Vision

Why Metrology is Important

“Metrology is the science of measurement and underpins all manufacturing technologies. If you cannot measure, then you cannot manufacture.”

The vital role of metrology in manufacturing cannot be understated. Metrology affects all our daily lives. It allows manufacturers to produce products more accurately, more quickly and to a higher standard. These benefits are passed onto consumers as products become cheaper to purchase and are made to a higher quality.

Measurement underpins many sectors of the UK’s economy and the development of new measurement knowledge is essential for the UK to fully exploit emerging technologies, improve productivity and tackle the challenges facing the UK. Access to metrology technology, high-level skills and expertise are vital.

Evaluation of outcomes consistently shows a clear economic benefit for investing in measurement capabilities and research. A recent paper, “The importance of the measurement infrastructure in economic recovery” by Professor Richard J. C. Brown, Head of Metrology at NPL, cites five key benefits of adopting the principles of metrology:

1. Improves the effectiveness and efficiency of science and the trust in its outcomes

2. Reduces waste and increases value for money and productivity

3. Unlocks the potential of innovation faster, allowing earlier market entry

4. Decreases the time to implement change and add value

5. Is essential for the development and assessment of evidence-based policy and accelerates progress in science and in society. For established and emerging high-value manufacturing sectors (e.g. aerospace, automotive, flexible electronics, bio-engineering, optics, green energy) where precision is paramount, the development of new metrology technologies and capabilities is critical. In particular this applies to the trend towards inprocess metrology and continuous measurement which substantially reduces or removes the need for costly additional processes.

In some areas and applications (e.g. optics, bio-medical, additive, green energy), without the development of new instrument technologies and methods, it becomes impossible to manufacture economically because there is no effective way of measuring. Improved metrology technologies, in particular embedded metrology, becomes an enabler to these new products and can have a dramatic impact on product quality by reducing defects and scrap rates and increasing productivity. According to a survey of measurement in industry carried out by the National Physical Laboratory (NPL), which examined the use of measurement throughout the manufacturing lifecycle: