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14th
October 2010
Standards make the world accessible
for all
OCTOBER 14
every year is World Standards Day. The day honours
the efforts of the thousands of experts who
develop voluntary standards within standards
development organizations such as the
International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC),
the International Organization for Standardization
(ISO), and the International Telecommunication
Union (ITU). The aim of the World Standards Day is
to raise awareness among regulators, industry and
consumers as to the importance of standardization
to the global
economy.
October 14
was specifically chosen to mark the date, in 1946,
when delegates from 25 countries first gathered in
London and decided to create an international
organization focused on facilitating
standardization. Even though ISO was formed one
year later, it wasn't until 1970 that the first
World Standards Day was celebrated.
Each
year, ISO - a network of the national standards
institutes of 163 countries, Tanzania included -
determines a theme based on a current aspect of
standardization. This year’s theme is ''Standards
make the world accessible for all''.
At
least 650 million people globally are affected by
some kind of disability. In Tanzania, according to
World Health Organization’s formula of 1 in 10
being persons with disabilities, Tanzania with a
population of around 40 million is estimated to
have around four million people with disabilities,
including the physically impaired, visually
impaired, hearing impaired, intellectually
impaired, multiply impaired and others.
As
the world population ages and people with
disabilities demand equal access to social,
political and economic life, accessibility
increasingly becomes an issue. For people with
disabilities, as well as for the able-bodied,
access to information and communication is as
important as is the ability to use an elevator,
enter a building, travel, or safely turn on and
use a device.
But accessibility is not only
an issue for the elderly or disabled. Anybody at
any stage in life can experience temporarily
reduced accessibility. When that happens, simple,
everyday activities can become very complicated.
Standards give manufacturers and service providers
the guidelines on how to design products
accessible for
all.
- A well
designed wheelchair ramp conforming to a standard
may turn out to be really useful for a new mother
with a baby carriage
- A
device with a large switch may make things easier
for someone with an injured
hand
- A sensor stopping
doors from closing can prevent accidents when a
back injury impairs
movement
- The little
dot on the number 5 on a phone keypad makes it
easier to find numbers -
a boon in the first
days after an eye operation.
Standards
facilitate everybody’s access to products,
structures and services. They include safety
considerations, ergonomics and harmonized test
methods all geared towards increasing
accessibility. Standards also provide a platform
for the dissemination of technological innovations
both in developed and developing countries. They
help markets to grow faster and increase global
trade.
Tanzania Bureau of Standards - the
statutory National Standards Body for Tanzania
coordinates stakeholders work in formulating
national standards in all sectors. It offers a
system of standardization that helps designers,
manufacturers and policy makers to make the world
safer and more accessible for all, today and
tomorrow.
Currently, a number of standards
related to facilitating accessibility of services
and daily activities have already been formulated
worldwide and a lot more are at various stages of
finalization. They include standards for buildings
and domestic appliances.
People with
disabilities have the right and equal opportunity
to enjoy the same services from the society as the
able-bodied. Their participation in the life of
the community must target on reduction or
elimination of dependency. And one aspect of
dependency is on accessibility. For this,
standards have a contribution to give.
As we commemorate standards,
we call upon designers, manufacturers, policy
makers and the general public to comply with
standards to ensure accessibility for
all.
14th October 2009
TANZANIA BUREAU OF STANDARDS
(TBS) DIRECTOR’S MESSAGE TO MARK THE WORLD
STANDARDS DAY OCTOBER 14, 2009
Tackling climate
change through Standards
OCTOBER 14 each year,
members of the International Organization for
Standardization (ISO), the International
Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) and the
International Telecommunication Union (ITU)
celebrate World Standards Day which is a means of
paying tribute to the collaborative efforts of the
thousands of experts worldwide who develop the
voluntary technical agreements that are published
as international standards.
The date,
October 14 was chosen because it was on that day
in 1946 that delegates from 25 countries first
gathered in London and consequently decided to
create a new international organization dedicated
to the coordination and unification of standards
work. ISO was officially formed one year later and
it was at the prompting of an ISO President that
the first World Standards Day was celebrated on
October 14, 1970.
