The Guyana National Bureau of Standards (GNBS) is mandated since 1984 to facilitate the development of standards that can be applied within the various sectors of our economy. The standards development process allows for the relevant stakeholders including members of the public to make their contributions before standards are finalized and approved.
Following studies and consensus, standards are developed for use within various fields of practice or sectors including food, agriculture, tourism, environment, and manufacturing. Some standards apply to products, processes or production methods and may include or deal exclusively with terminologies, symbols, packaging, marking requirements or labelling requirements.
The application of standards provides confidence and agreement, for example on: specification, size, appearance, quality, safety, performance, security or any other criteria, for the product, process or service under consideration.
More than ever before, there is a focus on standards locally as our national economy expands to include new products and services and to meet the growing need to demonstrate conformance, which was ignited by the emergence of the oil and gas sector.
Whether you are a policy maker, business owner, consumer or regulator, the GNBS as the National Standards Body welcomes your proposal for a new standard, especially if it has a far-reaching impact or benefits. Your participation in the development process is crucial as well.
The following are the steps toward developing a new standard:
- The standards development process begins with the completion of a New Work Item Proposal (NWIP) which is submitted by the proposer. It is available on the GNBS website: www.gnbsgy.org. This NWIP documents all information that justifies the need for a particular standard. The completed form must be submitted to the GNBS for consideration.
- The completed NWIP and any supporting documents submitted to GNBS are evaluated and assigned priority based on social and economic importance, stakeholders’ perceived needs, and future needs, in keeping with National Development Plans and Policies.
- The National Standards Council (NSC) reviews the submission and decides whether to approve or reject the proposal based on its importance and relevance.
- Once approved, research is done by the GNBS to identify whether such a standard exists at similar International, Regional or other National Standard Bodies (e.g., ISO, IEC, ASTM, ANSI, BS). If a suitable standard is found, it is either 1) adopted (as is), or 2) modified.
- Further, if no standard is available, further research on the subject is conducted and a draft standard is prepared by the assigned technical committee.
- The Draft standard is reviewed by a Technical Committee (TC), which comprises of members from public and private sectors, consumer bodies, academia, and NGOs.
- After the Technical Committee has completed the draft standard, it is advertised for Public Comments for a period of 60 days. Public Consultation sessions are held during this time. In urgent cases, the fast-track method is utilized. The comments period will be reduced to 30 days. This is a very important stage in the standards development process since it ensures that manufacturers, importers, consumers, regulators and other interested parties are provided with an opportunity to comment on the proposed requirements of the standard under development.
- All of the comments received from stakeholders during the public consultation period are reviewed by the TC, which determines whether each comment is accepted or rejected (with justification). A final draft is prepared by the GNBS and submitted to the National Standards Council (NSC) for approval as a Guyana Standard. Once approved, the standard is published and made available for sale at the GNBS.
To make a Guyana Standard compulsory, a request can be made by any stakeholder and a justification must accompany such a request. The National Standards Council reviews the request and once it is satisfied, the request is forwarded to the Minister of Tourism, Industry and Commerce with recommendations for it to be made compulsory. All compulsory standards are gazetted.
The GNBS Standards Development Department awaits your NWIP so the standard that you need could be considered for development this year.
For further information, contact the GNBS on telephone numbers: 219-0062, 219-0065 or 219-0069. Please visit our website: www.gnbsgy.org and like our Facebook page: gnbsgy
