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Nwanze and Franklin - Tackling the Quality Infrastructure Challenge(AllAfrica Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) THE theme of this year's World Standards Day is "Standards level the playing field". In other words, each country that follows international standards has equal opportunity to trade internationally and prosper. For the Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON), this World Standards Day theme translates to Made in Nigeria for the World: A Transformational Imperative and this reflects the need for quality infrastructure with which economic objectives can be met. One major challenge to Nigeria's quest to fully participate in international trade is that the country has very few laboratories which have been accredited in line with the requirements of the International Laboratory Accreditation Cooperation (ILAC). Certification from internationally accredited laboratories build an indisputable level of integrity into any product. This ensures that such products are tested just once and accepted sequentially, anywhere in the world. Metrology, which is the science of measurement, also determines the right calibration which is accepted all around the world, once this has been issued by an internationally accredited metrology laboratory. Various studies undertaken by development experts have proven that countries with higher number of accredited laboratories have higher economic performance and productivity than those with lower accredited laboratories. The United States of America has almost 13,000 accredited laboratories, and also has the highest Gross Domestic Products (GDP) and Gross National Product (GNP) in the world. South Korea has over 7000 laboratories and one of the highest GDP and GNP figures in Asia. The Republic of South Africa has 340 accredited laboratories, and controls 75% of inter-Africa trade within the continent. Many more prosperous countries have flourishing laboratories that have been fully accredited and certified. The absence of accredited test laboratories and metrology laboratories in Nigeria has constituted a great technical barrier to international trade, due to the fact that goods produced or originating from Nigeria cannot gain acceptance in any country to which they are sent. The only condition for acceptance will be that goods emanating from Nigeria are subjected to further scrutiny, inspection and testing before being certified in the countries to which they are being exported to, strictly on the terms and conditions set by these countries. In addition, Nigeria depends on American standard bodies to get international referencing for its own products, while samples of products to be tested in Nigeria are flown to other foreign countries like Ghana and South Africa for testing to occur. This and many more unacceptable situations continued until the appointment of Dr. Joseph Odumodu as the new Director General/Chief Executive of Standards Organisation of Nigeria in 2011 by President Goodluck Jonathan. On assumption of office, Dr. Odumodu met nothing on ground to show Nigeria was ready for international accreditation due to the despondent state of both its test and metrology labs. It was therefore, impossible to approach international bodies for accreditation without a complete turn-around. The upgrading of the existing laboratories and building of new ones were what Dr. Odumodu identified as pivotal tracks to his six-point agenda, having realized that the first step was for our laboratories to attain international accreditation. Consequently, SON has begun taking decisive steps towards ensuring that accredited laboratories for both testing and metrology are established in the country by 2014. Through immeasurable support of President Jonathan, and the Ministry of Trade and Investment, Nigeria's body for standardization, the Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON), has taken commendable steps towards getting internationally accredited laboratories in Nigeria. In Lekki area of Lagos, SON has refurbished its building complex and equipped its laboratories with facilities that have upscaled the level of activity, as numerous testing services now occur in Lekki. In the Food and Chemistry field, the laboratory performs a variety of Physical, Chemical and Microbiological tests on foods and chemical products with the aid of modern and sophisticated Laboratory Equipment. Product samples tested include but not limited to Baby Food, Packaged Food, Bottled Water, Beverages, Beer, Tyres, Paint, Plastic products, among others. A four-storey, world-class laboratory facility, is presently under construction by SON, and is located in Ogba, Lagos State. The facility was commissioned on October 3, 2013 by Senator Anyim Pius Anyim, Secretary to the Government of the Federation. This landmark facility provides for 20 standard laboratories comprising testing rooms, training rooms with diverse administrative functions; a research faculty for the activity of research organizations; conference rooms and facilities for support staff. An additional 15 laboratories will be constructed. Ideally, within a single laboratory building complex, specific and distinctive laboratories are needed for each product category. 