote Speaker Dr. Marten Milton, BIPM Director General said: “The aim of metrology is to establish global agreement about measurements, and , of course, about them being right. Measurements are important in every aspect of life, whether it is countries trading goods and services or supporting their industry, patients receiving medical treatments or governments making decisions about the global environment; all of these depend on measurements that must be made on a basis that is fair and that everyone can accept.”
He added: “International collaboration in metrology started in 1875 when the Metre Convention was signed by 17 countries in Paris. This founded the BIPM and enabled the metric system based on the kilogram and the metre to be the basis for measurements worldwide. Today, the BIPM is an international organisation which has grown to 57 Member States and 40 Associate states and economies. Our work now extends to cover all types of measurement, and we currently have 72 staff based at our site near Paris.”
Mr. Milton explained: “Metrology is now recognised as an essential and integrated part of the quality infrastructure that we all depend on; it works alongside standardisation and the accreditation of testing and calibration laboratories to provide a recognised and transparent basis for confidence in trade. Ensuring that we work alongside the international organisations responsible for standardisation (ISO), for accreditation (ILAC) and also legal metrology (OIML) is an important part of our liaison work at the BIPM.”

He added: “There are now two Member States of the BIPM within GULFMET: The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia became a member state in 2011, and the United Arab Emirates became a member earlier this year. There are two Associate States: The Sultanate of Oman since 2012 and the Republic of Yemen since 2014. I understand that negotiations are underway in three other states including our hosts here in the State of Qatar. An essential part of the global collaboration that ensures the comparability of measurements is the regional organisations – which we call the RMO’s. They started in Europe, the Americas and the Asia Pacific regions. More recently regional bodies have been established in central Asia and in Africa.”
The Director General stated: “I am delighted that GULFMET – under the leadership of Mr. Al-Mulla is set to become the sixth regional metrology organisation. In fact, RMOs promote and support the measurement infrastructure in their regions so that their member institutes can fulfil their missions effectively. They are committed to ensuring uniformity of measurements while promoting cooperation between their members. GULFMET has encouraged the participation of Associate members from other regions including: Turkey, Korea and Bosnia and Herzegovina – this is a very useful way to exchange knowledge to accelerate the development of GULFMET, and an important one considering its present size. In recent years, GULFMET has been working to meet the conditions for it to be recognised internationally as a Regional Metrology Organisation. I was very pleased that when the International Committee for Weights and Measures (CIPM) met in October it granted provisional acceptance of GULFMET as an RMO. This was after GULFMET had presented its plans and achievements to the joint meeting of the other regional organisations.”
“It will now be possible for GULFMET to take part in meetings of the Joint Committee of the Regions with the BIPM. This is an important step for GULFMET, that will lead to full participation in the global system alongside the other 5 RMOs when GULFMET has put in place all of the elements needed for full recognition. If we see the same progress that we have seen with the other RMOs, we can expect accelerated development of the National Metrology Institutes in the Gulf region as a result”, he added.
Mr. Milton explained: “Full recognition will enable GULFMET to play its role in implementing the work of the CIPM Mutual Recognition Arrangements (the MRA) amongst the GCC nations. This is the system that is operated by the BIPM that now covers 250 organisations from 54 member states, 40 associate states and economies, and 4 international organizations. Our database now includes more than 1300 comparisons, and more than 24,000 capabilities all of which have been peer-reviewed against technical evidence. It is used around the world as a transparent and accessible basis for claims relating to the comparability of measurement standards. At the BIPM, we are working with the Directors of the National Metrology Institutes around the world to review the operation and implementation of the CIPM MRA and we have identified a number of very interesting examples of its impact. An excellent example is the work done by the NMI in China to provide on-site and on-line calibration for a European company in the communications sector, where they have produced nearly 30000 certificates. Another example is a Korean company providing calibrations in Vietnam as part of a project to build a thermal power station could show regulators that its standards are equivalent to those in the USA. We have examples from all over the world.”
The Director General concluded: “As GULFMET takes the steps towards participating as a Regional metrology organisation in the Mutual Recognition Arrangements, we can all look forward to similar examples in the GCC countries. I look forward to seeing that future progress.”



MoU and Honouring Sponsors
During the opening ceremony, a Memorandum of Understanding was signed between Qatar General Organization for Standards and Metrology (QS) representing Qatar’s Ministry of Environment and the Economic Zones Company (Manateq). The MoU aims at fostering cooperation and coordination in the areas of specialised technical support, IT, media, technical ventures and consulting, researches, studies, conferences, seminars, exhibitions, training and qualification.
His Excellency the Minister of Environment was then honoured along with sponsors, organisers and supporters of the 1st GMF.
_________________________________________________________________________

 

