Part 2 (The first part appeared on page 28 of the Business Observer of January 8)
Standards formulation:
Despite the fact that the formulation of standards is one of the core functions of SLSI, the impact of this operation hardly contributes to industrial progress with no private sector organization developing its standards using national standards
SLSI has issued 12,000 national standards which includes product standards, test methods, codes of practices, nomenclatures (vocabularies) and also adoption of ASTM IEC, ISO and EN standards.
Of these, only a limited number of product standards are in use under all schemes and has become a wasteful operation. Many of these standards need immediate revision as the standards are sometimes more than 20 years old.
Product Certification - SLS mark
It is surprising that the product certification scheme (SLS mark) which is another core function and was in operation from the inception, now covers only about 1,500 products. This may be less than 100 standards and a number of marks are given under one standard. Some which are made mandatory.
The enthusiasm generated in 1994 went on till about 2013, and during this period the scheme was used as one of the key instruments to support import inspection where many imports were granted the SLS mark.
There should be a target of granting of overall 3,000 marks in the next three years, and the resources set aside for this should bring major items in the construction, pollution and environment (codes of practices), processed products (fermented), salted, marinated and many canned products under the scheme.
Standards for fresh fruits and vegetables (limits for pesticide residue, other additives for preservation) are becoming a national issue but there are no standards issued up to now, specially to control imports.
This scheme is yet to receive accreditation despite the fact the Sri Lanka Accreditation Board (SLAB) was established over 10 years ago and as such the credibility of the scheme is in doubt.
Training: SLSI took the lead in training related quality management, but looking at the general quality practice in the country, this has left an enormous void and training infrastructure needs a long-term plan to support national quality management plans and training should be accredited to ensure efficiency.
Other activities: There are many other activities which are important for the progress of SLSI such as research in standardization and quality assurance to encourage the private sector to use standards, are still to be attended to.
National Quality infrastructure: The broad outline document for developing the national quality program identified three key areas for consideration. These include building institutional infrastructure, involving the private sector and education and training.
There should be many more product marks offered in the country such as the safety mark, CE Mark.
Infrastructure: Development of infrastructure was initiated with the setting up of the SLAB. This board initiated accrediting testing laboratories focusing on medical laboratories.
The Sri Lanka Accreditation Board (SLAB): Accreditation beyond this was not proceeded, basically as the infrastructure is still not ready for accreditation. The only product certification body in operation, is the Sri Lanka Standards Institution (SLSI), where operations of the SLS mark needs to be accredited to provide any recognition of the mark. Despite all arrangements being made as far back as 2012, it had not proceeded beyond this point.
Accreditation of personnel and training programs are areas which need accreditation.
System Certifications (ISO management Systems) needs serious analysis as the confidence of using these systems for business improvement is at a very low level due to many weak practices in operation. There must be a policy-decision regarding certification bodies without any monitoring by SLAB.
Certification of personnel has been delayed as certification bodies are yet to be established. The same situation is seen in inspection agencies and accreditation of training programs and the standards of training are questionable.
Metrology: Calibration and metrology is in great demand to improve process control and measurements. But the calibration and metrology functions as a division of SLSI, and it is time to make this an independent operation to avoid any bias in product certification (SLS Mark) and also testing facilities carried under SLSI.
Inspection agencies: Immediate action is needed to establish Regulatory Authorities for exercising regulations and standards related to health, safety and environment.
Education and training: Organizations should be set up to provide education, training and improve productivity. Recognition should be given to private sector training, education and productivity. Without that infrastructure, the country will stagnate and the quality movement will be seriously affected.
SLSI should be responsible for standardization and the operation of the product mark. More product marks should be encouraged to improve the standards of these services.
National Food Safety Authority (NFSA): Food safety in the country is becoming an essential aspect to counter increasing incidences of food-borne sicknesses.
A central body coordinating all food safety activities such as regulations, training, research, agreements with foreign food safety Authorities, will be some of the responsibilities expected of this authority.
Inspection bodies handling food safety should be brought under the NFSA for effective implementation of regulations regarding food items, for local consumption, exports and also imports.
Private sector: The involvement of the Chambers, Associations of industries, commerce and trade need to be encouraged in policy making, advisory and consultative bodies.
More testing, calibration laboratories and training institutes should be developed in association with the private sector and suitable incentives to be provided.
The Sri Lanka Federation of Quality will bring in Chambers, professional bodies, trade and professional associations, and offer membership and State organizations, such as the SLSI, SLAB, Sri Lanka Tea Board (SLTB) and other similar bodies and the Federation will play the role of the apex body for quality.
The quality net (QN) proposed by the Federation such as provincial and district level quality associations and promotion of quality, productivity and technology will be taken to the provinces and districts which are linked to the Federation in Colombo.. With the enactment of the Federation in the parliament, all provincial associations will receive State recognition.
The provincial associations will organize a development plan in the provinces and also organize provincial quality awards.
These regional associations will liaise with universities and other technical bodies and provide technology inputs in addition to quality and productivity.
Education and training: Restructure the education and training activities to meet the challenges in the ever changing demands in the future. The proposed activities are:
Principles and techniques of quality and productivity to be introduced in schools at the primary and secondary levels;
Standardization and quality management to be introduced to the entirety of tertiary education system comprising universities, technical colleges and Vocational Training Institutions;
All State electronic media to be utilized to disseminate the message of quality to develop the culture of quality; and
Employees at all levels in industry, business and commerce should be continuously educated and trained in quality control to improve national productivity.
SMEs
This is an important sector of the national economy but so far none of the schemes address the needs of the SMEs.
The Federation’s provincial and district level Associations will work closely with the SMEs in the provinces as well as districts to bring in a major change in quality, productivity and technology and make a significant contribution to the national economy.
It is expected that the effective implementation of the National Quality Policy will create a widening awareness of quality and productivity and consequently continuous improvement of quality and productivity to take Sri Lanka to new heights in facing the challenges posed by the global economy, and make the country, a just, prosperous and a dignified nation.
The author, a former Deputy Director General of the Sri Lanka Standards Institution (SLSI) now functions as the Chairman of the Asian Institute for Quality Management Holdings (AIQM).