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Summary
The NIST Office of Weights and Measures (OWM) provides a comprehensive training program to fulfill our mission "to establish uniformity, equity, SI use, and traceability in weights and measures" and our statutory authorities "to cooperate with the states in securing uniformity in weights and measures laws and methods of inspection" and "to increase a better understanding and use of the metric system." In 2024 alone, the OWM Training Program reached over 2,800 stakeholders from industry and measuring device manufacturers, state regulatory authorities and metrology laboratories, STEM and metric educators, U.S. federal agencies, and other NMI/DIs through our in-person seminar, webinar, and "blended" legal metrology, metric (SI), and weights and measures course offerings.
Description
OWM offers a variety of in-person, online, and "blended" training classes and materials that provide guidance instruction on national legal metrology standards, weights and measures field inspection procedures, and laws and regulations related to packaging and labeling. OWM provides technical training on the International System of Units (SI) and U.S. metrication and offers professional development to STEM educators and the weights and measures community. OWM also provides numerous classroom and laboratory-based metrology training courses to instruct state metrology laboratory staff and metrologists from other National Metrology Institutes and Designated Institutes (NMI/DIs) from across the globe.
EXPLORE OWM TRAINING
Metrology Courses | RMAPs | Metrication | Metric Kitchen | Recorded Webinars and Videos | Info Hours
Please also visit the OWM Training and Events calendar for a complete list of current in-person and virtual training events.
Laboratory Metrology. OWM continues to provide a series of 1- to 2-week seminar-based Laboratory Metrology Training courses that are held in person at the NIST Gaithersburg campus. These include Fundamentals of Metrology, Volume Metrology, Mass Metrology, and Advanced Mass Metrology. This laboratory metrology training is integral to other Laboratory Recognition and Proficiency Testing (PT) services provided by the OWM Laboratory Metrology Program.
Furthermore, OWM hosts a series of Regional Measurement Assurance Program (RMAP) in-person seminars at various state metrology laboratory locations across the U.S. In June 2025, OWM will hold a Combined Regional Measurement Assurance Program (C-RMAP) training event with the Oregon Department of Agriculture as the host with all six RMAP regions in attendance.
Please visit the OWM Training and Events calendar for the current schedule and more information.
Metric (SI) and Metrication. The Metric (SI) Program offers ongoing opportunities throughout the year to expand your International System of Units (SI) subject-matter knowledge and skills. Many of these training events are offered as webinars to fit the busy schedule for pre-service teachers, in-service teachers, and other STEM education professionals. Explore technical training and professional development opportunities here.
The Metric Program also has numerous educational materials that can be downloaded and freely reproduced. These resources are helpful to students developing SI intuition, knowledge, and reference points. Students will find Everyday Estimation and Becoming Familiar with the SI helpful.
National Legal Metrology. OWM's National Legal Metrology Program provides a range of in-person seminars, live webinars, and Info Hours sessions. Topics are wide-ranging and include (but not limited to) precision scale operations; e-commerce regulations; price verification; net contents of packaging and labeling requirements; and emergent areas related to instrument and device software, electric vehicle fueling systems, and mobile point of sale systems. Please visit the OWM Training and Events calendar for more information.
Many of the webinars and all of the Info Hours sessions are recorded and made available as recorded videos for further training and continuing education, both in a formal setting and through self-study. As a supplement to the instructor-led courses and seminars, OWM also provides a collection of self-study course materials (e.g., NIST Handbook 44), Examination Procedure Outlines (EPOs), and other recorded training presentations. Please visit the e-Learning Resources and Training Materials page for more information.
OWM has also recently completed a pilot test of a “blended” course on Retail Motor-Fuel Dispensers (RMFDs) to provide more students access to relevant field inspection and professional development based training. A "blended" course is one delivered using a combination of different instruction formats, including instructor-led webinars, self-study assignments, narrated PowerPoint presentations (to be viewed by students independently), and in-person instruction seminars with classroom instruction and field training. OWM is presently developing other "blended" courses to cover other measuring device-related topic areas, such as vehicle-tank meters, loading-rack meters, and liquefied petroleum gas liquid-metering systems.
Stay tuned for updates and visit the the OWM Training and Events calendar for more information.
IACET Accreditation. A significant portion of OWM's training portfolio has been accredited by the International Accreditors for Continuing Education and Training (IACET) which has awarded reaccreditation status to the OWM Training Program as an Authorized Provider through May 31, 2028. IACET Authorized Providers are approved to offer IACET Continuing Education Units (CEUs), providing our stakeholders with professional development opportunities to build and extend their technical skills.