PHILIPSBURG, Sint Maarten — Three Inspectors from the Department of Inspection within the Ministry of Tourism, Economic Affairs, Traffic & Telecommunication (TEATT) returned this week from an “Inspection of Weights and Measurements Training in Saba.
Part of their specialised training included lessons about the calibration of electricity and water meters along with updates on calibration and measurements.
The training was supervised by Dave Levenstone, Head of Economic Affairs on Saba who is himself a certified Inspector. On their return to St. Maarten, the three inspectors met with TEATT Minister the Honourable Stuart Johnson, who congratulated them on successfully completing their training and receiving their certification.
Their first task upon returning was to inspect and certify the scales at the Princess Juliana International Airport on Thursday, in preparation for its scheduled opening on Saturday, December 15th.
While training on Saba the Inspectors from TEATT participated in an island-wide check of weights, scales at supermarkets, the post office, and the airport as well as the fuelling station. This onsite inspection formed part of the practical training which was conducted by Radio Communications Agency Inspector for the Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate EZK, Mr Henk Bartels.
Minister Johnson said that the importance of calibration is first to ensure consistency, accuracy and reliability of measurements. He said, “The Ministry of TEATT as the competent and official body to calibrate, measure or test instruments has an enormous responsibility to protect both the consumer and supplier by ensuring that these inspections are carried out routinely and that the persons carrying out the inspections have the available tools and knowledge needed.”
He said the training will continue when necessary for the Inspectors to be always up to date on the use of instruments as it relates to calibration.
The three inspectors who attended the training from St. Maarten are Nelson Rombley, Marcando Winklaar and Genaro Smith. They were taught about the calibration system as well as the laws within the Caribbean Netherlands as it relates to calibration and inspections.