19 conventional testing fields are: Acoustical, Biological, Chemical, Construction Materials, Electrical, Electromagnetic Compatibility (EMC), Electromagnetic Interference (EMI), Energy Consumption, Environmental, Information Technology, Mechanical, Microbiology, Non-Destructive, Optical, Photometric, Radiometric, Thermal, Vibration and Shock. When viewed critically, the aforementioned testing fields cover the entire economy. In Enugu, SON's building complex has also been refurbished. Its laboratories have been equipped to carry out various testing services such as Engineering Tests in Mechanical Engineering, where comprehensive physical and chemical analysis of Steel reinforcement bars and other Metallic Products occur, as well as in Civil Engineering, where in-depth physical and chemical analysis of Cement and Cement Products occur. In Kaduna, the SON renders testing services in the Textile and Leather fields by carrying out analysis on wide range of Textile and Leather Products. Specifically in Textile, testing services are carried out in colour fastness, span length, fiber maturity, ash content, tensile strength of fiber, texture, crump, regularity density, elongation at break point, light fastness, tearing strength among others. In Leather, analysis is carried out on flex resistance, tensile strength, shrinkage, water absorbency, water permeability, and other physical and chemical tests associated with leather products. As the laboratories are being refurbished, the process of accreditation is ongoing. The essence is to complete the labs and get them accredited. In 2014, SON plans to have at least 10 laboratories to be accredited, though this doesn't in anyway fully resolve the country's enormous need for a much higher number of test and metrology laboratories, but it is no doubt, a giant stride in comparison to the current state of affairs where there is no accredited lab in the country. Accredited test laboratories and metrology labs are central to the work done by the Standards Organisation of Nigeria. This is because SON sets the standards for products in the market, and as such, provides the yardstick for determining real and substandard products. The numerous benefits of having internationally accredited laboratories have motivated many countries to successfully get their test laboratories and metrology centres to be accredited by the international body. The benefits are numerous. In Nigeria, such benefits will manifest through avenues such as promoting full private sector participation in the development drive of the nation's economy. Products will become easily standardized and certified, thereby drastically reducing the presence of substandard goods. This easy access to certification will also drive down the cost of the entire process based on the fact that Nigerian officials will no longer need to travel thousands of miles to other countries in order to have samples of products tested. The reduction in the cost and indeed, the time taken for certification will be reflected in the economy through a reduction in the prices of goods and services within the country, as the cost of output will drastically reduce for the producers through SON's intervention. Importantly, having our own accredited laboratory will save us from the situation whereby, multiple testing of our product samples are carried out in different countries where they are taken to for marketing and sales. With our own accredited laboratory, products from Nigeria will not be tested more than once, and this will be done right here in our country instead of at the convenience of other countries, when they choose to. Other benefits of having our own accredited laboratories will be felt in the country's export market. The rate of exports will receive a very large boost with local produce being tested locally and sent all over the world without any hindrance, having been internationally certified through an accredited lab in our country. The export boost will develop the nation's agricultural sector, as Nigeria has comparative advantage in agricultural products. Nigeria can determine the global standards for such agricultural produce. This means that based on full accreditation, Nigeria can become a giver of product standards to the rest of the world instead of remaining only a taker of different standards from other countries. Economic expansion goes at par with a larger volume of Foreign Direct Investment in-flow to the country. The cost of living will come down due to cheaper products in the market. The standard of living will go up as a result of easier access to basic necessities and luxury goods. The level of disposable income will increase, causing a good turn-around in the welfare of every citizen and resident in Nigeria. SON is aware of the interrelationship between accredited laboratories and the components that will make the nation self-sufficient in desirable quality infrastructure. Accordingly, it has ensured the inauguration of a committee to establish the National Accreditation Body. This was done in May 2013. The committee was set up to draw the roadmap for accreditation and certification schemes. Additionally, on September 26, 2013, The National Quality Policy Committee was inaugurated in Abuja. This is as an inter-ministerial committee with the aim of streamlining the regulatory frameworks, and to institute infrastructure development models and modalities for national total quality concept practices that will form the basis for standards in both the public and private sector. From the foregoing, having accredited laboratories will ensure Nigerian-made products become actively traded in local and international markets. It will give Nigerian scientists numerous opportunities to gain greater expertise. Laboratories will help to ensure that both imported and locally produced goods are safe for the environment and for human consumption. Indeed, having accredited laboratories is a key element of industrialization, a development that will in turn, save foreign exchange for the nation. In view of the enormous volume of national requirement for testing and metrology services, SON is encouraging private investors to set up laboratory facilities in the country. As we forge ahead in this crucial mission, manufacturers, research institutes, scholars, state agencies and other stakeholders should take advantage of the product testing and metrology laboratories which we are building towards national industrial development. Happy World Standards Day, Nigerians! - Nwanze and Franklin are Lagos-based historians. < Copyright The Guardian. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). |