Consumers play key role to ensure accurate measurements in trade

Mar 28, 2021 News

Kaieteur News – Do you purchase items and is confident that you are receiving the correct measurement as paid for? In our daily lives as consumers, many of our purchases are based on the confidence we have in our national measurement system, which ensures the accurate quantities of goods are provided.
In Guyana, a legislative and practical enforcement programme governed by the 1981 Weights & Measures Act, is in place to ensure the accuracy and reliability of measurements for commodities used in trade. This objective is achieved by ensuring that all weighing and measuring devices used in commercial trade are verified by the Guyana National Bureau of Standards (GNBS) under its Legal Metrology Programme. These devices are examined to determine fitness for use and are tested to ensure accuracy.
Devices verified and stamped by the GNBS include: all scales, masses and measures, storage tanks flow meters, electricity meters and petrol pumps. Also included, are devices used at shops, markets, supermarkets, in the rice and sugar industries, fisheries, manufacturing companies, hospitals and health centres, airlines and shipping companies and post offices.
Although the Bureau has been executing its mandate, consumers have meaningful roles to play, which would guarantee that they are not given short weights and measures. The following are ten of these roles:
1. Buy goods from vendors who are using verified scales and other verified devices. If used properly, approved devices give correct weights or measures.
2. Look for GNBS verification seals on devices. An affixed GNBS seal is one way of determining whether a device (scale) was verified.
3. Make sure the device used to weigh or measure your goods is clean. Dirty devices can cause the contamination of goods and often give inaccurate weights and measures.
4. Ensure that the scale is positioned in a manner, which will allow you to see the measuring indicator during the weighing process.
5. Do not buy from vendors or shopkeepers using the domestic (kitchen) scales. These scales often referred to as the ‘blue scales’ are not approved for commercial trade because their internal mechanisms are quickly worn, hence they give inaccurate weights.
6. Do not accept purchase if you have doubts about your weight or measure.
7. Buy in metric quantities. Most devices used in the marketplace are in metric units and by requesting goods in metric quantities, you are assured of the quantity of goods issued to you.
8. Buy all solids by weight instead of measure. Rice, peas and channa are solid goods and all solids must be weighed, not measured. Request these goods in grammes and kilograms.
9. Buy prepackaged goods that are labelled with the quantity (net contents). For example, 450 g, 1 kg, 3 litres, etc.
10. Call the GNBS hotline or visit the Weights and Measures Office in your Region and make your complaints, if the need arises.
For further information, please contact the GNBS on telephone numbers: 219-0069, 219-0065, 219-0062 or visit the GNBS website: www.gnbsgy.org

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