Press release
December 13, 2015
GOIC: WOQOD, Gold Sponsor of the 1st GMF

The Gulf Organization for Industrial Consulting (GOIC) announced that Qatar Fuel (WOQOD) is a Gold Sponsor of the First Gulf Metrology Forum and Exhibition held in collaboration with Qatar’s Ministry of Environment, the GCC Standardisation Organization (GSO) and GULFMET under the patronage of His Excellency Engineer Ahmad Bin Amer Al-Hemaidi, Qatar’s Minister of Environment. The Forum will take place at the Hilton Hotel in Doha, Qatar on the 14th and 15th of December, 2015.
Engineer Ibrahim Jaham Al-Kuwari, CEO of WOQOD stated that his company’s sponsorship of this key forum is in line with WOQOD’s continuous support of industrial events aiming at boosting the industrial sector in the Gulf. He highlighted the important role of metrology in improving Gulf products’ competitiveness.
GOIC Secretary General Mr. Abdulaziz Bin Hamad Al-Ageel commended WOQOD for sponsoring the 1st GMF. He underlined the importance of this event to spread awareness in the industrial sector about the importance of measurements to the productivity cycle, for they allow the industrial sector to compete internationally.
Qatar Fuel (WOQOD) is a downstream oil storage, distribution and marketing company. It is exclusively responsible for the distribution of fuel needs within Qatar. This includes diesel and gasoline for vehicles, boats and industry and aviation fuel for Doha International Airport. The company also trades in bunker fuels, ship-to-ship bunkering within Qatari waters, bitumen importation and distribution, for building new roads, LPG for cooking, and own-branded-lubricants. In addition, it builds modern branded service stations across Qatar.
Furthermore, WOQOD developed “FAHES” Centres for vehicle inspection services to guarantee safety and security of all vehicles on Qatar’s roads. Thus, the company contributes to preserving public safety and preventing accidents and injuries. In addition to that, “FAHES” Centres contribute to the reduction of air pollution by operating in conformity with vehicle emissions standards. In this regard, WOQOD has adopted state-of-the-art technologies to guarantee a high-quality and high credibility vehicle inspection.
Measurements play an important role in business in terms of storage, distribution and marketing of petroleum products. Measurement activities provide protection to consumers and justice and equity in the market to protect the collective safety of citizens. In fact, global standard procedures in the area of measurements require the issuance of quality certificates to petroleum products by specialised laboratories in the country. All equipment and devices are tested before commercial use in terms of weights and measurements. This includes gasoline, liquefied petroleum gas and vehicle tank counters.
Moreover, fuel pumping equipment are tested to assess the distribution of petroleum products and determine losses caused by scattering of drops and evaporation when filling fuel tanks. In fact, losses from storage evaporation result in the decrease of profits of retail petroleum products. Current estimates reveal millions of dollars of losses per year because of this issue. In addition, losses are incurred because quantities of fuel sold to customers are not accurately measured, hence more quantities are wasted, costs increase and profit margins drop. Differences in measurement also lead to lower trading and disputes in fuel sales, especially if the measurement process lacked transparency resulting in additional costs and absence of market efficiency.
The Forum
The First Gulf Metrology Forum has emerged in response to the growing metrological requirements in the market today. It has been the fruit of joint efforts between governments, technical institutions, in an effort to achieve common objectives in the areas of metrology activities in the Gulf and international markets.
Wide participation of international organizations and companies is expected to encourage manufacturing industries and services in the Gulf. The aim is to remove technical barriers hindering trade flow, to facilitate international cooperation in metrology sector, and to promote International-GCC agreements in the field of trade and economic cooperation. More than 300 figures, concerned with metrology in the Gulf States, are expected to participate.
The First Gulf Metrology Forum targets government and private laboratories, related institutions and companies, and Ministries of Commerce, Industry and Environment. It also targets industrial companies that operate in the following areas: oil, gas, energy, petrochemicals, metals and metal forming, electricity and electronics, medical supplies, as well as universities, scientific research institutions and international metrology and calibration institutions.
The most prominent objectives of the Forum is to exchange ideas on the best ways to raise awareness, on industrial and general levels, to comply with industrial measurements, and to provide an overview assessment of the requirements of industries and Gulf metrological services, and to review means to raise the national capacities in the field of industrial standards.
Other objectives include exchange of ideas on how to attract new metrological activities and areas, international practices to enhance metrological infrastructure as part of quality development in the Member States, highlighting of the role of national metrology centers and laboratories, review of the experiences of Member States in supporting metrology activities of local laboratories, discussion of ways of cooperation with the international laboratories, and recognition of experts’ executable recommendations to support the activities of the GCC metrology.
The organization of this Forum has emerged from global reports of companies operating in the field of metrological services. Such reports indicate the increasing demand for metrological services in the coming period, and in all industrial sectors, especially the automotive sector, electronics, power generation and others. The improvement in the global economy will have its impact on the Gulf region, resulting in an increase in investments in many areas, such as energy, industry and services associated with them.
The main technical themes of the Forum are: raising awareness of the importance of metrology with all its scientific, industrial and legal levels, review of the experiences of the GCC countries in this area, cooperation with international institutions in order to develop and support the role of metrology, and communication between the concerned authorities in the GCC countries in the field of metrology, GCC cognitive and procedural environment, legal frameworks, research and applications.


 

Press release
December 11, 2015
GOIC: PHCC, Gold Sponsor of the 1st Gulf Metrology Forum
The Forum is held next Monday under the patronage of Qatar’s Minister of Environment

