Security and Prosperity Partnership of North America
www.spp-psp.gc.ca
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Helping Manufacturers Measure Up
When manufacturers in different countries are making the intricate parts that will be assembled into the landing gear of an aircraft or the brakes of a family minivan, it's important that their measurements agree precisely.
Now scientists at institutes responsible for measurement standards in Canada, the United States and Mexico are collaborating under the Security and Prosperity Partnership of North America (SPP) to make sure that such measurements, starting in the aerospace and automotive industries, are up to scratch. A number of initiatives supported by the SPP will be carried out in the field of dimensional measurement calibration by metrologists at Canada's National Research Council as well as the National Institute of Standards and Technology in the U.S. and the Centro Nacional de Metrologia (Spanish only) in Mexico.
Such international cooperation is critical to ensure the competitive advantage in manufacturing for North America. A piston manufactured in one country, for example, must fit a cylinder made in another. Increasingly demanding specifications for such parts force even the smallest companies to control their production processes more and more carefully. Inaccurate measurements can mean that manufacturers have to go through the costly process of replacing products. Many risk losing contracts and market share. Worse, an accident could be linked to the incompatibility of assembled parts.
In the increasingly globalized and highly competitive marketplace, consistent measurement practices are important for everything from ensuring the safety of products to maintaining the flow of goods between countries. For example, Canadian fastener manufacturers ship $1-billion worth of screws, clamps and other hardware to the U.S. each year. Mexico provides the parts for many of the washing machines produced in the U.S. And sensors made in the U.S. are used in precision instruments assembled in Canada.
The first focus of the SPP-related efforts is the automotive industry, with the institutes providing training and technical knowledge on measurements and calibration to car and parts manufacturers in the three countries.
Further reading:
Find out more about measurement standards at the National Research Council of Canada's Institute for National Measurement Standards, the National Institute of Standards and Technology in the U.S and the Centro Nacional de Metrologia (Spanish only) in Mexico.
