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Dates For The Diary - 2008 4th September Board Meeting 16th October Northern & AGM/Dinner - York 11th December Board Meeting |
Technical Officer Contact details
If you need to contact John Anthony on any matter he can be reached at
Legal Metrology Consultancy Services
Bordesley Hall
Alvechurch
Worcestershire
B48 7QA
Tel: 01527 646666
Mobile : 07710 355656 or E-mail:
August 2008 Our Consultation
Many of you responded to our recent questionnaire regarding weights and measures enforcement and whether we as an industry could play in bigger part in inspection and verification of equipment. As you may have guessed the questionnaire was to some extent inspired by the Weights and Measures Reform proposals discussed elsewhere. There was a very positive response to the idea of the industry taking on a greater role in inspection and we are now looking to develop more detailed proposals to discuss with the Membership and NWML at some time in the future. This would seem to be the ideal time to indulge in some radical thinking and seeing how we can take things forward.
New UKWF Web Site
The current UKWF website design has been in use since the site was launched, and although it has been fairly successful there has been a feeling for some time that it was tired and needed rethinking and remodelling. You may recall a presentation by an organisation called Intergage last year; well we have used them to develop a new website for us. The new site will we hope be more user friendly, easier to update and more attractive to visitors to encourage them to stay and browse further.
Watch out for an email towards the end of August telling you that the new web-site is up and running, pay it a visit and let us have your comments.
AGM and Regional Meeting
The AGM this year will be held on 16 October in St. William's College, York. A booking form will be sent out to each member very shortly but here is some advance information for your diaries.
The venue is a beautifully restored 15th century building only a few steps from York Minster and we have booked the House of Laymen which promises to be a splendid setting for the meeting. The AGM and General Meetings will be held in the afternoon starting at 2:00. Refreshments and snacks will be provided from 1:30.
After the close of the meeting there will be time to visit York Minster or some of the other attractions of this historic city and then we will return to St William's College at 7:30 for dinner.
We have taken a block booking of rooms in the Quality Hotel which is in the centre of York about half a mile from the Minster. The rooms are £80 but we can only hold them until Tuesday 9 September so it is important to get your booking form back as soon as you receive it.
The costs for the event have been held to a minimum and we hope to attract as many members as possible.
AGM attendance free
General Meeting attendance £25
Dinner at St. William's college £49
WATCH OUT FOR THE OFFICIAL
BOOKING FORMS, THESE WILL BE SENT OUT SOON
| 17 Oct 2007 | JOHN TOOHER of MARSDEN WEIGHING DIES SUDDENLY It is with sadness that we report the sudden death of John Tooher of Marsden Weighing Machine Group. John died suddenly, aged 58, of a heart attack on Friday 12th October 2007. The Federation's greatest sympathy is expressed to John's widow Sally, their two daughters Emily and Lucy and to all at Marsden's. The funeral will take place at 12 noon on Wednesday 24th October 2007 at Reading Crematorium, Henley Road. The family have requested no flowers but donations may be made to the British Heart Foundation. Anyone requiring any further information should contact Richard Black at Marsdens on 0845 130 7330. |
14 Sep 2007 Note of Caution - RightOn Scales
RightOn Scales are an internet seller of weighing instruments. Each of their web-pages relating to their UK operation carries the UK Weighing Federation logo implying that RightOn Scales is a member of this Federation and abides by the Codes of Business Practice that apply to Federation Members. Despite the presence of our logo on their web-site we must make it clear that: .....
4 Apr 2007 Calibration Code of Practice
You should by now have received the latest issue of the Federation's Code of Practice for calibration of NAWI. Hopefully you will find it to be more user friendly, and easier to comply with; that was the intention.
Members who are ISO 9001 accredited will shortly be receiving a short questionnaire regarding the adoption of the Code into their quality system. Members who are not ISO 9001 accredited will be audited by the Technical Officer during the year.
As part of the review of services to Members the Board has agreed to the use of an additional logo for members to include on Calibration Certificates. It will confirm that you have been independently audited for compliance with the Code. Details will be sent to you shortly.
17-19 May 07 London CECIP General Assembly
The UKWF has the privilege this year of hosting the 57th CECIP General Assembly.
CECIP is the European association of national weighing industry associations (such as UKWF) and now has 15 member countries, from across Europe.