The Gulf Organization for Industrial Consulting (GOIC) announced that the Primary Health Care Corporation (PHCC) is the Gold Sponsor of the 1st Gulf Metrology Forum and Exhibition. The Forum is organised in collaboration with Qatar’s Ministry of Environment, the GCC Standardisation Organization (GSO) and GULFMET under the patronage of His Excellency Engineer Ahmad Bin Amer Al-Hemaidi, Qatar’s Minister of Environment who will attend the event. It will take place at the Hilton Hotel in Doha, Qatar on the 14th and 15th of December, 2015.
Dr. Mariam Ali Abdulmalik, Managing Director of PHCC said: “The 1st GMF is an important opportunity for the Corporation to be acquainted with the latest developments in the field of calibration and measurement, particularly relating to the healthcare sector. PHCC constantly endeavours to improve healthcare services and achieve comprehensive person-centred healthcare physically, mentally and socially. The Corporation seeks to offer adequate healthcare services in line with international standards.
GOIC Secretary General Mr. Abdulaziz Bin Hamad Al-Ageel commended the Primary Health Care Corporation for its decision to sponsor the 1st GMF. He underlined the important role of PHCC in boosting healthcare in Qatar and praised it for offering high-quality services to nationals and residents.
In this regard, the State of Qatar took its first steps in establishing a primary health care system and started to provide healthcare services through a range of clinics as early as 1954. In 1978, the Ministry of Health developed a comprehensive project to offer primary healthcare services via nine health centres throughout the country which provided comprehensive medical and healthcare services (preventive and curative). They were the patients’ first line of defence.
Today, PHCC deploys serious efforts through 21 primary healthcare centres distributed into three regions namely central, western and northern. Thirteen of these centres are located in Doha, while the rest of centres are located in populated areas all over the country to deliver a variety of healthcare services based on the location and needs of the different areas. PHCC has set a number of objectives such as keeping the population healthy, preventing diseases, diagnosing and treating patients and offering long-term and continuous support for patients and their families from infants to the elderly, children, adolescents, adults, married couples and mothers.
In addition to that, a number of health centres offer specialty services to the society in order to promote a self-care model and a healthy lifestyle.
In light of the importance of healthcare services provided through these centres and to achieve the objectives of the National Health Strategy which emphasizes that the primary health care is the base for health system in the country, His Highness the Father Emir Sheikh Hamad Bin Khalifa Al-Thani issued Emiri Decree No. 15 on the 20th of February 2012 to establish PHCC. It is an independent corporation with its own independent budget.
The Forum
The First Gulf Metrology Forum has emerged in response to the growing metrological requirements in the market today. It has been the fruit of joint efforts between governments, technical institutions, in an effort to achieve common objectives in the areas of metrology activities in the Gulf and international markets.
Wide participation of international organizations and companies is expected to encourage manufacturing industries and services in the Gulf. The aim is to remove technical barriers hindering trade flow, to facilitate international cooperation in metrology sector, and to promote International-GCC agreements in the field of trade and economic cooperation. More than 300 figures, concerned with metrology in the Gulf States, are expected to participate.
The First Gulf Metrology Forum targets government and private laboratories, related institutions and companies, and Ministries of Commerce, Industry and Environment. It also targets industrial companies that operate in the following areas: oil, gas, energy, petrochemicals, metals and metal forming, electricity and electronics, medical supplies, as well as universities, scientific research institutions and international metrology and calibration institutions.
The most prominent objectives of the Forum is to exchange ideas on the best ways to raise awareness, on industrial and general levels, to comply with industrial measurements, and to provide an overview assessment of the requirements of industries and Gulf metrological services, and to review means to raise the national capacities in the field of industrial standards.
Other objectives include exchange of ideas on how to attract new metrological activities and areas, international practices to enhance metrological infrastructure as part of quality development in the Member States, highlighting of the role of national metrology centers and laboratories, review of the experiences of Member States in supporting metrology activities of local laboratories, discussion of ways of cooperation with the international laboratories, and recognition of experts’ executable recommendations to support the activities of the GCC metrology.
The organization of this Forum has emerged from global reports of companies operating in the field of metrological services. Such reports indicate the increasing demand for metrological services in the coming period, and in all industrial sectors, especially the automotive sector, electronics, power generation and others. The improvement in the global economy will have its impact on the Gulf region, resulting in an increase in investments in many areas, such as energy, industry and services associated with them.
The main technical themes of the Forum are: raising awareness of the importance of metrology with all its scientific, industrial and legal levels, review of the experiences of the GCC countries in this area, cooperation with international institutions in order to develop and support the role of metrology, and communication between the concerned authorities in the GCC countries in the field of metrology, GCC cognitive and procedural environment, legal frameworks, research and applications.



 

GOIC: "Specialist Group" is the exclusive sponsor for the transport of the Gulf Metrology Forum
08 December 2015

Starting next Monday in Doha


The Gulf Organization for Industrial Consulting (GOIC) announced that "Specialist Group" is the exclusive sponsor of transportation in the First Gulf Metrology Forum and accompanying exhibition. The Forum is held in cooperation with the Ministry of Environment in the State of Qatar, and the GCC Standardization Organization (GSO) and Gulf Regional Metrology Association (GULFMET). The Forum will be held under the patronage of His Excellency Ahmed Bin Aamer Al Humaidi, Qatari Minister of Environment, at the Hilton Doha Hotel during 14-15 December 2015.

Mr. Ghassan Al-Maslokhi, General Manager of the Group, pointed out that "Specialist is specialized in conference services in the State of Qatar with a fleet of luxury cars exceeding one hundred cars. He said, “Specialist will be present at the Gulf Metrology Forum to secure transportation for the guests and participants."
For his part, Mr. Abdul Aziz Bin Hamad Al-Ageel, Secretary-General of GOIC, welcomed the sponsorship of Specialist Group for the First Gulf Metrology Forum, praising the participation of many companies in sponsoring it, including the Group due to its importance and its role in the promotion of the industrial sector of the Gulf.

It is noteworthy that "Specialist" Group was founded in April 2010 as a Qatari-British large partnership company specialized in conference services and provision of transportation. Its success was clearly marked in many events. It has won many certificates of appreciation from major state institutions, where the company owns a large fleet of cars and specializes in securing transportation for the delegations participating in conferences organized by the state ministries and organs.
Two years ago, the company became the official provider of limousine services at Doha Marriott Hotel. It is the only company, which owns non-wire devices to coordinate the performance between the ceremony and supervisors. The company is characterized by its commitment to local or formal attire by the drivers, and it owns a large fleet of cars to give diversity to the service provided in order to suit the nature of the conference or the activity.

