Saipan hosts first package inspection training

The National Conference on Weights and Measures Associate Membership Committee recently sponsored a training on Saipan that could save consumers millions of dollars each year when purchasing packaged goods.

Twenty-five weights and measures inspectors from Saipan Tinian, Rota, Guam, Palau, Chuuk, and the Marshall Islands gathered on Saipan for training on how to perform inspections using the procedures in NIST Handbook 133, Checking the Net Contents of Packaged Goods as adopted by the NCWM.

NCWM is a national association dedicated to developing and promoting uniform United States weights and measures standards for commerce.

NCWM’s associate members each contribute $15 as part of their membership dues. The Associate Membership Committee controls how the fund is used to support the mission of NCWM, including sponsorship of training events like the one on Saipan.

The CNMI requested funding assistance to bring an expert trainer to Saipan for the five-day course.

Gov. Ralph DLG Torres reported an estimated $3 million in annual losses for consumers due to inaccurate package contents that are imported to the region through the Saipan seaport.

He said this training class was the first opportunity to train stakeholders in that region of the world on U.S. standards, test procedures and proper equipment to verify net quantity of packaged goods.

Brett Gurney, Weights and Measures program manager at the Utah Department of Agriculture, provided the training.

Gurney was able to take his expertise and share it with an entire region that is developing package inspections for the first time in their history.

“I was honored and excited to be part of something that may have a huge impact for the Micronesian region of the world,” said Gurney. “Not everyone in the weights and measures profession gets a chance to make such a positive impact on so many people. I was met by a motivated group of people who were excited to learn.”

Gurney saw the opportunity as a huge success and very important to the region where most consumer products are imported from other parts of the world.

He expressed appreciation to NCWM, the Associate Membership Committee, the Utah Department of Agriculture and the National Institute of Standards and Technology for working together to make the training possible. He also expressed great appreciation for his host on Saipan and the very eager and attentive participants from the region.

NCWM is a professional nonprofit association of state and local weights and measures officials, federal agencies, manufacturers, retailers and consumers. (PRWeb)