The General Assembly provides the opportunity for CECIP members to meet together and find out what is happening in the weighing industry in each country. It also provides the chance for the members to meet with the CECIP Bureau and set and influence the policy that CECIP will adopt in its work with organisations such as the European Commission, WELMEC and OIML. Each of the CECIP Working Groups presents an annual report explaining what they have been working on and what progress they have made. In addition there are a number of guest speakers, this year from NWML, the European Commission and probably the most informative speaker on the UK economy, Dennis Turner from HSBC, whose presentations are as well known for their wit and humour as they are for the information. If for no other reason than to listen to him you should seriously consider attending!
The Assembly also provides the chance to meet with manufacturers, distributors and suppliers from other the countries and business opportunities have been known to present themselves!
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26 Mar 2007 |
ON SHOW - THE UKWF GOES OUT TO INDUSTRY AT THE TOTAL SHOW |
14 Nov 2006 Certificate of Competence in Legal Metrology
Congratulations to all those people who completed the 2005/6 course and were awarded their Certificates in October. Well done to you all. The Hayman Prize for the best student went to our President, Tony Mellor.
The Certificate of Competence in Legal Metrology Course has been running now for two years. Both we and the University of Wales Institute Cardiff, the course providers - have gained some useful experience from these first two courses and we are putting that experience to good use in improving the delivery and content of the course.
This is the first time that this industry has had a recognised qualification in its specialist subject area, and the development of the course has been welcomed by the legislators and the enforcement agencies as well as our customers. With the growing emphasis on "self-verification" and the requirement by the assessment bodies that verifiers can demonstrate knowledge of the legal requirements, standards, test procedures etc the Certificate of Competence will become the easiest way of demonstrating the ability to undertake that work. How long will it be before the Certificate becomes an almost mandatory requirement for "self-verifiers"? Who knows but there is no doubt that it will take on even more importance over the coming years.
This year's course is now open for enrolment. Students can enrol at any time up to the end of December, and the workbook must be completed and submitted by June 2007. If you or any of your colleagues want to join this year's course please see the UKWF web-site or contact the Secretariat for further details .
Calibration Code of Practice
We introduced the Calibration Code in 1998 and it was revised in November 2002. Following the recent audits and comments from Members the Code has now been reviewed again. The Review Group have made a number of changes, including revising some of the test procedures, strengthening the training requirements, clarifying the scope, requiring notification to users when "verified" instruments have been adjusted. The new version of the Code will be sent to Members shortly, and the revisions will come into effect from 1st January 2007.
CECIP General Assembly
In 2007 the UKWF will be hosting CECIP for their Annual General Assembly. Delegates and colleagues from over 15 countries will be attending, and plans are progressing for an exciting programme in London. This will include a welcome reception/river trip on a Thames Barge on the Thursday evening, extensive business sessions and a partners programme on the Friday with a Gala Dinner at a London Livery Hall in the evening. The Tower Thistle is the venue and we will be issuing further details in December. In the meantime, please make sure the date is in your diary!!
| 30 Oct 2006 | Leading by example - Hayman Award goes to UKWF President The UKWF recently held a very successful regional meeting in the shadow of Royal Naval aircraft old and new at the Yeovilton Air Museum. At the end of a lively and informative meeting, this year's students who successfully completed the UWIC course in the weighing aspects of legal metrology were presented with their Certificates of Competence. ..... |
| 30 Aug 2006 | LEGAL METROLOGY TRAINING EXTENDED TO NON-MEMBERS The ongoing success of the UK Weighing Federation's course on the Weighing Aspects of Legal Metrology has prompted them to open it up to non-members for the coming session starting in October 2006. The course is run in conjunction with the University of Wales, Cardiff (UWIC) and culminates in a nationally recognised Certificate of Competency. Training takes place in a virtual learning environment via a dedicated web site and students provide evidence of competency through an assessed logbook of activity. The course covers a comprehensive range of subjects over the prescribed learning period, including practical and legal aspects of weighing and associated equipment. Students also attend regional day seminars where they cover key issues in a classroom environment, allowing them to meet other students and the course supervisors. UKWF President Tony Mellor is very positive about the training and as he explains: "Our decision to widen the entry criteria has been initiated by requests from non-members to join the course. This is ideally suited to people from a wide range of disciplines including trading standards officers, quality managers and engineers. In fact anyone involved with weighing equipment." Anyone interested needs to act quickly and should visit the Legal Metrology Training pages of the UKWF website for further information |
20 Jul 2006 Training
The Federation receives a number of requests regarding training courses on a number of subjects. The WEEE Directive is one topic we have been asked about, and other favourites are Self-Verification, The Calibration Code of Practice, ATEX and Compatibility of Modules.
