The Guyana National Bureau of Standards (GNBS) is currently in the midst of its second round of verification for weighing and measuring instruments in 2023.
This bi-annual verification process aims to guarantee accuracy in commercial transactions and trade activities nationwide.
The second verification period for 2023 began earlier this month and will continue until September, spanning a duration of three months, and it has been deemed crucial for retailers to participate in this process to ensure the precision of their instruments.
Lloyd David, the Head of Corporate Communications at the Guyana National Bureau of Standards (GNBS), emphasized that the verification serves a dual purpose, providing protection for both retailers and consumers.
“Generally, it ensures accuracy. It ensures the consumer gets what they paid for in terms of weights and measures. It also prevents the dealers, shopkeepers from robbing themselves. It provides what we call equity in trade.”
Head of Corporate Communications
Guyana National Bureau of Standards (GNBS)
The verification process, David says, is comprehensive and detailed. This is done by a GNBS inspector and upon completion, a seal of certification is prominently placed on the instrument.
“He checks the scale in increments. Starting from 250 g, we have our standard weights that we would put into the pan of the scale, and we move the poise along the drawbar of the scale. It is done at 250 g, then he puts on 500 g, then he moves it to the end. Then it increments until we get to the maximum capacity of the scale.”
Earlier this year, 15, 569 instruments were certified by the Bureau.
A total of approximately 30,000 instruments are expected to be verified upon completion of the second round.
This will indicate a marginal increase from just over 29,000 instruments inspected in 2022.