The goal of World
Standards Day is to raise awareness on the
importance of international standardization to the
world economy and to promote its role in helping
meet the needs of all business sectors.
A
specific theme for World Standard Day this year is
“Tackling climate change through standards”.
Currently the world is facing a critical
challenge. Increasing greenhouse gas emissions are
raising the earth’s average temperature. As a
result, dramatic climate change is forecast and
global scientific opinion predicts enormous
developmental, economic and social and
environmental stresses on our
planet.
However, leading climate change
experts have put forward a series of practical
solutions to tackle climate change. These
solutions include the technical standards
published by the world’s three leading
international standardization organizations: ISO,
IEC and ITU.
These technical standards are
used as a means of mitigating climate change,
while offering the potential to reduce its effects
in the future as new technologies are developed
and mature.
Tanzania Bureau of Standards
(TBS) as a member of ISO is involved in the
formulation of international standards. Locally,
the Bureau participates in efforts of tackling
climate change through standards, as various
environment standards have been formulated to help
curb the situation.
A good number of
experts participate in the process of developing
environment standards. TBS wishes to recognize the
contribution of experts and all other stakeholders
in the standardization process.
So far 32
environment standards have been formulated and
other 22 are still under process. Moreover, TBS
works closely with the National Environment
Management Council (NEMC) in ensuring that all
environmental issues are addressed effectively and
efficiently, bearing in mind that standards are an
important tool in reducing the pace of climatic
change.
TBS further solicits for continued
effective cooperation on the task of preparing
Tanzania Standards that certainly makes a positive
difference to our country and the well being of
all the people of the United Republic of
Tanzania
Intelligent and sustainable
buildings
Each year on 14 October,
members of the International Organization for
Standardization (ISO), the International
Electro-technical Commission (IEC) and the
International Telecommunication Union (ITU)
celebrate World Standards Day, which is a means of
paying tribute to the collaborative efforts of the
thousands of experts worldwide who develop the
voluntary technical agreements that are published
as International Standards.
The date,
October 14th was chosen because it was on that day
in 1946 that delegates from 25 countries first
gathered in London and consequently decided to
create a new international organization dedicated
to the coordination and unification of standards
work. The International Organization for
Standardization (ISO) was officially formed one
year later and it was at the prompting of an ISO
President that the first World Standards Day was
celebrated on October 14th,
1970.
Ultimately, the goal of World
Standards Day is to raise awareness of the
importance of international standardization to the
world economy and to promote its role in helping
meet the needs of all business sectors.
A
specific theme for World Standards Day is selected
annually by ISO, IEC and ITU. In 2008, the theme
is “Intelligent and sustainable
buildings”.
This year’s theme goes hand in
hand with the current situation worldwide, as
there has been a rapid increase of new
construction in developed and developing countries
around the world. Intelligent and sustainable
buildings are essential to meet the needs of a
world population that has more than doubled since
1950.
The building and construction sector
has grown into one of the largest global
industries with immense consequences for all three
dimensions of sustainable development – economic,
social and environmental. However principles for
sustainability need to be combined with a growing
need for Information and Communication Technology
(ICT) connectivity for intelligent buildings that
optimize energy efficiency, safety, security,
communication and sheer
convenience.
Currently, commercial,
governmental and residential buildings need to
meet various demands like resistance to fire and
flood, natural disasters and terrorist attack,
through energy efficiency and a reduced
environmental footprint, to ease of integration
with ICT networks as well as accessibility for
disabled or elderly persons.
Various
incidences associated with the collapse of
buildings have been occurring in Tanzania and
sometimes costing lives of people. Due to such
incidences it is important for all stakeholders to
adhere to the principles of building intelligent
and sustainable buildings.
Moreover most of
the buildings in cities are not friendly to
disabled and old people as the constructions do
not allow passage of people with disabilities. In
recognition of that, the Tanzania Bureau of
Standards (TBS) has the role, among others, of
formulating and promulgating Tanzania Standards in
the area of building and construction as in other
areas.
