A Brief and Limited History of the NCWM and N.T.E.P.


What is NTEP, and Who Cares!?!

Here is the brief, and maybe boring answer to the question that plagues us all... What the heck is NTEP, and why are NTEP scales more expensive!?

Since 1905, the National Conference on Weights and Measures has been a non-profit association of local and state weights and measures offices, retailers, consumers and manufacturers. The NCWM is the organization that administers the NTEP program, which stands for National Type Evaluation Program. The NTEP program ensures that the equipment we use as a society conforms to known standards of measurement and accuracy to known measurements. The standards used for these weighing machines are explained in what is called the NIST Handbook 44: Specifications, Tolerances, and Other Technical Requirements for Weighing and Measuring Devices.

This is a way for us as a society to have fair practices in commerce when measuring mass / volume / etc. is a variable in the pricing of a good. If my apple weighs 0.5x what the scale says it weighs, I will be paying twice as much as I should be paying... Buying an NTEP scale assures us all (especially the consumer) that the machine being used to weigh their goods is of a certain caliber. This assurance is worth it's weight in gold! (which requires an NTEP scale to buy and sell!)


For more information CLICK HERE to visit NCWM.com


Author: Summit Measurement