The combined work of government and the private sector has resulted in a new examination procedure for price verification in the nation's marketplace, an effort that will benefit consumers by improving the accuracy of retail store prices. The new procedure completes a two-year cooperative effort between the Commerce Department's National Institute of Standards and Technology and more than 500 retailers and state and local weights and measures officials.
The examination procedure was developed by officials in the NIST-sponsored National Conference on Weights and Measures and representatives from industry. It was unanimously approved at the July 1995 NCWM 80th Annual Meeting in Portland, Maine, and is now ready for adoption by the states.
The new system may be used by weights and measures inspectors and retail store officials to conduct price verification inspections in any type of store, including those that use "Universal Product Code" scanners and price-look-up codes at the checkout counter as a means for pricing. Procedures are included for test purchases and verifying manual entries.
The examination procedure was developed by the Working Group on Price Verification under NCWM's Laws and Regulations Committee. The uniform laws and regulations developed by NCWM become mandatory and legally binding when they are adopted by the states or local governments.
NCWM is a standards writing organization of more than 3,500 state, county and city weights and measures officials and associated business, federal and consumer representatives. The organization receives technical support from the NIST Office of Weights and Measures.
As a non-regulatory agency of the Commerce Department's Technology Administration, NIST promotes U.S. economic growth by working with industry to develop and apply technology, measurements and standards.