About Inmetro
National Institute of Metrology, Quality and Technology
(Inmetro) was created by law in December, 1973, to
support t Brazilian enterprises, to increase their productivity and the
quality of goods and services.
Its major task is to improve the quality oflife of the ordinary citizen as well as to seek the competitiveness of the economy through metrology and quality.
Some of the duties of Inmetro are:
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to provide technical support to Conmetro - the National Metrology, Standardization and Industrial Quality
Council, responsible for establishing the national policies on metrology and quality;
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to implement the national policies on metrology and quality set by Conmetro;
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to maintain the national measurement standards in the country; to establish and maintain their metrological traceability to the units of the International System of Units (SI), by participating in international or regional comparisons establishing their equivalence to internationally accepted standards and or to standards of other countries; to extend the traceability chain to the standards of measurement in the country, turning them internally harmonic and compatible with the international level, envisaging its worldwide acceptance, all of them
necessary to assure the quality of goods and services;
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Development of conformity assessment programs , in the areas of products, processes, services and personnel, mandatory or voluntary, which involve the approval of regulations.
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to plan and carry out the activities of accreditation of calibration and testing labs, of proficiency test suppliers, of certification bodies, of inspection, drilling and others, all of which are necessary for the development of the infrastructure of technological services in the country;
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to manage the Focal Point for Technical Barriers to Trade, responsible for the Brazilian WTO/TBT Enquiry
Point, for providing Brazilian exporters with information on technical requirements, as well as supporting the Brazilian government in all international negotiations on technical barriers to trade;
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to harbor the use of the management technique of quality by the Brazilian enterprises ;
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to foster the presence of Brazil in the international activities related to metrology and quality, plus promoting the interchange with and international bodies.
Establishing Inmetro as the National Metrology Institute of Brazil faces three basic challenges:
(a) the creation of the required conditions, according to international
parameters, for the full practice of the duties related to the Institute;
that includes a strong institutional and administrative framework, a solid
and well equipped laboratory infrastructure, plus an adequate number of
highly qualified personnel, both scientifically and technologically;
(b) to meet the country´s metrological demands, always taking into consideration the competitiveness and productivity of the production sector, plus full occupation of the pertinent spaces;
(c) expansion of Inmetro´s coordination actions for the metrological activities of the country.
