On Saturday June 09, 2018 Standards and Conformity Assessment Institutions like the Guyana National Bureau of Standards (GNBS) joined in commemorating World Accreditation Day (WAD) under the theme “Delivering a Safer World”. The relevance of this theme to Guyana must be emphasized as during this year some of our human resources; our most valuable assets would have been lost due to unsafe work environment. The question is, were safer working systems implemented as a result?
Worldwide, there are more than 2.78 million deaths per year as a result of occupational accidents or work-related diseases. Approximately 125 million people in the world are exposed to asbestos – in the workplace, resulting in an estimate of several thousand deaths from asbestos-related lung cancer each year.
Globally, WAD is an initiative established by the International Accreditation Forum (IAF) and the International Laboratory Accreditation Cooperation (ILAC), to raise awareness of the importance of accreditation. The GNBS will commemorate WAD 2018 with an Accreditation Forum on Tuesday, June 12, 2018 at the National Library, Georgetown. This forum will address the benefits of having a safe working environment and how conformity assessment practices enhance and promote the implementation of standards to ensure safety in organizations.
The expectation of safe workplaces, safe products, safe transport, safe food, in fact all aspects of our lives is universally shared. Safety is a critical issue which affects workers, in all occupations and the aim is to ensure that a safe environment exists which promotes the mental, physical and psychosocial well-being of the worker. Businesses have a responsibility to ensure that their employees, visitors, and customers are able to enjoy freedom from injury or disease.
How can we ensure that we deliver a safer world? The effective implementation of standards demonstrates that processes and systems are in place to assure safety of employers, workers and consumers. Some of the standards developed by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) are part of a coherent system of ISO management standards, which addresses sectors, ranging from Information Security (ISO/IEC 27001) and Food Safety (ISO 22000), to the recently-published ISO 45001 — Occupational Safety and Health Standard.
For many, certification or accreditation is the means of demonstrating to interested parties that their services and products are backed by standards. While certification is not compulsory, many choose to engage an independent expert to verify the procedures and processes that they have in place.
Another key question is, what processes exist for making sure that independent experts really are just that? The answer lies in accreditation, where certifying bodies are themselves assessed and approved to provide certification services. The organizations responsible for coordinating accreditation activities on a global scale are the International Laboratory Accreditation Cooperation (ILAC) and the International Accreditation Forum (IAF).
Closer to home the Ministry of Social Protection has finalized the National Policy on Occupational Safety and Health (OSH). This the policy will set in motion a five-year action plan for OSH development in Guyana, training and public education activities. It is expected that this OSH policy will improve the quality of life of workers by preventing social and economic losses, work-related accidents and injuries. Furthermore, the policy will create safer and healthier work environments through the development of a positive national culture of prevention of occupational accidents, diseases and dangerous occurrences.
The GNBS encourages every citizen to let Standards be the means of consistently ensuring safety in our society. For further information on how standards and accreditation can help improve your business operations, contact the Conformity Assessment Department, Guyana National Bureau of Standards on telephone 592-219-0064-0066 or email info@gnbsgy.org .