Among the most prominent achievements of the Group, it has been the first company to establish a conference service between leasing companies. It was also the first to introduce "valet parking" service. It holds the intellectual property right from the Ministry of Justice to serve limousine prepaid debit cards (wainak), as well as the intellectual property right from the Ministry of Economy and Trade to launch (sahl) service for rent until possession. It is the first company to establish a website to serve the transportation services of conferences.
The Forum


The First Gulf Metrology Forum has emerged in response to the growing metrological requirements in the market today. It has been the fruit of joint efforts between governments, technical institutions, in an effort to achieve common objectives in the areas of metrology activities in the Gulf and international markets.
Wide participation of international organizations and companies is expected to encourage manufacturing industries and services in the Gulf. The aim is to remove technical barriers hindering trade flow, to facilitate international cooperation in metrology sector, and to promote International-GCC agreements in the field of trade and economic cooperation. More than 300 figures, concerned with metrology in the Gulf States, are expected to participate.
The First Gulf Metrology Forum targets government and private laboratories, related institutions and companies, and Ministries of Commerce, Industry and Environment. It also targets industrial companies that operate in the following areas: oil, gas, energy, petrochemicals, metals and metal forming, electricity and electronics, medical supplies, as well as universities, scientific research institutions and international metrology and calibration institutions.
The most prominent objectives of the Forum is to exchange ideas on the best ways to raise awareness, on industrial and general levels, to comply with industrial measurements, and to provide an overview assessment of the requirements of industries and Gulf metrological services, and to review means to raise the national capacities in the field of industrial standards.

Other objectives include exchange of ideas on how to attract new metrological activities and areas, international practices to enhance metrological infrastructure as part of quality development in the Member States, highlighting of the role of national metrology centers and laboratories, review of the experiences of Member States in supporting metrology activities of local laboratories, discussion of ways of cooperation with the international laboratories, and recognition of experts’ executable recommendations to support the activities of the GCC metrology.
The organization of this Forum has emerged from global reports of companies operating in the field of metrological services. Such reports indicate the increasing demand for metrological services in the coming period, and in all industrial sectors, especially the automotive sector, electronics, power generation and others. The improvement in the global economy will have its impact on the Gulf region, resulting in an increase in investments in many areas, such as energy, industry and services associated with them.
The main technical themes of the Forum are: raising awareness of the importance of metrology with all its scientific, industrial and legal levels, review of the experiences of the GCC countries in this area, cooperation with international institutions in order to develop and support the role of metrology, and communication between the concerned authorities in the GCC countries in the field of metrology, GCC cognitive and procedural environment, legal frameworks, research and applications.

Press release
November 11, 2015
Announcing the First Gulf Metrology Forum
GOIC: The first forum of its kind in the Middle East to tackle the growing measurement and calibration requirements in the GCC and global markets

The Gulf Organization for Industrial Consulting (GOIC), Qatar’s Ministry of Environment, the GCC Standardisation Organization (GSO) and GULFMET held a press conference to announce the First Gulf Metrology Forum (GMF) and exhibition under the patronage of His Excellency Engineer Ahmad Bin Amer Al-Hemaidi, Qatar’s Minister of Environment. The event will take place at the Hilton Hotel in Doha, Qatar on the 14th and 15th of December, 2015.
The press conference was organised at GOIC’s headquarters in Doha and the speakers His Excellency Dr. Mohammed Bin Saif Al-Kuwari, Assistant Undersecretary for Laboratories and Standardisation and representative of the Minister of Environment, His Excellency Mr. Nabil Bin Amin Mulla, Secretary General of GSO and His Excellency Mr. Abdulaziz Bin Hamad Al-Ageel, Secretary General of GOIC.
In his speech, GOIC Secretary General Mr. Abdulaziz Bin Hamad Al-Ageel said: “Metrology is a field that is experienced by human beings all over the world on a daily basis. Our modern societies rely on countless measuring devices to carry out daily tasks, be it personal items like watches, mobile phones and cars, or devices used to accomplish tasks such as electrical tools at home or at work. All of these devices were manufactured with finite precision, and any discrepancy might damage the users and their surroundings and societies.”
He added: “This is how metrology was introduced to various fields to develop machines and technologies, particularly in the industrial sector where it helped stimulate economic growth and industrial competitiveness. In fact, metrology is important to other sectors as well, and any deficiencies, even the simplest of them, might have negative repercussions at the industrial and economic levels.”
GOIC Secretary General explained: “Successful applications of science and technology require good monitoring of measurements and standards used in various fields. Quantitative measurements have indeed become necessary within industrial authorities and commercial businesses. Moreover, in order to boost high precision instruments broadly and guarantee quality of products and raw materials, countries decided to establish specialised metrology and calibration centres for all products. This sector needs qualification and resources to be capable of fully offering required services. It is also key to rely on modern equipment and technologies in most industrial operations. Moreover, it is necessary to monitor machines, operations and equipment that are part of the processes and to study the market size to elaborate forecasts in various industrial fields.”
“Reports published by international companies operating in the area of metrology revealed that the demand of metrology services will witness an increase until 2020. In fact, the recovery of the global economy is expected to be worth 824.6 million USD per year in all industrial sectors, particularly automotive, aviation, electronics, energy and others. The recovery of the global economy will also have impacts on the Gulf, resulting in a surge of investments in various fields like energy, industry, health, food and their associated services”, said Mr. Al-Ageel.
The Secretary General further added: “GCC markets are considered global emerging metrology markets facing increasing technological challenges all over the globe. Furthermore, regional conformity assessment systems are key to the internationalisation of GCC metrology activities, not only at the level of energy industries, but throughout the various industrial sectors to fulfil the huge surge of demand of measurement services in the last decade.”
“The 1st GMF is our response to the increasing metrology requirements in today’s markets, and the result of concerted efforts between governments and technical institutions in order to accomplish common metrology objectives”, stated Mr. Al-Ageel.
GOIC Secretary General explained that the Forum targets government and private laboratories, relevant institutions and companies, ministries of commerce, industry and environment and industrial companies operating in the following areas: oil, gas, energy, petrochemicals, metallurgy, aviation, health, electricity, electronics and medical appliances, in addition to universities, scientific research institutions and international organisations specialised in metrology and calibration.
The main objectives of the Forum are to exchange ideas about the best means to raise public and industrial awareness to comply with industrial measurements, to assess the requirements of Gulf industries and institutions in the area of metrology, and to examine means of increasing national capacities in the field of industrial measurements. In addition to that, ideas will be exchanged on how to attract new metrology activities in various fields, international best practices to reinforce metrology infrastructure as part of quality development in member states, the role of national metrology institutes and laboratories, the experiences of member states in supporting metrology activities and local laboratories, means to cooperate with international laboratories, and finally on how to put together applicable recommendations to support metrology activities in the GCC.
His Excellency underlined the various topics of the 1st GMF, mainly raising awareness about the importance of metrology and its scientific, industrial and legal aspects, particularly in the areas of energy, health and food. He added that the Forum would present success stories from GCC countries and talk about cooperation with international institutions to develop metrology. The Forum would also foster communication between concerned parties, promote the cognitive and procedural environments and include legal aspects, researches and applications in GCC countries.
Mr. Al-Ageel concluded by thanking His Excellency Engineer Ahmad Bin Amer Al-Hemaidi, Qatar’s Minister of Environment for sponsoring the event. He also thanked the GCC Standardisation Organization (GSO) and GULFMET for their trust and cooperation to organise the 1st GMF. HE the Secretary General expressed his deepest gratitude to the sponsors for supporting this event and contributing to the success of the very first Forum of its kind to tackle metrology issues in the GCC and the world, notably the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) in Qatar, Qatar Fuel (WOQOD), the Primary Health Care Corporation and MANATEQ.
Mr. Al-Ageel hoped that the Forum would result in recommendations to help develop metrology, underline its importance in building advanced societies, enact legislations and update internationally recognised technical systems and spread them in the countries of the Arabian Gulf.

