The Portuguese Institute of Quality - IPQ is the national organization that manages and promotes the development of the Portuguese System for Quality (SPQ), with its three sub-systems - Standardization, Metrology and Qualification. Therefore, IPQ is the Portuguese representative body in the quality field at international level, and keeps a close co-operation with its European counterparts. Within the SPQ framework, IPQ copes with the role of National Standardization Body (ONN), thus ensuring the co-ordination with European and International standardization bodies, and supervises the activity of the Central Laboratory of Metrology.