Thousands of experts participate in
the process of developing Tanzania Standards
including those of building and construction. TBS
wishes to recognize the contribution of experts
and all other stakeholders in the standardization
process. TBS further solicits for continued
effective cooperation on the task of preparing
Tanzania Standards that certainly make a positive
difference to our country and the well being of
all the people of the United Republic of
Tanzania.
New equipment to enhance TBS
quality infrastructure
The Tanzania Bureau of
Standards (TBS) has acquired new state-of-the-art
testing and calibration
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equipment under the Project
on Trade Capacity Building: Enhancing the
Capacities of the Tanzanian Quality Infrastructure
and TBT/SPS Compliance Systems for
Trade.
The objective of the project which
is funded by the Swiss State Secretariat for
Economic Affairs (SECO) and implemented by the
United Nations Industrial Development Organization
(UNIDO), is to improve the capacities of the
Tanzanian quality infrastructure to meet the
domestic and export market demands on product
quality and safety.
The equipment are meant
for the Metrology Laboratory, the Food Laboratory
and the Packaging Technology Centre (PTC) and are
worth € 578,921. They include the metrology
equipment for pressure, dimensions and electrical
measurements and the mobile calibration
unit.
Others are climate chamber, migration
testing facility, head-space measurement facility,
oxygen analyzer, portable spectroradiometer and
pin-hole tester, for the consumer packaging
section of the PTC; and the High Performance
Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) which will be used
for analysis of the quality of food product
samples at the Food Laboratory.
The new
equipment will enhance TBS capability in providing
testing and certification of packages, analyzing
the quality of food stuffs and calibration of
measurement standards and precision instruments in
various fields of measurements.
The mobile
calibration unit will soon be providing on-site
fast and convenient services at the customer’s
location, thus ensuring promptness, saving time
and averting transport costs on the part of the
customer.
Industrialists all over the world
are realizing the importance of calibration in
maintaining traceability and quality of
operations. Tanzania is no exception in this trend
and the TBS Metrology Laboratory - the Custodian
of National Measurement Standards - has realized
the importance of equipping itself with prompt
calibration facility.
The laboratory is
already accredited to ISO 17025, General
requirements for the competence of testing and
calibration laboratories, since December 15, 2006,
being the first laboratory in Tanzania to reach
such a step and subsequently becoming capable of
releasing authentic test reports which are
recognized throughout the world. The mobile
calibration unit and the pressure, dimensions and
electrical measurements devices add to the already
excelling capability of the laboratory.
On
the part of the PTC, the equipment will be a
catalyst towards the implementation of the main
objectives for establishing the centre, one of
which is to support a coordinated development of
the packaging industry by strengthening the
existing standardization and testing capability in
the area of packaging. Other main objectives which
will now be realized include the offering of
training on structural and graphic design of
packages, provision of third party certification
for packaging materials and packages produced
according to acceptable standards; and provision
of testing services for packages and packaging
materials.
TBS Corporate Plan for the
period 2007/08-2009/10 stipulates that TBS will
ensure that the PTC is equipped and becomes
operational by the end of 2007/08. The arrival of
the equipment for the consumer packaging section
of the centre is part of the realization of the
plan. More equipment for the PTC, worth USD
365,000, will also be delivered to TBS in
September 2007 as part of the implementation of
the Danida funded project - Business Sector
Programme Support (Phase II).
TBS would
like to extend its gratitude to SECO, UNIDO and
Danida together with the Government of Tanzania
for their hand in improving its capacity to
undertake standardization, metrology, quality
assurance and conformity assessment
activities
World Metrology
Day
May 20th each
year is World Metrology Day. It is a special day
to commemorate the signing of the Metre
Convention, which took place in Paris, France, May
20th 1875. The Metre
Convention advocates for adherence to the
International System of Units (SI units). Tanzania is already determined
to use SI units and the Tanzania Bureau of
Standards’ Metrology Laboratory is the Custodian
of National Measurement Standards. The establishment of the
Custodian of National Measurement Standards aims
at ensuring accuracy and traceability of all
measurements in the country.