Mulla
HE Mr. Nabil Amin Mulla, GSO Secretary General delivered a speech in which he thanked GOIC for this outstanding initiative. The timing could not have been better, since we need measurements and calibration more than ever. He considered that the 1st GMF will shed light on the importance of metrology in various economic activities and industrial, economic and services sectors. According to Mr. Mulla, metrology is key to several national, regional and international organisations. It supports scientific and technological advances of societies through researches and studies issued by research centres in pioneering national metrology labs. In addition to that, most of Nobel Prizes winners worked at metrology labs and most researches and studies are published by these laboratories as well.
His Excellency stated: “This is why the GSO, since its foundation, gave particular attention to metrology activities as a key pillar of national economies in member states and an important factor to guarantee quality infrastructure. Indeed, the GSO supported metrology activities in the GCC by updating relevant legislations, aligning them with international best practices and strengthening metrology technical capacities to become internationally recognised.” He explained that when it comes to metrology legislations, the GSO issued and adopted a unified system of legal metrology regulations for all GSO member states that is in line with international legislations and meets the needs of member states at the same time.”
GSO Secretary General added: “GSO issued manuals to explain this system, making its implementation easier for states that adopted it at a national level. This unified system helps overcoming technical barriers and facilitating trade between member states and the world. It also protects the health and safety of societies, which leads to better standards of living and wellbeing. Furthermore, the unified system spreads tranquillity and peace of mind among societies by guaranteeing just trade, improving quality of industrial products and operations, protecting the environment and having fair regulations implemented in metrology-related cases.”
His Excellency continued: “To reinforce technical capacities of member states, GULFMET was founded to boost efficiency of national metrology laboratories. The objective was to gain international recognition by being in line with the international conditions. Since its foundation in October 2010, GULFMET worked on putting together a strategy and a road map to fulfil these conditions and requirements. Fortunately, we succeeded to get international recognition for GULFMET as a regional metrology authority during the last meeting of the CIPM in Paris on the 15th and 16th of October, 2015.”
“This achievement would not have been possible without the active participation of all member states in the activities of GULFMET. All members were keen to boost technical capacities and efficiency of operations. This international recognition means that member states can publish their capacities in the areas of measurements and calibration through GULFMET after a series of comparisons and quality control in member states’ national laboratories. This recognition also means that economies of member states will be capable of achieving quality control over their now internationally recognised services and products. Competition at the national level will also help guarantee and boost products and services safety,” he said.
Mr. Mulla concluded by reiterating that metrology activities have great contributions to national economies. They boost the quality of industrial products and preserve the health and safety of societies. They protect the environment and put an end to the huge financial losses by member states because of the absence of international recognition. “Therefore, the 1st GMF will be the first step to announce this international recognition and there will be a lot of cooperation between us, GOIC and member states, and particularly with Qatar’s Ministry of Environment. We will follow-up with them all to implement recommendations in 2016-2017”, he said.

