–to bring it in line with int’l standards

THE Guyana Bureau of Standards (GNBS) in collaboration with the American Society for Testing and Materials International (ASTM), the CARICOM Regional Organisation for Standards and Quality (CROSQ), as well as the International Code Council (ICC) gathered together on Friday at the Herdmanston Lodge to have a full morning of discourse on how building standards in Guyana can be improved while enhancing competitiveness.

The team met with representatives from many of the major building and construction industries in Guyana, among them people from government, industry and academia such as the Ministry of Public Infrastructure, Civil Defence Commission (CDC), Central Housing and Planning, Ministry of Communities Engineering Services, National Drainage and Irrigation Authorities (NDIA), Guyana Power and Light (GPL), Inland Revenue Authority (IRA), Ministry of Social Protection – Occupational safety and Health, Guyana Forestry, Guyana Energy Agency (GEA).

One of the main speakers at the forum, GNBS Executive Director Ms. Candelle Walcott-Bostwick in setting the stage for the road show, remarked that Guyana was very pleased to welcome the team from ASTM, which, for the very first time, is holding a Road Show here in the Caribbean.

Guyana, she said, is very fortunate to have been selected as one of the countries in which the road show is being held, along with what she described as two of the most advanced standard bureaux of this hemisphere, these being Jamaica and Trinidad.

“The GNBS sees itself as one of the leading agencies in terms of standardisation, and our aim is to ensure that there is improvement in the products and services available in Guyana,” Bostwick said, adding:
“And we cannot do it by ourselves; we need the support of other government departments.”

Standards, she explained, are basically used to provide confidence; to ensure that there is reliability; that there is consistency; and to ensure that there are reduced technical barriers to trade.

She further pointed out that standards are basically tools that are used for a common understanding, and therefore when there are international standards, it shows that there is global acceptance of agreements for minimal requirements.

SEEK ANSWERS
Ms. Bostwick invited participants to seek answers to questions she put forward as they listen to the presentations from the experts; questions such as whether there was enough being done to protect the people of Guyana in terms of enforcement, and if as government agencies they were ensuring that there is adequate implementation of standards.

“Standards,” she said, “are voluntary, and sometimes we may hear questions about why certain standards are not enforced. And this in itself means that a standard must be made mandatory, or it must be a technical regulation, or it must be an Act before it is utilised.

“We want to see Guyana transformed into a standards-driven society, where practitioners; where government agencies or regulators use standards as the basis for decision-making,” Bostwick affirmed, while encouraging agencies to always consult with the GNBS, where there are doubts in any aspect of standardisation.

CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY
Zeroing in on the matter that was the main focus of attention at this forum, Ms. Bostwick said that it is good that Guyana was one of the countries chosen by the ASTM with the aim of helping to bring about improvement in the quality of services being offered in the construction industry.

ASTM, she explained, has a wide range of standards in construction and construction materials, and these standards are widely used in Guyana. Their intention, therefore, is to basically share presentations and interact with major players in the construction industry to help in whatever way possible.

“The session today was to basically meet with our regulators to encourage them to implement standards.

“One of the things we want to see is standards implemented in the procurement system; for example where there is procurement of structural steel there are certain specifications that have to be met. You must be able to verify that it is meeting those specifications before you accept it, so that the supplier of that steel has to provide a test certificate to show that it is from an accredited lab,” Ms. Bostwick informed.

GUARANTEED PERFORMANCE
She posited that there are many examples within the country that show that because of not implementing standards there are many “tragedies” in buildings; poor construction; shoddy work and so on.

“So, for us to protect our pocket and economic base of the country we have to focus on building right – first time, every time, and this can only be done with standards and confirm assessments – testing to verify the quality of materials that are being used,” she said.

It was therefore emphasised that the practitioners must be certified: certified inspectors, certified contractors. There was also general agreement there must be ‘quality assurance’ in the system.

According to Ms. Bostwick, as a result of all the sessions and interactions with the ASTM, CROSQ and ICC along with all the discussions with major players, there is billed to come on board a National Quality System project, out of which will be developed a National Quality Policy.

“Guyana will actually be going to have a policy for quality for all sectors and with that policy for quality it will bring out the standards required; the testing bodies required; the inspection bodies required; the certification bodies, which makes up the national quality system and we are looking forward for the cooperation and support of all key stakeholders,” Ms. Bostwick told the Guyana Chronicle.

(mercilinburke2017@gmail.com)