The 34th meeting of TC 3.1 "Quality Forum Technical Committee" was held on March 10, 2023 in a hybrid format.  The TC 3.1 meeting was attended by 14 representatives of COOMET member countries (Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, China, Cuba, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Moldova, Russia, Slovakia, Tajikistan, Turkey, Uzbekistan).

The NMI/DI annual reports on the QMS for 2022 were reviewed at the meeting. All reports were accepted by TC 3.1 members.

A COOMET auditor Irina Voitek (Belarus) reported on the results of the peer review of the AzMI QMS (Azerbaijan) according to ISO/IEC 17025, conducted in February 2023. Based on the positive results of the peer review, TC 3.1 members decided to issue a new COOMET Confirmation of Recognition valid for 5 years.

A COOMET auditor Nino Mikanadze (Georgia) reported on the results of the peer review of the UzNIM QMS (Uzbekistan) according to ISO/IEC 17025, held ahead of the TC 3.1 meeting. Based on the positive results of the peer review, TC 3.1 members decided to issue a COOMET Confirmation of Recognition valid for 5 years.

The Acting Chair of TC 3.1 Nino Mikanadze announced the transfer of activities related to the implementation of the CIPM MRA to EURAMET from 01.02.2023 by the following NMIs/DIs: GEOSTM (Georgia); NSC "Institute of Metrology", SE "Ukrmetrteststandart", DP NDI "Systema" and SE "Ivano-Frankivstandardmetrology (Ukraine). Further actions to assess the QMS of the mentioned NMIs will be carried out in accordance with the requirements of EURAMET.

The meeting participants also discussed the status of Cuba in the Metre Convention and the situation with the organization of peer reviews of the QMS of the NMIs/DIs of Cuba (the validity period of the confirmations of recognition expires on 04.10.2023) – a preliminary agreement was reached on conducting a peer review in autumn 2023.

The election of the Chair of TC 3.1 was held. Dina Chepurnaya (VNIIFTRI, Russia) was elected as the new Chair, and then her candidacy will be submitted to the COOMET Committee for approval in May 2023.

A decision on updating the following COOMET recommendations has been agreed: COOMET R/AQ/13:2019 " Rules and procedure for the evaluation of the quality management systems of National metrology institutes/Designated institutes" and COOMET R/AQ/9:2019 "Recommendation on the evaluation of quality management systems of National metrology institutes/Designated institutes", as well as the document COOMET D5.16/2019 " Regulation on the COOMET Technical Committee "Quality Forum Technical Committee" (TC 3.1)".

At the meeting the issue was raised about the need for training for technical experts on QMS peer review.

The next meeting of TC 3.1 is scheduled for autumn 2023.