AL-Kuwari
Moreover, Dr. Mohammed Bin Saif Al-Kuwari, Assistant Undersecretary for Laboratories and Standardisation and representative of the Minister of Environment stated: “Metrology, the science of measurements, is the science that guarantees a set of necessary operations to guarantee precision in measurements. This is the reason behind the need to unify the international metrology system, boost product quality, protect consumers and the environment and facilitate trade by putting an end to unreasonable and unjustified barriers. Our daily lives are so full of measurements in a way that makes social, economic, commercial and environment aspects of our lives closely linked with various measurement tools.”
Dr. Al-Kuwari gave a number of examples to support his argument, he said: “The safety of the car you drive depends on several measurement tools like the speedometer, temperature and fuel tank levels. In the medical field, measuring pressure, temperature, radioactivity and magnetics is crucial to preserve health and safety of individuals and societies. In the area of environment, measuring air, water and soil quality is key to protect the environment. International aviation is ruled by tools that measure temperatures, wind speed and direction, weather forecasts. Last but not least, trade between various countries is based on scales, measurements and weights.”
Thus, as explained by Dr. Al-Kuwari, “metrology is a comprehensive science that includes all natural sciences and technology. Its applications highly influence human lives and activities. And the absence of precise and accurate measurements, whether on purpose or not, will result in very negative repercussions at all levels.”
He added: “This is why the State of Qatar was keen to implement an efficient, national metrology system that is based on national metrology references. In this regard, Law No. 21 of 1972 on the Unification and Determination of Measures, Scales and Weights was issued in Qatar. It was followed by Emiri Decision No. 44 of 2014 on the establishment of Qatar General Organisation for Standards and Metrology to highlight the importance of measurements at the social, economic, commercial and environmental levels. In fact, article 4 stipulates: “The Organisation, in line with the general policies of the State of Qatar, aims at improving and guaranteeing the quality of goods and materials. It has the exclusive power to: develop, adopt and publish Qatari standards for goods and products, operation modes, tests and examinations […]”
He added: “Qatar is currently witnessing a huge boom at the economic, social, human and scientific levels. Therefore, there is a real opportunity and need for the State of Qatar to create Qatar’s National Measurement and Calibration Centre (QNMCC). The centre will offer measurement and calibration services to all equipment and devices used in firms, factories, companies, laboratories, hospitals, oil and gas companies, research centres and universities in the State of Qatar.”
Al-Kuwari concluded by thanking HE Engineer Ahmad Bin Amer Al-Hemaidi, Qatar’s Minister of Environment for sponsoring this important event. He also expressed his deepest gratitude to GOIC for deploying all these efforts to organise the 1st GMF, particularly Mr. Abdulaziz Bin Hamad Al-Ageel, GOIC Secretary General, Dr. Ali Hamed Mulla, Assistant Secretary General for Industrial Projects Sector at GOIC and Engineer Hazem Al-Anqar, Consultant and Director of the Business Development and Marketing Department at GOIC. His Excellency also thanked GSO, the strategic partner, for their cooperation, particularly HE Mr. Nabil Amin Mulla for his great efforts to support Gulf initiatives. Al-Kuwari finished by thanking the Central Laboratories Department at Qatar General Organisation for Standards and Metrology, notably consultants and specialists members of the steering and executive committees for their contributions to prepare for this important forum.
Al-Ageel, Mulla and Al-Kuwari then inaugurated the website of the 1st GMF http://gmf.goic.org.qa/Default.aspx.

Dialogue with the journalists
During a dialogue with the journalists, GOIC Secretary General Mr. Abdulaziz Bin Hamad Al-Ageel talked about the important participation of several Gulf and international organisations such as: Bureau International des Poids et Mesures (BIPM), National Measurement Institute, Australia, Korea Research Institute of Standards and Science ( KRISS), International Organization of Legal Metrology (OIML), Turkish National Metrology Institute, The Qatar General Organization for Standards and Metrology (QS), Qatar Armed Forces – Calibration Center, INCO Industrial Laboratories, Metrology Tech Centre in Galicia, Hael University, Automation Industries, KEYSIGHT Technologies, Fluke Calibration and Prince Sultan Military Medical City (PSMMC). He underlined the necessity to benefit from international experiences at the Gulf level.
Answering a question on the transfer of international expertise to Gulf countries, Mr. Nabil Mulla said international recognition of GULFMET and the 1st GMF reflect the right of Gulf countries to invite international experts and benefit from their contributions. They will enrich our expertise and motivate officials and decision makers in member states to give particular attention to measurements and calibrations and seek to implement them in different fields. Thus, positive results would be yielded in the industrial sector in particular, and the economies of the countries in general.
Regarding the sustainability of the Forum and future workshops, Mr. Mulla said that GOIC and organising parties will form a committee to study recommendations and hold a second forum in Qatar or in another country in the future.
Answering a question on Qatar hosting this event, Dr. Al-Kuwari said: “It is very important for us and we are really interested in spreading the culture of metrology at all levels. Measurements are not only part of the industrial sector, but they have become key part of the social, human and health aspects of our daily lives. This is why we should understand the importance of this science at the national, regional and international levels. In Qatar, we are very interested in metrology, particularly its legal and technical aspects, which explains why we are hosting this important event.”

 

Press release

September 15, 2015

In 2020, the global metrology services market is expected to be worth 824 million USD

GOIC: The First Gulf Metrology Forum in Doha, December 2015

The Gulf Organization for Industrial Consulting (GOIC), in collaboration with Qatar’s Ministry of Environment, the GCC Standardisation Organization (GSO) and GULFMET organises the First Gulf Metrology Forum (GMF) and exhibition under the patronage of His Excellency Engineer Ahmad Bin Amer Al-Hemaidi, Qatar’s Minister of Environment. The event will take place at the Hilton Hotel in Doha, Qatar on the 14^th and 15^th of December, 2015.

