Jerome Lopez is the director at a French metrology organization called the College Francais de Metrologie. Cosimi Corleto is the managing director of STIL Marposs. 

Michelle: Could you tell our listeners a little bit about how you both got into quality and metrology?

Cosimi: So, in my whole career, I used to work for several organizations in sensor technology, starting with a pressure sensor for zero space inside Schlumberger organizations and in a group called AMETEK for various kinds of sensors for quality control. And then I acquired the STL company 10 years ago. So, I spent all my life in sensors and one of my convictions is if we can measure something, we can improve it. So, basically in terms of processes, the measurement appears to be a key parameter to improve quality of product, also energy efficiency. So, that's the motivation to work in this field and since [for] many years. So, that was very interesting because together with the measurement came the quality. If we can do the measurement and make sure we have the production right. So, of course, we produce parts with good quality. We get satisfied customers. So, there is a direct link between measurement and quality. For sure.

Michelle: Jerome, do you want to tell us your story?

Jerome: On my side, before being the director of CFM, I had a career in the industry and I worked for defense, in particular, but also I worked eight years in the medical device sector.

Imaging devices, as you know, the quality of products is of utmost importance in this field because it can have an impact on the patient and you can harm the patient if you are not mastering all the aspects of your product. So, quality is very important first, and then, of course, metrology, is at the service of quality. And this is the vision that I had at that time.

It's still the same vision that I have today at CFM. We consider that metrology is a tool. And quality has to rely on good metrology, on good measurement processes, so that you are sure that your products complied with their specifications.

Michelle: My next question was about that--what's the role of quality in metrology, but you kind of touched on that. So that makes sense. Do you think people today kind of understand the importance of metrology and measurement, or does it seem like it's still misunderstood or underappreciated?

Cosimi: I think for the people in B2B business, let's say it's clear. So, they use a lot of equipment to check the integrity, the quality of their production. So, this is almost clear. B2C, business to customer. So, for most people, understanding metrology is a nightmare [due to] the confusion between meteorology and metrology. So, for most people, metrology is not very well known.

And there is confusion behind this word. So, there are two different worlds. The world of professional, where they are aware of the benefit of using metrology in their organization and conventional people. So, one of our targets is to make this metrology a bit more readable, a bit more easy to understand what is behind this concept.

Jerome: I have a slightly different view than Cosimi, but maybe it's due to the fact that at CFM, as we are a network, we have a wide range of various companies and different types. And Cosimi is right on the B2B business on some particular markets, I think, but sometimes I have to say that even in industry, and, I think, it's a cultural problem, at the management level. Sometimes people are not so aware of what metrology is and there is also a [problem] of language, of vocabulary.