Switzerland is a federal republic with a population of 7.4 million. With Berne as capital it is divided into 26 self-governing Cantons and 3000 communal authorities. Switzerland is a multilingual society with 63,5 % speaking Swiss German, 20,5 % French, 6,5 % Italian and 0,5 % Romanche, the four national languages (various 9 %).
Switzerland is member of the European Free Trade Association and has bilateral agreements with the European Community, among others on Mutual Recognition of Conformity Assessments.
The responsibility for national standards and legislation in metrology lies with the Confederation, whereas enforcement in legal metrology is mainly up to the Cantons. Regulations on metrology are to a far extent harmonised with EC Directives and in line with OIML and WELMEC.
Organisational Structure and Background
The Swiss Federal Office of Metrology (METAS), attached to the Ministry of Justice and Police, is the primary metrology institution of Switzerland. It is responsible for the realisation of the metrological standards and the dissemination of the physical units to science, industry and to the public. METAS is also responsible for the conformity of measuring instruments used for trade, public health and safety, environmental protection and official determinations.
METAS leads the Swiss Verification Service (SVS) and the Swiss Calibration Service (SCS) and designates conformity assessment bodies in the field of metrology.
In legal metrology, METAS is the competent authority for all metrological and physical aspects. It is responsible for the drawing up of laws, ordinances and directives and supervises the enforcement of these requirements in the Confederation and the Cantons. For adjacent and overlapping fields other authorities may be defined such as the Swiss Federal Office of Public Health for medical devices or the Swiss Federal Office of Environment for environmental protection, but the responsibility for metrological aspects still rests with METAS.
In accordance with the Federal Constitution, the Cantons are responsible for the enforcement in the field of metrology. The initial and re-verification functions and the survey of prepackages are performed by their 49 verification offices. An increasing number of verifications in special fields (as utility meters, dosimeters, sound level meters and calibrators, road traffic instruments, portable combustion analysers) have, in agreement with the Cantons, been handed over to 79 verification laboratories, authorized by METAS and operated by public or private organisations or by the manufacturers themselves.
METAS supervises all verification activities in Switzerland, advises the cantonal offices and instructs the verification laboratories
Equipment Subject to National Controls
- Length measures and measuring instruments in trade use
- Volume measures
- Volume metering instruments for liquids other than water, like
- Petroleum
- Liquefied petroleum gas
- Lubricating oil
- Heating oil
- Cryogenic liquids
- Bulk milk
- Foodstuffs
- Gas meters
- Watt-hour meters
- Medium and high accuracy weights in trade use
- Non-automatic weighing instruments
- Automatic weighing instruments
- Continuous totalizing (beltweighers)
- Discontinuous totalizing (hopper weighers)
- Weigh/price labellers and weigh labellers
- Rail-weighbridges
- Road axle weighers
- Medical measuring instruments
- Sphygmomanometers
- Dosimeters
- Audiometers (verification only)
- Hearing aids (conformity assessment only)
- Road Traffic instruments
- Exhaust emission meters
- Smoke meters
- Chronotachographs
- Speed detectors
- Go-and-stop surveillance instruments
- Warm water meters
- Heat meters
- Instruments for the measurement of ionising radiation and radioactivity
- Portable combustion analysers
- Refractometers for must in grapes
- Alcohol meters (initial verification only)
- Sound level meters
- Sirens for civil protection (type approval only)
Type Approval and Type Examination (MID module B)
METAS is responsible for all Old and New Approach type examinations of measuring instruments and for metrological aspects of other devices. It has most test facilities on-site but may use other test laboratories for special examinations. Type approval certificates for measuring instruments are issued by METAS with the exception of medical devices where the Swiss Federal Office of Public Health (BAG) is the competent authority.
Fees are based on full cost recovery and negotiated for each instrument submitted. Test results and certificates must be issued in one of the official languages (German, French or Italian) but are obtainable in English on request.
Initial Verification and Reverification
Initial verification is performed by the 54 local verification offices of the Cantons for most instruments. However, gas, electricity, heat and warm water meters, some measuring instruments for medical or environmental protection or special applications are initially verified by verification laboratories.
METAS itself verifies a range of instruments including speed detectors, sound level meters, large gas meters and tank gauging, density and refraction meters. All fees charged for verifications are set by law.
Inspection and Reverification
Old Approach initial verifications and all reverifications are performed by the 49 local verification offices of the Cantons or the 79 authorized private verification laboratories for most instruments. METAS itself verifies special instruments as speed detectors, sound level meters, large gas meters and tank gauging. All fees charged for verifications are set by law.
Reverification periods are specified by law, as
Price labellers 6 months Exhaust gas meters 1 year Weighing instruments in trade use 2 years in general Petrol pumps 2 years Trade weights 4 years Heat meters > 5 years Electricity meters, statistical survey 5 years Electronic electricity meters 10 years Domestic gas meters 14 years Electro mechanical electricity meters 15 years Tolerances on mandatory reverification are based on mpe x 1. For instruments 'in use' error allowances are generally mpe x 2, for watt-hour meters mpe x 1,5.
Identified repairers are permitted to adjust and secure repaired instruments providing immediate notice is given to the verification office.
Inspection and Market Surveillance
Inspection and market surveillance are provided by the cantonal verification offices and by METAS.
Legal Metrology Staff and Scope
At METAS some 30 people are engaged in type examination, verification and market surveillance work, most of them engineers.
The 61 verification officers in the Cantons have various backgrounds but gain a professional certificate for verifications. Beside verifications and inspections, they are responsible for market surveillance and investigate a range of consumer complaints about equipment, short measure, misleading prices etc. They are also responsible for controls in pre-package, approving and monitoring systems.
Some 150 people are employed by the 79 verification laboratories.
Sanctions
No federal system of administrative fines exists. Where instruments are found outside tolerances, the officer may send a written warning.
Traders using instruments fraudulently or outside mpe, willingly or negligently, may be prosecuted and fined, and in more serious cases arrested. Courts impose the consequent fine (up to 300 CHF).
Deceptive indications of price or quantity may be subject to a fine of up to 20'000 CHF.
Drastic penalties are provided by the law on Barriers to Trade for the fraudulent use of certificates. Arrest or fines of up to 200'000 CHF may be imposed.
Directives 90/384/EEC and 2004/22/EC
The Mutual Recognition Agreement between the European Community and Switzerland in relation to Conformity Assessment has entered into force on 1st June 2002. Swiss legislation is in particular fully harmonised with Directives 90/384/EEC on nonautomatic weighing instruments and 2004/22/EC on measuring instruments. Instruments that fulfil the requirements may be directly placed on the market and brought into use.
Updated June 2007 / To