According to the global metrology services market is expected to reach USD 824.6 Million by 2020, according to world studies, which indicate that increasing demand for high-precision components in key end-use industries such as automotive, electronics and power generation is expected to drive the market over the next five years. In the face of technology and growth challenges, the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) States are a growing market for world metrology services. Moreover, regional conformity assessment schemes are important elements in the internationalization of metrology activities in the GCC. Not only in the energy industries, but in all gas and oil industries, demand for metrology services has risen considerably over the past decade.

The 1^st GMF tackles metrology in Gulf and international markets, in response to the increasing metrology requirements in today’s markets, and as a result of concerted efforts between governments and technical institutions in order to accomplish common metrology objectives.

Many international organisations and companies are expected to participate in this Forum to encourage manufacturing industries and services in the Gulf. The aim is to overcome technical barriers hampering trade, hence facilitating international collaboration in the field of metrology and strengthening Gulf-international agreements in the area of commercial and economic cooperation. More than 500 concerned parties in the GCC are expected to take part in this Forum as well.

The  GMF is first of its to be held in the GCC region as the Forum targets government and private laboratories, relevant institutions and companies, ministries of commerce, industry and environment and industrial companies operating in the following areas: oil, gas, energy, petrochemicals, metallurgy, electricity, electronics and medical appliances, in addition to universities, scientific research institutions and international organisations specialised in metrology and calibration.

The Objectives

The main objectives of the Forum are to exchange ideas about the best means to raise public and industrial awareness to comply with industrial measurements, to assess the requirements of Gulf industries and institutions in the area of metrology, and to examine means of increasing national capacities in the field of industrial measurements. In addition to that, ideas will be exchanged on how to attract new metrology activities in various fields, international best practices to reinforce metrology infrastructure as part of quality development in member states, the role of national metrology institutes and laboratories, the experiences of member states in supporting metrology activities and local laboratories, means to cooperate with international laboratories, and finally on how to put together applicable recommendations to support metrology activities in the GCC. In fact, the organisation of this Forum was based on global reports of companies operating in the area of metrology services. These reports revealed a projected increase of the demand on metrology services in the near future in various sectors, particularly automotive, electronics, energy and others. The recovery of the global economy will also have impacts on the Gulf, resulting in an investment increase in various fields like energy and industry and their associated services.

GCC countries are endeavouring to build a growing industrial base with close ties with global economies. GCC countries are looking forward to reaching the next stage of the development process during which resources are allocated to develop the industrial base. The foundation of this development will be petrochemical industries and SMEs. This is an efficient strategy to deal with the changing global economy and to preserve sustainable industrial development.

Thus, international industrial standards have become key to efficient global trade. Furthermore, building and developing a local technology base means adapting with global technological progress. In order to reach the level of advanced countries in this field, high-quality products that comply with international standards are needed, in addition to precise measurements to make sure that the products are in line with these standards. Therefore, the foundation of a national modern standardisation system is the main pillar to shift to an industrially advanced society. It is necessary to keep up with fast growth in comprehensive economic activities, to promote science and technology and to prove the credibility of products in international trade.

As to the most important technical aspects of this Forum, they are as follows: raising awareness on the importance of metrology and its scientific, industrial and legal aspects, presenting experiences of GCC countries in this area, cooperating with international institutions to develop and support the role of metrology, communicating with concerned GCC parties in the field of metrology and getting to know the cognitive and procedural environment in GCC countries to include legal frameworks, researches and applications.

Working towards unified procedures for applying international and national standards in the GCC, the Forum will help in developing regional conformity assessment schemes and legislation, and enhancing the development and approval as well as updating and publishing of internationally accepted technical regulations in Gulf Countries. GCC industries need measurements and calibrations, and application is necessary in fields like temperature and humidity, pressure and vacuum, mass and balances, density and viscosity, flow measurements, electrical and time measurement, vibration and acoustic, RF and microwave, fibre optics, length and dimensional and torque and force.

The Importance of Metrology

Metrology is important for it is relevant to all aspects of life and has become a key pillar of manufacturing in developing countries and a main part of the industrial development cycle. In addition, successful applications of science and technology require good monitoring of measurements and standards used in various fields. Quantitative measurements have indeed become necessary within industrial authorities and commercial businesses. Moreover, in order to boost high precision instruments broadly and guarantee quality of products and raw materials, countries decided to establish specialised metrology and calibration centres for all products. This sector needs qualification and resources to be capable of fully offering required services. It is also key to rely on modern equipment and technologies in most industrial operations. Moreover, it is necessary to monitor machines, operations and equipment that are part of the processes and to study the market size to elaborate industrial forecasts in various fields.  Today, metrology in the GCC applies to all sectors of manufacturing industries and has a direct impact on the profitability, capabilities and the sustainability of a business. Measurements are applied at all levels of production, at the raw materials level and for end products. Furthermore, reliable measurement results are important for the industry, consumer care, protection and safety. Measurements types are evolving with the needs of new and emerging technologies such as biotechnology and nanotechnology.

The metrology ecosystem in the GCC is such as depicted in the following exhibit:

In the GCC, reliable measurement plays a critical role in supporting economic competitiveness, manufacturing and trade. In this modern world, a well-developed measurement infrastructure gives confidence in many aspects of our daily life.

As such, the Forum will contribute to enabling the development and manufacturing of reliable high quality and innovative products in the GCC; supporting Gulf industry to be competitive and sustainable in production; removing technical barriers to trade and supporting fair trade; ensuring safety and efficacy of services and products; and meeting the grand challenges of energy and environment in the GCC States.

The increasing number of GCC manufacturing industries demand new services and systems. The following exhibit shows the distribution of industrial firms in the GCC:

In an effort to strengthen economic integration in the GCC, aligned with the requirements to unify the various standardization activities and to monitor the implementation and compliance contributing to the development of the productive and service sectors, the Forum will contribute to the development of trade but also protect the consumer and the environment as well as public health.

