The Guyana National Bureau of Standards (GNBS) is mandated under the Weights and Measures Act of 1981 and its Amendment to ensure that all weighing and measuring devices used in commercial trade are approved and verified for accuracy. Recently, the GNBS has seen an upsurge of the use of unverified and unapproved devices by vendors plying their trade in the various markets. This practice must be discontinued as the GNBS will only allow weighing and measuring devices that are approved to be used in trade.
When approved and verified devices are used, consumers are not given short-weights and measures, and the likelihood of users of these devices over-weighing the products they are selling significantly reduces.
During verification, Inspectors of the GNBS use their standard masses and electronic balances to carry out weighing tests and adjustments to devices to ensure accuracy. However, there are still quite a number of vendors who do not submit their devices for verification, or are using unapproved dial scales, such as the domestic dial scales.
Unapproved devices seized by the GNBS from markets
Unannounced surveillance inspections have to be conducted by Inspectors at shops, markets and other retail outlets countrywide to remove all dirty, defective, unapproved and unverified devices periodically. During the period, April to June 2017 surveillance inspections were conducted countrywide, which resulted in visits to more than 3500 premises and stalls where weighing and measuring devices were being used.
Overall, the number of devices seized so far for the period totaled 335 scales, 43 masses and 2 measuring rules. Just recently, Inspectors raided the Stabroek and Bourda markets and seized a large quantity of unverified and unapproved weighing and measuring devices. These devices, comprised mainly of the unapproved domestic dial scales which amounted to approximately 100 pieces.
The domestic dial scales (kitchen scales) continue to make up a large percentage of devices seized despite efforts by the GNBS to educate vendors that these devices were not designed for commercial trade. The spring mechanism within these domestic scales cannot withstand the rigors of repeated use during commercial transactions. As such, these scales quickly become defective and inaccurate and consumers are given short-weights.
The GNBS will continue to use the various means available to further educate users of weighing and measuring devices and consumers on the need to use and purchase from approved devices. Meanwhile, surveillance exercises will continue for the remainder of June at markets and shops, and verification for the second half of this year will commence in July.
