Measurements - a key to competitiveness: reporting on the 25th BCR-Anniversary conference
Measurements affect the daily lives of every European citizen in many ways. Their reliability is often taken for granted; when we buy food or fill our cars with petrol we assume that the scales or metering devices used are accurate. The importance of measurements is also evident in social and industrial areas, as for example when blood analyses are made in hospitals, or when food is tested for the presence of poisonous substances. Furthermore, engineering tolerances have become smaller in practically all fields of industrial production by a factor of three every ten years since 1960. Advanced industrial countries are becoming increasingly dependent on accurate and reliable measurement and testing systems, and it is clear that they spend a significant part of their GDP on measurement and testing related activities. This is due to the globalisation of world trade, and to the increasing use of the results of measurement by contractors, purchasers, industry, decision-makers, legislators, consumer associations and the courts. Europe's requirements for measurement-related research have evolved. Measurement and testing to support Community legislation has changed: in the early days, coal and steel were important, but today, the work covers a much broader range of interests, including the environment, and health and medicine. With the drive to improve quality of life and increase Europe's competitiveness in global markets, standardisation bodies have required research for written standards to support activities across industry. New measurement methods and instruments are also constantly in demand, so that the quality of new products and services and products can be tested. The concept of Total Quality is increasingly important to the success of European industry. Laboratories must be able to show that they are producing meaningful results, and, as a result, accreditation is crucial. Finally, to ensure that laboratory testing is comparable right across Europe, a firm measurement infrastructure, consisting of national and regional networks, is essential. The European Union has been involved in measurement-related work for over 25 years. This was well before the Framework Programmes for research and technological development were launched, making it the earliest of the EU's research activities. In 1973, the Commission's role in this field was formalised by the setting up of the Community Bureau of Reference (in French - Bureau Communautaire de Référence: BCR) within the Commission services. With the advent of the Framework Programmes in the 1980s, measurement-related work was redefined in a series of specific RTD programmes, culminating in the current programme on Standards, Measurements and Testing (SMT) which runs until the end of 1998. After 25 years, the activity has reached maturity, and is now ready to develop within the Fifth Framework Programme (1998-2002). To ensure continuing support to measurements and testing in this frame, a generic research activity on "Measurements and Testing" is foreseen within the thematic programme "Promoting Competitive and Sustainable Growth". In addition, measurement and testing projects will be carried out within each of the other thematic programmes. The "Measurements and Testing" activity will provide systems needed by industry for the development of high quality, environmentally-friendly products, processes and services, will make an important contribution to the fight against fraud, and will support the standardisation process. As 25 years ago, support will also be given to reference materials and inter-laboratory studies. The "25th BCR-Anniversary Conference" was designed to give an overview of the activities carried out in the past 25 years, and a look forward to activities in the beginning of the next century. The conference took place on 3 and 4 November 1998, in Brussels, and was attended by more than 300 representatives from different countries, covering various fields of expertise. The conference was opened by H. Tent, Deputy Director-General of the European Commission's Directorate General XII (Science, Research and Development). The following representatives of international associations addressed the importance of measurement-related activities in all sectors of economy and society: L. Erard, President of EUROMET; C. Bankvall, President of EUROLAB; and E.W.B. De Leer, Vice-Chairman of EURACHEM. The first session dealt with measurements on the international scene, and was introduced by T. Quinn, Director of the BIPM (Bureau International des Poids et Mesures). This was followed by a historical perspective of 25 years of the BCR by M. Walsh (State Chemist at the State Laboratory, Ireland), and completed by a description of the measurements and testing situation in the USA by R. Hebner (Acting Deputy Director of the NIST), and in Central and Eastern Europe by P. Klenovsky (Director of the Czech Metrological Institute). Session two described the impact of measurements on trade, and discussed the various needs, with trade and regulations discussed by M. Vidigal (Instituto Português de Qualidade, Portugal), the quality of products by M. Dietzch (Chemnitz University of Technology, Germany), and the fight against fraud by P. Ghyoros (EURATEX, Belgium). The needs of society with respect to measurements and testing were addressed in session three, which was introduced jointly by B. Hansen (Director, European Commission DG XII/E) and M. Grasserbauer (Director of the Institute of Reference Materials and Measurements). The topics focused on health and safety (presented by O. Azocar Brunner, Agencia de Evaluacion de Tecnologias Sanitarias, Spain), Environmental Monitoring (by G. Ekedahl, Swedish Environmental Protection Agency, Sweden), forensic science (by K. Himberg, Finnish Bureau of Investigation, Finland), and skills and training needs (by W. Cofino, RIZA, The Netherlands). Industrial needs were discussed in session four, which addressed topics such as process monitoring by C. Josephy (Solvay, Belgium), measurements at the micro-scale by J-P. Landesman (Thompson-CSF, France), advances in instrumentation by L. Finkelstein (City University, United Kingdom), and frontiers in dimensional metrology by H. Bosse and H. Kunzmann (Physikalich-Technische Bundesanstalt, Germany). The political scene was introduced by H. Tent. The main orientations of the Fifth Framework Programme were described by D. Zerah, Head of the Private Office of Commissioner E. Cresson, responsible for research and innovation, whilst U. Scapagnini, Chairman of the European Parliament's Research Committee, gave an outline of the ongoing conciliation process between the Council and the Parliament. This session was concluded by R.F. Kneucker, of the Austrian Federal Ministry for Science and Transport, who represented the Austrian Presidency of the Council of the EU. The conference concluded with a description of the way forward, by A. Garcia Arroyo, Director for Industrial and Material Technologies activities in the Commission, DG XII, who outlined the "Competitive and Sustainable Growth" programme, including the measurement and testing activity. Both this activity and the actions related to research infrastructure were then described in greater detail by W. Raldow, Head of the SMT programme. The exhibition comprised institutional stands providing general information on R&D carried out by the European Commission. A stand set up by DG XII displayed information on RTD programmes and on the Fifth Framework Programme. CORDIS gave access to on-line information in the form of a cybercafé. DG III provided information on quality-related activities. The Institute for Reference Materials and Measurements (IRMM) exhibited reference materials and related information. Finally, the Joint Research Centre displayed information on R&D activities carried out by several of its component institutes. As a complement to both the conference and the exhibition, a series of posters presenting successful SMT projects were displayed in the exhibition area, where participants had the possibility of meeting with project coordinators. A total of 44 posters were on display covering three different fields, namely Certified Reference Materials (8 posters), Physics, Construction and Instrumentation (22), and Chemistry, Food, Health and Environment (14). A book giving a summary of all the posters has been prepared, and may be obtained from the SMT Helpdesk.