Metrology is applied in various sectors of the GCC economy, like the following large industries: oil and gas, petrochemicals and refining. It is also applied in small and medium size industries such as plastics, metals, mining, cardboard, air filters, paints, sweets, dairy, cables and others.

The official website of the Forum: http://gmf.goic.org.qa.

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Press release

July 5, 2015

Under the patronage of Qatar’s Minister of Environment

GOIC: The First Gulf Metrology Forum next December sheds light on the importance of metrology and calibration in the industrial sector

Under the patronage of His Excellency Engineer Ahmad Bin Amer Al-Hemaidi, Qatar’s Minister of Environment, the Gulf Organization for Industrial Consulting (GOIC), Qatar’s Ministry of Environment, the GCC Standardisation Organization (GSO) and GULFMET are organising the First Gulf Metrology Forum in Doha, Qatar on the 14^th and 15^th of December, 2015.

In preparation for the Forum, the preliminary meeting was held at GOIC’s headquarters in Doha. The meeting was attended by His Excellency Dr. Ali Hamed Al-Mulla, Assistant Secretary General for Industrial Projects Sector at GOIC leading a team of GOIC experts, His Excellency Dr. Mohammed Bin Saif Al-Kuwari, Assistant Undersecretary for Laboratories and Standardisation leading the team of the Ministry of Environment formed by Mr. Salah Salem Al-Rumaihi, Director of the Central Laboratories Department, Dr. Yasser Abdulfattah Abdulaziz, expert and consultant in the field of calibration of metrology laboratories, Mr. Ahmed Burhan Al-Hashemi, Head of the Building and Roads Materials Department at the Central Laboratories Department, Mrs. Naima Hussein Al-Doql from the Central Laboratories Department and Mr. Walid Al-Yafei from the Public Relations Department. The meeting was also attended by GSO’s team represented by Engineer Omar Kanakrieh, Metrology Director and Mr. Abdulilah Qarnas Al-Qarnas, metrology researcher.

During this meeting, GOIC explained its vision for this Forum: GOIC experts said that the Organization, through industrial researches, has endeavoured to highlight the role of metrology in guaranteeing GCC industrial development. Furthermore, by carrying out industrial surveys, GOIC has realised the necessity of bridging the industrial metrology gap through spreading industrial awareness in this regard.

Participants stressed the importance of metrology, for it is relevant to all aspects of life and has become a key pillar of manufacturing in developing countries and a main part of the industrial development cycle. They explained that successful applications of science and technology require good monitoring of standards and criteria used in various fields. Quantitative measurements have indeed become necessary within industrial authorities and commercial businesses. Moreover, participants agreed that in order to boost instrumentation broadly and guarantee quality of products and raw materials, countries decided to establish specialised metrology and calibration centres for all products, and this sector needs qualification and resources to be capable of fully offering required services. They stressed the necessity of relying on modern equipment and technologies in most industrial operations. It is necessary to monitor machines, operations and equipment that are part of the processes and to study the market size to elaborate industrial forecasts in various fields.

One of the main objectives of this Forum is to exchange ideas about the best means to raise general awareness and industrial awareness in particular, to comply with industrial standards. It also aims at offering an assessment of the requirements of Gulf industries and institutions in the area of metrology, and examining means of increasing national capacities in the field of industrial standards. In addition to that, ideas are to be exchanged on how to attract new metrology activities and areas, international best practices to reinforce metrology infrastructure as part of quality development in member states, the role of national metrology institutes and laboratories, the experiences of member states in supporting metrology activities and local laboratories, means to cooperate with international laboratories, and finally putting together applicable recommendations by the participants to support metrology activities in GCC countries. In fact, the organisation of this Forum was based on global reports of companies operating in the area of metrology services. These reports revealed a projected increase of the demand on metrology services in the near future in various sector, particularly automotive, electronics, energy and other sectors. The recovery of the global economy will also have impacts on the Gulf, resulting in an investment increase in various fields like energy and industry and their accompanying services.

GCC countries are endeavouring to build a growing industrial base with close ties with global economies. GCC countries are looking forward to reaching the next stage of the development process during which resources are allocated to develop the industrial base. The foundation of this development will be petrochemical industries and SMEs, and it is an efficient strategy to deal with the change in international economic situations and to preserve sustainable industrial development.

Thus, international industrial standards have become a main element of an efficient global trade. Furthermore, building and developing a local technology base require adapting with global technological progress. In order to become advanced countries, high-quality products are needed in accordance with international standards, in addition to instrumentation to match the products with the criteria. Therefore, the foundation of a national and modern standardisation system is the main pillar to shift to an industrially advanced society. It is necessary to keep up with fast growth in comprehensive economic activities, to increase scientific and technological levels and to prove the credibility of products in international trade.

As to the most important technical aspects of this Forum, they are as follows: raising awareness on the importance of metrology and its scientific, industrial and legal aspects, presenting experiences of GCC countries in this area, cooperating with international institutions to develop and support the role of metrology, communicating with concerned GCC parties in the field of metrology and getting to know the cognitive and procedural environment in GCC countries to include legal frameworks, researches and applications.

The First Gulf Metrology Forum targets government and private laboratories, relevant institutions and companies, ministries of commerce, industry and environment and industrial companies operating in these fields: oil, gas, energy, petrochemicals, metallurgy, in addition to universities, scientific research institutions and global organisations specialised in metrology and calibration.

For further information on this Forum, you can contact the Director of this project Engineer Hazim Al-Anqar (+974 44 95 97 27 oralanqar@goic.org.qa).