Many Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) face barriers in accessing international markets, demonstrating compliance, or gaining consumer trust. Luckily, accreditation to international standards helps bridge these gaps by verifying the quality, safety, and sustainability of products, services, and processes, as well as staff competence within businesses or organisations. With accreditation, SMEs can have access to new markets and opportunities for growth.
On Monday, June 9, 2025, accreditation and standardisation bodies, including the Guyana National Bureau of Standards (GNBS), will join in the observance of World Accreditation Day under the theme “Accreditation: Empowering Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs).” This year’s theme emphasises the crucial role SMEs play in the global economy, driving innovation, generating employment, and fostering local communities.
In Guyana, the GNBS serves as the National Accreditation Focal Point (NAFP) and continues to work with numerous laboratories to achieve accreditation to two major international standards. These are the ISO 15189:2022, “Medical laboratories — Requirements for quality and competence,” and the ISO 17025:2017, “General requirements for the competence of testing and calibration laboratories.”
Through our Technical Assistance (TA) programme, our skilled Technical Officers have worked with several private and public laboratories to achieve accreditation, ensuring that these facilities are competent to deliver accurate and reliable results.
The TA process commences with the filling out and submitting of an application form available on the GNBS’ website (gnbsgy.org), followed by a meeting with the client to outline the TA programme and formulate an implementation plan. This is followed by an Awareness Session, where the team is formally introduced, and the company begins learning about the management system it aims to implement. A gap analysis is then conducted to identify the differences between the client’s current situation and the desired future state so that the appropriate systems can be developed or modified.
Once completed, a report on the gap analysis is compiled, and the findings are reviewed and discussed with the company. This process is followed by the development of an implementation plan which details how the TA program will be carried out.
Notably, the GNBS provides training on understanding the requirements of the standard along with documenting and implementing the standard as it relates to the management system and internal auditing of the system. This guarantees that employees can maintain the accreditation long after the Technical Assistance programme has ended. Upon completion of the programme, these facilities can also enjoy greater efficiency, improved reputation, compliance assurance, increased business and the ability to save time and money.
So far, the GNBS has completed Technical Assistance for various agencies, including Guyana Water Incorporated (GWI), the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC), the University of Guyana, and the Ministry of Public Works, among others.
In addition, the GNBS Industrial Metrology and Testing Laboratories achieved accreditation to the International Standard ISO/IEC 17025:2017 – General requirements for the competence of testing and calibration laboratories in 2023. This milestone ensures that the results emanating from the laboratories are accurate and reliable.
Other accredited laboratories in Guyana include the laboratories of the Guyana Rice Development Board Central Laboratory, Eureka Medical Laboratories Incorporated, the Government Analyst’s Food and Drug Department, and the Dr. Balwant Singh Hospital.
To provide the confidence that your stakeholders need to return to your business. Contact the GNBS today to initiate technical assistance towards achieving accreditation. For further information, contact the GNBS on telephone numbers 219-0065 or 219-0064 or visit its website: www.gnbsgy.org
