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Annals of Clinical Biochemistry, Ahead of Print.

Annals of Clinical Biochemistry, Ahead of Print.
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Each year on 20 May the global measurement community marks World Metrology Day, celebrating the importance of measurement in science, industry and everyday life. The 2026 theme, “Metrology: building trust in policy making”, highlights how reliable measurement underpins evidence-based decisions across society.

While metrology may not always be visible, it affects many aspects of daily life. Measurements help determine the safety of the food we eat, the accuracy of medical tests and the reliability of the products we use. They also support the data used by governments and regulators when developing policies designed to protect people, support innovation and manage complex global challenges.

From climate monitoring and healthcare to trade and emerging technologies, policymakers rely on accurate and comparable data. Behind that data sits a complex measurement infrastructure designed to ensure results are reliable, traceable and internationally recognised.

Metrology, the science of measurement, plays a fundamental role in building this trust. By establishing measurement standards and ensuring traceability to internationally agreed references, metrology provides the foundation for consistent and dependable measurements worldwide.

Trusted measurement also depends on confidence in the organisations performing testing, calibration and inspection. This is where accreditation becomes essential.

Accreditation provides independent assurance that laboratories, calibration providers and other conformity assessment bodies are competent to perform specific activities. By assessing organisations against internationally recognised standards accreditation helps ensure that the data they produce is reliable, consistent and technically valid.

This confidence is vital when measurement results are used to inform policy decisions. Whether monitoring environmental pollution, evaluating medical tests or assessing product safety, policymakers must be able to trust the underlying data.

For example environmental monitoring programmes rely on accredited laboratories to generate reliable data about air quality, water safety and emissions. In healthcare accredited medical laboratories help ensure diagnostic results are accurate and dependable. Across industry and trade calibration laboratories maintain the accuracy of instruments used in manufacturing, safety testing and quality control.

In each of these areas accreditation helps create confidence in the measurements that support important decisions.

Together metrology and accreditation form part of the wider quality infrastructure that supports innovation, safety and international trade. Metrology ensures measurements are traceable and comparable while accreditation confirms that organisations applying those measurements are competent and operating to recognised standards.

This combination provides a strong foundation for trust, not only in measurement results but also in the policies and decisions that rely on them.

At UKAS we are proud to support the UK’s measurement infrastructure by accrediting organisations that deliver testing, calibration, inspection and certification services across a wide range of sectors. Through this work we help build confidence in the data and evidence that underpin regulation, innovation and public policy.

On World Metrology Day we recognise the critical role that measurement and accreditation play in supporting trusted decisions. By ensuring measurements are both accurate and reliable we help provide the evidence base that policymakers, businesses and society depend upon.

Reliable measurements build trusted evidence. Trusted evidence supports informed decisions. Informed decisions help shape a safer, more sustainable and more innovative future.

The post From measurement to policy: how accreditation supports trust in decision making appeared first on UKAS.

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Annals of Clinical Biochemistry, Ahead of Print.
BackgroundAlbuminuria is an early marker of kidney damage and an essential component of chronic kidney disease (CKD) risk stratification. Quantitative measurement of the urine albumin-to-creatinine ratio (ACR) in a spot, preferably morning, urine sample ...

Pre-eclampsia causes more than 70,000 maternal deaths every year worldwide

Pre-eclampsia causes more than 70,000 maternal deaths every year worldwide

Hundreds of cases are suspected in central Africa but experts fear the actual number may be much higher.