The Tribune

The Bahamas Bureau of Standards and Quality (BBSQ) teamed with its Caribbean counterpart to host a Freeport workshop on the development of quality regulation for various local industries.

The workshop, held on February 19 in partnership with the CARICOM Regional Organisation for Standards & Quality (CROSQ), included attendees from Pharmachem Technologies, GSPA-BDS, Freeport Container Port, Freeport Harbour Company, Freeport Oil, FOCOL Holdings, the Grand Bahama Port Authority (GBPA), Petro Express, and the Grand Bahama Utility Company (GBUC).

The event featured an on-site visit to two calibration laboratories that were built under the BBSQ’s purview in an attempt to provide consistent, and sustainable, measurements and calibrations to the service industry. The two laboratories were built within a 40-foot shipping container and are a step towards creating a framework for the further technical expertise and support the BBSQ needs to elevate the laboratories to full operational status.

“The Bahamas Bureau Services and Quality, BBSQ, stands ever willing and able to assist in the development of quality in our nation in whatever way we can,” said Dr Renae Ferguson-Bufford, its director, in her opening address.

“Even if that means coming and hosting this event because we want Freeport, Grand Bahama, to know that we are one country. And as we strengthen our national metrology infrastructure, we need you to be a part of that because you are the industrial hub. And so that is one of the reasons why we are here today.

“We are looking to expand our services and strengthen our capabilities. We are also doing a massive campaign. We are hiring more inspectors, and also some administration staff, so we can expand the surfaces of the Bureau.”

The Bahamas Bureau of Standards & Quality was created in 2013 through the Standards Act and Weights and Measures Act 2006. Its ultimate goal is to develop regulatory standards nationwide to create quality, and ensure safety measurements across all industry platforms.

This is designed to facilitate trade, the local and international competitiveness of Bahamian-manufactured products, and to ensure the reliability of metrological devices.

Nicollette S Burrows, a BBSQ Inspector, said: “Metrology, by definition, is the science of measurements. Standards need metrology because accurate and rival measurements have to ensure standards are fit for purpose and enable demonstration for compliance.

“And metrology needs standards because not only is metrology a process of standardisation within itself, but it needs technical specifications to help diffuse accurate measurements into the economy and into the society.

“Measurements have an impact on our daily lives. For example, quality assurance that’s performed on the production of the food that we eat is based on measurements results, the monitoring of ambient air and water quality. In the health sector we heavily rely on diagnostics, and reliability and confidence in blood pressure meters.”

David Tomlinson, technical officer of metrology at CRSQ, gave a presentation on Strengthening industrial measurement in The Bahamas. He highlighted his organisation’s overall purpose in creating avenues for direct communication with stakeholders and companies.

“This event here today is about us also getting information from you, most noticeably understanding your needs and concerns on two levels, both as technical experts in your own fields and in your own right, and also as residents here. Those are two hand-and-hand concerns that you have; how to get your job done and, most importantly, how to live,” said Mr Tomlinson.

After outlining the importance of nationwide regulation, and the role that CRSQ plays in international programmes, Mr Tomlinson added: “We are here to understand what we can contribute to make you better at it, or to make your costs lower.

“This is the objective that we have here; to start building a relationship with you guys as stakeholders, to understand your current needs, what are your issues, what are the challenges you face, and then to be able to develop a sustainable calibration service that meets your needs.”

The workshop marks the beginning of a three to five-year development plan, headed by BBSQ and CRSQ, that aims to develop competence and calibration in various industry sectors.