That is to say, when one measures the
length of a piece of cloth in Tanzania and finds
it to be one metre, the cloth should also measure
one metre when measured in another laboratory in
the UK or France. In this
sense, a 20oC temperature measured in
Tanzania should be the same when measured in UK or
any other country; and one kilogram should be the
same throughout the world.
We can only ensure that our measurements
are compatible with measurements in other
countries, if we calibrate our measuring
implements at TBS Metrology Laboratory.
Suppose you go to a
hospital to check your body temperature and you
are wrongly told that it is at 42oC.
This means the doctor will give you wrong
prescriptions. You check
the pressure and you are given wrong
readings. You measure your
weight and you get wrong readings. You measure carbon monoxide
emission from a car and you get wrong
readings. In totality,
wrong measurements have very negative effects.
That is why we are compelled to sensitize the
public in general and the industrialists in
particular, on the importance of ensuring use of
right measurements. The
government’s decision to establish the TBS
Metrology Laboratory as the Custodian of National
Measurement Standards is part of its efforts to
ensure that Tanzanians use appropriate
measurements. The
Metrology Laboratory is already accredited to ISO
17025, General requirements for the competence
of testing and calibration laboratories, since
December 15, 2006. This is the first laboratory in
Tanzania to reach such a step. This means the
laboratory is capable to issue test reports which
are recognized throughout the world. I call upon the general public
to utilize the services of this laboratory. Even
when you go to hospital you can ask, "Is this thermometer/pressure
gauge calibrated by TBS?"
Ekelege Acting TBS
Director
Tanzania Bureau of Standards
(TBS) Management team has appointed Mr. Charles
Ekelege to be the Acting Director of the
Bureau. The appointment
follows the retirement of Mr. Daimon Mwakyembe on
2007-01-19 after serving the organization for more
than 25 years. Introducing
Mr. Ekelege to the workers on 2007-01-22, the
retired Director Mr. Mwakyembe urged workers to
cooperate with him for the development of TBS and
the country as a whole in ensuring safety and
quality of products.
Before the appointment Mr. Ekelege was
heading the Engineering Standards Department and
he will hold the post until the new Director is
appointed.
Food
safety standard coming
A new standard on food safety
management will be
introduced soon, it has been learnt. The standard titled Food Safety
Management 22000 to be
introduced in the course of the next
financial year, will help
hotel owners and Tanzania food
growers to place into the market products
that are acceptable by
international standards.
This was revealed by the TBS Director, Mr.
Daimon Mwakyembe during a
press conference held in
Arusha, recently.
"We are in a globalized world and when
tourists come here they
never carry food from their
homelands. That means people need to offer
services that are
acceptable internationally," he said.
New
packaging technology centre
coming
The Tanzania Bureau of
Standards (TBS) Packaging
Technology Centre will soon be opened to
improve packaging of local
products. TBS Director Mr.
Daimon Mwakyembe told the
Parliamentary Standing Committee on
Investment and Trade
recently that initial assessment has shown that Tanzanian products fail to
break through the
international market due to, among other
things, poor
packaging. He told
the committee which made a tour of the Bureau that the centre will be
testing the quality of all
packages for different local products to
ensure that they meet
international standards.
The centre which will also offer training
to individuals and
companies in the packaging industry so that they can offer services
that meet international
standards, has been jointly funded by
the Government and the
Danish International
Development Agency (DANIDA) with the
former providing TZS 150
million and the latter TZS 300
million
TBS
counsels manufacturers
Tanzania Bureau of Standards
(TBS) has asked local
manufacturers to comply with environmental
and international
standards to guarantee their survival in the highly competitive global
commercial scenario. TBS
Director Mr. Daimon Mwakyembe told attendants of a seminar for
human resources managers
recently that failure to comply with the environmental management system
stipulated in the
International Organization for
Standardization’s ISO
14001 standards would render them
uncompetitive. He also
said that tourists and immigrants might also reject locally manufactured
products unless the
manufacturers and developers complied
with standards that were
globally recognized. Mr.
Mwakyembe was officiating the fifth training session on implementation of
the Environmental
Management System, which was held in
Arusha recently.
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