Minister of Energy, Small Business and Entrepreneurship, Kerrie Symmonds said new standards for the manufacturing and sale of medical and health products and services are coming.
Symmonds made this observation on Thursday during his message for World Metrology Day, which commemorates the anniversary of the signing of the Metre Convention of 1875.
Metrology is the science of measurement and plays a central role in scientific discovery and innovation, industrial manufacturing and international trade, in improving the quality of life and in protecting the global environment.
The 1875 treaty provides the basis for a worldwide coherent measurement system that underpins it all.
The theme for this year is “Measurement for Health”, which Symmonds said was timely because of the “unprecedented health challenge that countries around the globe face today” in dealing with the pandemic.
Symmonds said the Barbados National Standards Institution (BNSI), which is the local government agency that standardises measurements, has made recommendations to the current administration for the implementation of a national quality policy for Barbados.
“[This] was developed to improve the competitiveness of Barbados’ goods and services and to use the application of a national quality infrastructure that would support the economic, social, environmental and sustainable development of the country,” he said.
“This national quality policy will reflect the direction that the Government and the wider country will take regarding quality, standards and technical regulations as they relate to the production and supply of goods and services in Barbados.
“The national quality policy will also provide the institutional framework needed for the implementation of quality initiatives in virtually all segments of the Barbadian society.”
Symmonds said the Government was also on the verge of enacting a comprehensive Metrology Act.
He said the Act will embrace all aspects of metrology, thereby harmonising Barbados’ legislative and strategic plans with those in the international arena.
“It will provide the legal framework for the development of Barbados’ metrology system,” he said.
“A main objective of this upcoming Act is the ‘facilitation of fair trade’ through harmonised written standards, consistent measurement standards and internationally accepted certificates.
“Such a certificate would allow for an instrument that specifies ‘tested and approved for use in Barbados’ to be sold and used in another country without any further technical inspection.” (AR)
