Three metrology labs in the region are about ready to begin receiving equipment that will provide their local industry players with measurement-support services.
The labs, in Barbados, Dominica and St Kitts and Nevis, have been upgrading their physical plants to be able to adequately house and use the equipment that is expected to be delivered in the first months of the new year.
The equipment is being supplied through Phase Two of the “Strengthening of the Regional Quality Infrastructure” Project, managed by the Caribbean Development Bank, under the 11th European Development Fund’s Economic Partnership Agreement and CARICOM Single Market and Economy Standby Facility. The project is being facilitated by CROSQ, of which the bureau of standards in each country is a member.
Barbados, which is at an advanced stage of readiness, gutted its laboratory located just outside the capital of Bridgetown some months ago in preparation for national upgrades to the physical plant. Those upgrades included new countertops, cupboards, lighting, roofing, as well as a facelift to the structure itself.
The Barbados National Standards Institution (BNSI) boasted of the work done when the Acting Director and staff held an online visibility and awareness session with the public in November, showing off the before and after images, and showcasing the services that will be coming on stream with the revamped laboratories.
The Dominica Bureau of Standards (DBOS), likewise, also began work outfitting its laboratories, with upgrades and additions such as shelving and space for the technicians to operate. In order to adequately accommodate the new measurement services, the DBOS is also repurposing a container to retrofit and refurbish as laboratory space. It is this space that will also house the new equipment being supplied by the project.
Director of the St Kitt and Nevis Bureau of Standards (SKNBS), Mr. Stuart LaPlace reported that his bureau was “moving full steam ahead”, in preparation for the new equipment. The bureau has likewise undergone a transformation, to both the physical building and the laboratories.
Additional construction on the metrology (measurement) laboratories will begin in another three weeks, with a view to being able to receive the new equipment in late January or February of next year. The director indicated he was very pleased with the progress to date and they were looking to take full advantage of the opportunity the project has afforded.
Each county is aiming to assist a vital national sector/industry through the provision of increased and/or improved services with the equipment, as well as the training being delivered to the technical metrology experts in each of the bureaux. Training began earlier this year for the staff in each of the labs and will continue once the equipment is delivered to ensure all metrologists are up to mark on all aspects of quality service delivery and equipment operations.
In addition to the metrology upgrades, St Kitts and Nevis was also able to develop its National Quality Policy under the project. The draft NQP, Implementation Plan, Communications Plan and Budget have to date been completed.
CROSQ Project Coordinator, Mrs. Sadie-Ann Sisnett said she was pleased with the progress of the project thus far and was eager to see the official handing over of St. Kitts and Nevis’ NQP early next year, as well as bureaux receiving their equipment and beginning to put them to use with the new skills learnt by their officers.
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