Consumer Week March 1 - 7

Cambridge, MA, February 29, 2016 -- Weights and Measures Week is celebrated during the first week of March to commemorate John Adams signing of the first US weights and measures law on March 2, 1799. The responsibilities of Weights and Measures in the marketplace has expanded well beyond simple scales and meters and today includes much more than meets the eye. In addition to testing gas pumps and grocery store scales, Weights and Measures officials are responsible for regulating a sophisticated, fast moving marketplace. Their challenges include electronic and software driven devices used in settings from oil refineries to taxis to jewelry stores.

Weights and Measures officials help protect consumers and maintain provide fair competition among businesses.Inspectors examine price scanners in electronic point-of-sale systems to make sure customers are charged correctly and test motor fuel and oil to ensure strict specifications are met so that new generation engines can perform efficiently and meet emission standards. Inspectors check signage, advertising and price computations in all types of businesses to make sure consumers are not misled. The inspectors must also be skilled investigators. They reconstruct transactions, look at electronic audit trails and perform undercover purchases while following strict legal processes. When they discover violations, they take enforcement actions that may result in fines, injunctions, and even imprisonment in extreme cases. Recently, officials across the country have been teaming up with law enforcement to combat the use of credit card skimmers.

The inspectors, regulatory agencies, the National Conference on Weights and Measures, and the National Institute of Standards and Technology are constantly working to keep up with the latest developments in a rapidly changing marketplace. Some examples are the sale of natural gas, hydrogen and electricity as a fuel for motor vehicles and the use of global positioning systems by taxi and transportation network systems to determine charges for their services.

The impact of the inspectors’ work is high. Jerry Buendel, Chairman of the National Conference on Weights and Measures, pointed out that a one fluid ounce error in the sale of the 3 billion gallons of gasoline sold in his state in one year results in errors totaling $87.9 million.

The City of Cambridge Weights and Measures Department use weights and measure week to inform others about their role in commerce and to help the public to be more aware as consumers. Weights and measures affect everyone and is one of government’s most impactful consumer protection services. 

For more information on Cambridge Weights and Measures, call 617-349-6133 or visit: www.cambridgema.gov/weight.

The National Conference on Weights and Measures (NCWM) is a professional nonprofit association of state and local weights and measures officials, federal agencies, manufacturers, retailers and consumers. NCWM has developed national weights and measures standards since 1905. The organization brings the right interests together to keep pace with innovative advancements in the marketplace.