By UDEME CLEMENT

The Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) is initiating measures to enhance capacity development for micro, small and medium scale industries (MSMEs) in Nigeria . As such, SON is set to certify a minimum of 150 of such MSMEs to ISO 9001:2001 quality management system and ISO 22000 Food Safety Management System Standards within the next one year at no cost to them.

The director general of SON, Dr. Joseph Odumodu, made this disclosure, adding that the agency in collaboration with the Commonwealth Secretariat is working on a programme of capacity development for MSMEs in the areas of general standards application, food safety and quality management systems to enhance competitiveness of locally made goods for domestic use and export.

Odumodu explained that the domestication and implementation of the ISO 26000 Guidance Standards on Social Responsibility is another area where the agency is working with stakeholders in the public and private sectors for the benefit of government and citizens.

He stressed, “the essential features specified in International Standards for products and services which underpin quality, ecology, safety, reliability, interoperability, efficiency and effectiveness thus providing global confidence for manufacturers, service providers as well as consumers is the focus of the 2011 World Standards Day jointly coordinated by the International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO), International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) and the International Telecommunication Union (ITU)”.

He pointed out, “SON as the representative of the three international standardisation bodies in Nigeria has the responsibility to propagate these global standards through programmes such as adoption and adaptation of these standards for local use, training of manpower through seminars, workshops, consumer enlightenment activities and the certification of products and systems to internationally acclaimed standards.”

“The latest of such efforts at providing confidence through the instrument of standardization in Nigeria is the launching of the “Zero Tolerance to substandard products” strategy which includes compliance monitoring and standards enforcement, consumer engagement and awareness, technical support to industry for cost effectiveness in production and service delivery, certification of systems and processes for continual improvement and harmonization of standards for regional integration towards improved trade and investment’, he maintained.