Guyana is a major producer and exporter of rice but to ensure the success of this industry, standard and quality are of utmost importance. Versed in the area of sampling and quality control, RICELAB, which is located at 24 Water Street, Georgetown, in 2004 began providing critical services to local suppliers and buyers of Guyanese rice across the world.
The company was initially established in 1998 before it was acquired by a new owner –Mr. Pierre Boucher – in 2004, to certify the quality and weights of rice exported from the local ports. What the laboratory does is grade the rice sent to the wharves on a daily basis to ensure that the suppliers or millers are satisfying their contractual obligations to overseas buyers.
“We receive the rice from the suppliers at the wharf; day by day we grade the rice while they are accumulating the rice in the port for shipment, so by them having this information at hand, they are able to adjust, improve or pass quality to satisfy the contract,” he explained.
This process is made reliable with the attainment of Certification from the Guyana National Bureau of Standards (GNBS) to the National Standard – General requirements for operation of a laboratory (GYS 170:2009). The standard provides guidance to the certified laboratories on how to develop and maintain a thorough management system which in turn allows for the provision of accurate and reliable test results as requested by clients.
Mr. Boucher recalled that the first gap analysis of the facility was completed by the GNBS in 2005 when the company decided to pursue certification, paving the way for several improvements to be made to the Lab’s processes. “It was always our will to get certification,” he noted, adding that some clients also requested certification to the National Standard to utilize the services of the laboratory.
In 2018, the company hired a Quality Assurance personnel, Anitra Boucher, and commenced putting systems in place to prepare for certification. Two years later, on February 27, 2020, the exciting day had finally arrived, leading to the business becoming certified to the GYS 170 National Standard.
“The process was a bit challenging but nothing that we couldn’t handle. There were a couple of times we would be back and forth (fixing the processes), but it was definitely worth it,” Mrs. Anitra Boucher noted.
RICELAB now employs 24 persons to ensure the smooth functioning of its services.
Having the certification in place, Mrs. Boucher said: “it does give confidence to our clients. On the other aspect, it helps us to keep the procedures. It streamlines the business a lot internally. It helps you with the discipline in the company.”
Once certified, laboratories are audited periodically during the two-year period of their certification to ensure that they are in conformance with requirements, including the calibration of instruments used, employment of trained staff, the commitment to meet customer requirements, and the verification that their standard of operation is being maintained. As it continually implements the standard, RICELAB was recertified in March 2022 for another period of two years. The company was also presented with a plaque that is displayed for its clients to recognise its commitment to quality.
Mr. Boucher encourages other laboratories to pursue certification to improve their day-to-day operations which saves time and increases confidence in the services offered. This auger well for exporters who are currently acquiring paddy that is being harvested and processed for the export market.
To date, there are twenty-three clinical and testing laboratories, which are certified by the GNBS. Certification provides them with a benchmark for maintaining the laboratory management system and for improving the services offered to clients.
