The Weights and Measures (Local and Working Standard Linear Measures) Regulations 1986

Statutory Instruments

1986 No. 1684

WEIGHTS AND MEASURES

The Weights and Measures (Local and Working Standard Linear Measures) Regulations 1986

Made

29th September 1986

Laid before Parliament

3rd October 1986

Coming into Operation

27th October 1986

The Secretary of State, in exercise of powers conferred on him by sections 4(5) and (6), 5(9), 86(1) and 94(1) of the Weights and Measures Act 1985 (hereinafter referred to as “the Act”) and of all other powers enabling him in that behalf, hereby makes the following Regulations:—

Citation, commencement and revocation

1.—(1) These Regulations may be cited as the Weights and Measures (Local and Working Standard Linear Measures) Regulations 1986 and shall come into operation on 27th October 1986.

(2) The Weights and Measures (Local Standards: Limits of Error) Regulations 1970, the Working Standards and Testing Equipment (Testing and Adjustment) Regulations 1970(1) and the Weights and Measures (Local Standards: Periods of Validity) Regulations 1979 are hereby revoked insofar as they relate to local and working standard linear measures.

Working standard linear measures

2.—(1) Working standard linear measures provided pursuant to section 5(1) of the Act for use by inspectors shall be tested by comparison with a local standard of equivalent length being either a separate standard or a standard marked by divisions on a longer local standard which has been certified under section 4 of the Act as being so marked.

(2) Rigid working standard linear measures shall be tested within two years before use.

(3) Flexible working standard linear measures shall be tested within one year before use.

(4) Where an inspector has reasonable cause to believe that a working standard linear measure is not accurate within the relevant limit of error specified in Table 2 in Schedule 1 to these Regulations, he shall test it before use.

(5) Where such a comparison as is mentioned in paragraph (1) above reveals an error which exceeds the relevant limit of error specified in the said Table 2 and Regulation 3(2) below, the working standard shall not be further used until it has been so adjusted that any error is within that limit.

Prescribed limits of error

3.—(1) Subject to paragraph (2) below, the prescribed limits of error relating to local and working standard linear measures in accordance with these Regulations shall be those set out in Tables 1 and 2 respectively in Schedule 1 to these Regulations.

(2) Where at least one of the principal scale marks of a working standard linear measure is a surface, the limits of error in column 2 in the said Table 2 where that surface is used for measurement shall be increased by 0.2 millimetre where the measurement is made in metric units or by 0.008 inch where the measurement is made in imperial units.

Periods of validity of certificates of fitness of local standard linear measures

4.  The periods prescribed in the case of local standard linear measures for the purposes of section 4(6) of the Act (which relates to periods of validity of certificates of fitness of local standards) shall be the periods specified in Schedule 2 to these Regulations running, in each case, from the date of issue of the certificate in question.

Michael Howard

Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State

Department of Trade and Industry

29th September 1986

Regulations 2(4), (5) and 3

SCHEDULE 1

TABLE 1

LOCAL STANDARD LINEAR MEASURES PRESCRIBED LIMITS OF ERROR

Imperial	Limit of Error
1 inch	0.004 inch
6 inches, 1 foot, 2 feet or 1 yard	0.008 inch
over 1 yard	0.004 inch plus 0.004 inch per yard of length
Metric
1 centimetre	0.05 millimetre
1 decimetre	0.1 millimetre
0.5 metre or 1 metre	0.2 millimetre
over one metre	0.1 millimetre plus 0.1 millimetre per metre of length

TABLE 2

WORKING STANDARD LINEAR MEASURES PRESCRIBED LIMITS OF ERROR

Imperial	Limit of Error
1 yard or less	0.02 inch
over 1 yard	0.012 inch plus 0.008 inch per yard of length
Metric
1 metre or less	0.5 millimetre
over 1 metre	0.3 millimetre plus 0.2 millimetre per metre of length

Note: Where Regulation 3(2) applies the limits of error in this Table are increased in accordance with that Regulation.

Regulation 4

SCHEDULE 2 LOCAL STANDARD LINEAR MEASURES PERIODS OF VALIDITY

Measure	Period
Linear measures up to and including 3 metres or 10 feet	10 years
Linear measures over 3 metres or 10 feet	5 years

EXPLANATORY NOTE

These Regulations prescribe the methods of testing and adjusting, and the limits of error for, working standard linear measures used for measuring by inspectors of weights and measures. They also make provision for limits of error for local standard linear measures and for the periods of validity of certificates of fitness of those local standards. The Regulations replace the Weights and Measures (Local Standards: Limits of Error) Regulations 1970, the Working Standards and Testing Equipment (Testing and Adjustment) Regulations 1970 and the Weights and Measures (Local Standards: Periods of Validity) Regulations 1979 insofar as they relate to local and working standard linear measures.

The Regulations make the following changes of substance:

(a) working standard linear measures used for measuring need only be tested within one year before use in the case of flexible measures or two years in the case of rigid measures (previously at intervals of not more than six months) (Regulation 2); and

(b) new limits of error are prescribed (Regulation 3).

(1)

To which there are amendments not relevant to these Regulations.