The Standardisation Department formulates National Standards for the various sectors of the economy.
Objective
To promote standardisation in the production of goods and services for the advancement of local and foreign trade.
How National Standards Are Developed
A request for the development of a standard is made to the Guyana National Bureau of Standards (GNBS) by filling out and submitting a proposal form. This proposal form is submitted to the National Standards Council for approval. Upon approval, it is assigned to one of the Technical Committees so that work can be started. If there is no Technical Committee established to deal with this new standard proposal, one is established.
The Technical Secretary assigned to the Committee will prepare draft for committee members to review and deliberate on. When this draft has been approved by the committee, it is issued for Public Comments for a period of three months. The public is informed by notices published in the media, and copies of the standard are circulated to stakeholders.
Standards are developed via established Technical committees
If comments are received, the committee meets again to review and incorporate these comments, resulting in the preparation of a Final Draft Standard.
The Final Draft Standard is submitted to the National Standards Council for approval. Once approved, the standard is edited, assigned a GYS number, published and made available for sale.
If compliance with the standard is deemed necessary for the health and safety of consumers, the National Standards Council may recommend to the Minister of Business that the standard be made mandatory/compulsory. Once approved by Cabinet, it is sent to the Attorney General’s office for vetting and is published in the Official Gazette.
A National standard is reviewed and updated every five years in an effort to reflect the latest developments in safety and technology, as well as current realities in the marketplace and consumer demands. Amendments to, and revisions of standards require the same procedure as is applied to the preparation of the original standard.
Guidelines For Completing A Proposal Form
Title of proposed standard should indicate clearly but concisely the subject matter of the proposed new standard. The scope should indicate clearly the coverage of the proposed standard and, if necessary, exclusions. Purpose and justification should give specific aims of the standardisation activity with emphasis on the aspects of standardisation to be covered (terminology, characteristics, sampling, testing, packaging and labelling, etc.) and problems the standard is expected to solve. It should indicate main interests to benefit from the standard (industry, consumers, trade or Government). Under this item the feasibility, timeliness and or urgency of the project should be mentioned and specific benefits to be attained (based on data on product volume or value of trade) clearly; indicated. If the standardisation activity is likely to be the subject of regulations this should be mentioned. Under relevant documents, existing standards and regulations should be listed. If the proposer has already prepared a draft or considers that an existing, well-established document can serve as a basis for the standardisation project, he/she should indicate this under preparatory work. Under liaison organisations a list should be given of organisations, and external and internal bodies, with which cooperation and liaison should be established.
Application Form: Proposal Form For New Work Item Completed form shall be sent to:
GUYANA NATIONAL BUREAU OF STANDARDS Flat 15 Sophia Exhibition Complex, Sophia Georgetown, Guyana
Telephone Nos. : (592) – 219-0065, 219-0066 Fax No. : (592) – 219-0070 E-mail : standards@gnbsgy.org
Technical Committees of the Guyana National Bureau of Standards
Technical Committee 1 (TC 1) – Agriculture Sub-Committees – SC 1 – Livestock
SC 2 – Rice SC 3 – Crops SC 4 – Fertiliser SC 5 – Organic
Technical Committee 2 (TC 2) – Foods Technical Committee 3 (TC 3) – Chemical Technical Committee 4 (TC 4) – Electro technical Engineering Technical Committee 5 (TC 5) – Legal Metrology Technical Committee 6 (TC 6) – Mechanical Engineering Technical Committee 7 (TC 7) – Consumer Products Technical Committee 8 (TC 8) – Cosmetics and Medical Devices Technical Committee 9 (TC 9) – Laboratory Management Technical Committee 10 (TC 10) – Civil Engineering Technical Committee 11 (TC 11) – Safety Technical Committee 12 (TC 12) – Tourism Technical Committee 13 (TC 13) – Wood Products Sub-Committee – SC 1 – Furniture Technical Committee 14 (TC 14) – Environment Technical Committee 15 (TC 15) – Management Systems
see also GNBS- Background