Enclosed with this edition of Weighlog is a Fax Back form which we ask you to complete if you would be interested in attending or sending people to one or more of these courses. If there is sufficient demand we will set about organising suitable courses.
There is the opportunity for you to indicate if there are any other topics you would be interested in. They need not be specifically related to weighing; for example if Health and Safety or an introduction to Marketing would be useful for you let us know and we will see what we can provide.
UWIC/UKWF Certificate of Competence in Legal Metrology
The second course is now over, the log books are being marked by the course tutor and external assessor and successful students will receive their Certificates at the October Regional Meeting.
Feedback from the course has been very positive and the course is becoming recognised throughout industry and government agencies and future courses will be open to non-members.
Enrolment for the next course is now taking place - review your employees training requirements today! Remember that successful completion of the course will enable students to:
- · Apply the legal requirements for stampable/verifable equipment in accordance with the regulations
- · Recognise traceability and hierarchy of measurement when applied to equipment and weights
- · Describe the organisations within Legal Metrology
- · Demonstrate numeracy and literacy by completion of Test Certificates for trade equipment
- · Have a good understanding of Type Approval Certificates and Test Certificates for EC approved equipment
- · Demonstrate effective problem solving when applying legislation in Legal Metrology
Further information and enrolment forms for the October 2006 - June 2007 Course are enclosed and additional forms may be requested from the UKWF Office or downloaded from the website.
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9 Mar 2006 |
Legal metrology course proves to be a winner |
1 Mar 2006 CECIP General Assemblies
2006
CECIP, the European Federation for weighing instrument manufacturers will be holding its 2006 General Assembly at the Palace Grand Hotel Verses in Italy on 25-26 May. UKWF members from the UK are welcome to attend. Programme and booking details are available from Brooke House or in the Members' Only area of the website www.ukwf.org.uk.
2007
Member countries of CECIP take it in turn to host the Assembly, the last one in the UK was in Birmingham in 1995 and for 2007 the UKWF will be hosting the event in London on 18th May.
Delegations from all the CECIP Member States will be attending and it will be an opportunity for UKWF Members to meet with their counterparts and business colleagues from all over Europe. We will be publishing more details as the arrangements are finalised, but in the meantime please put the date in your diary.
| 9 Nov 2005 | Successful UKWF students awarded Legal Metrology Certificates of Competence The first students to have successfully completed the course in the weighing aspects of legal metrology have been awarded their Certificates of Competence. This new joint training initiative has been set up between the UK Weighing Federation and the University of Wales Institute, Cardiff (UWIC). ..... |
| 28 Sep 2005 | UK Weighing Federation committed to clarifying important metrology legislation Over the past decade the weighing instrument market has evolved into a convoluted global business and as a result, equipment making up even simple systems can come from different manufacturers. Unfortunately this has lead to some ambiguities over the important issue of self verification. The UK Weighing Federation is currently working closely with its members and bodies such as the National Weights and Measures Laboratory (NWML) and the European Committee of Weighing Instrument Manufacturers (CECIP) to clarify the situation. ..... |
| 2 Sep 2005 | UKWF AGM IN DUBLIN When members of the UK Weighing Federation (UKWF) met in Dublin for their recent Annual General Meeting the occasion was certainly the right mixture of business and pleasure. During the meeting Members were updated on technical issues from the Technical Officer including important developments on the ongoing subject of self verification. The formal aspects of the meeting also featured an informative and humorous insight into the organization of legal metrology in Ireland presented by Joe Kane from the Irish Weights and Measures. This was followed by a presentation from Kerry Jones from SPA who talked about Safety Passports explaining how they originated, why they are necessary and how they are issued. Following the meeting, Members went on a tour of the Guinness Storehouses where they saw how Guinness is brewed, learned about the history of this famous beverage and, of course, sampled it for themselves. Derek Christie, President of the UKWF, was very pleased with how the two days went and as he concludes: " We decided to do something different for this year's meeting and it proved to be a great success with all the members who attended. The proceedings were rounded off at a local night spot where we were entertained to a lively party night including typical Irish food and music." |
| 1 Aug 2005 | UKWF Calibration Code of Practice helps with the perfect mix A comprehensive Code of Practice for the calibration of weighing equipment used in concrete batching is helping to ensure quality levels are maintained throughout this important industry sector. The Code, which has been introduced by the UK Weighing Federation (UKWF), lays down formal procedures for testing the equipment, together with guidelines on the representation of results in the Calibration Certificate and a suggested calibration frequency. ..... |
25 Jul 2005 UWIC / UKWF Certificate of Competence in Legal Metrology
The first course is over, and despite it being a new venture both for the Federation and the University of Wales Institute, Cardiff, it seems as if we can say it's a success. The feedback from the students who completed the course has been very positive, and most have said how much they enjoyed the course and how much they learnt from it. Comments such as: 'I have been in metrology for 20 years and didn't realise all the material involved' and 'I would definitely recommend this course to my colleagues' are very encouraging.
