Information system as a tool to decrease the economic distortion in trade metrology

Abstract

In economy, the amount of money due to an error of a measuring instrument used in trade is described as the economic distortion and this asymmetry is higher as the error involved. Repaired measuring instruments are responsible for a significant part of instruments used in the market. In Brazil, they are responsible for 64.8 % of fuel dispensers and 21.1 % of non-automatic weighing instruments used in trade, and they are subject to greater distortion once issues as impartiality and independence are involved in metrological control of these measuring instruments. In this study, an information system strategically aligned to legal control of measuring instruments was developed to map and identify repaired measuring instruments. Since the system implementation in 2012, an increase of 27.6 % is observed in after repair verifications of fuel dispensers and 104.8 % for non-automatic weighing instruments, contributing to decrease economic distortion in trade.