Andy Hayward the course tutor has commented on the high standard of the workbooks submitted and he is pleased that so many students have commented favourably.
The workbooks will now go forward to the external assessor for validation, and students who submitted can expect to get their results at the end of September.
The course has generated interest amongst the metrology community generally, and a number of Trading Standards Officers have congratulated the Federation on the initiative. Some have even enquired about sending their own technical staff on the course, and that's an option we will be considering in the near future.
This has been a learning experience for us as well as the students. In review meetings with the University we have agreed a number of improvements that will be introduced when the next course begins in September. Any students who had difficulties with the course, or who didn't manage to submit their workbooks on time, will, because this was the first course, automatically be re-enrolled for the September course without charge.
We have already received a number of requests for enrolments for the next course therefore an Enrolment Pack for new students is enclosed with this issue, if you need any more please photocopy the forms or ask the Federation Office for additional copies.
NWML / UKWF Cricket Match
Congratulations to NWML on a well deserved victory in the annual cricket match against the Federation. They played exceptionally well to take the Weylux Trophy from us. After being put into bat, at one stage the Federation had only 5 runs on the board for the loss of 4 wickets and it looked as if the match would be over within half an hour. However some valiant rearguard batting meant that we eventually reached the dizzy heights of 107 all out off the last ball of our innings. Some excellent bowling and fielding by the Federation XI meant that NWML had to work hard for their victory, but they achieved it with an over to spare. It really was a close match, the closest for a long time, and enjoyable to play in despite the final result. Our thanks to NWML for hosting the match and for the after match hospitality. We'll be back for the trophy next year!
| 30 Jun 2005 | External Audit Scheme puts Weight behind Calibration Code of Practice Members of the UK Weighing Federation are undergoing a strict external audit to ensure they are following their own Code of Practice for the calibration of non-automatic weighing instruments. (NAWI) ..... |
| 14 Jun 2005 | OBITUARY - JAMES HERBERT CBE - 1918 - 2005 A.J. (Jim) Herbert died peacefully at home on Wednesday 8th June 2005. ..... |
Federation News Articles | |||||
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The next Regional Meeting will take place on Thursday 26th April at the DW Stadium, Wigan. | ||
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You can now purchase 'Green M' Labels from the Federation, at affordable costs | ||
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| Proposal for the "UKWF Approved Engineer Examination" | ||
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| The AGM & Regional Meeting will take place on Thursday 13 October 2011 at St Andrews Stadium, Birmingham. | ||
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| The next Regional Meeting will take place on Thursday 14 April in St Williams College, York. | ||
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| The AGM & Regional Meeting will take place on Thursday 14 October in Westminster London. | ||
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| The Regional Meeting 22nd April 2010 is being held at St Williams College in York | ||
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| The meeting dates for 2010 are: | ||
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| The Board would like to welcome the following members to the Federation; | ||
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| The Head Office has moved to Birmingham | ||
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| Heads of Terms have been agreed between BHETA and BJGF and currently lawyers have been instructed to work these up to a legal binding agreement. | ||
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| The Irish Weighing Association (IWA) has recently been formed as the trade association for companies in the Irish weighing industry... | ||
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| Information about members | ||
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| We would like to extend a warm welcome to Denise McGregor who has recently joined Brooke House and is taking over as secretary for the UKWF .... | ||
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| We are pleased to announce the launch of the new UKWF website. Those of you that attended the AGM will have seen a preview of the site .... | ||
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| Many of you responded to our recent questionnaire regarding weights and measures enforcement and whether we as an industry could play in bigger part in inspection and verification .... | ||
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| The AGM this year will be held on 16 October in St. William's College, York. A booking form will be sent out to each member very shortly .... | ||
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