Pakistan moves closer to standardising, quality control

World Metrology Day celebrated with accreditation of NPSL labs.


Our Correspondent May 20, 2013
“You see the ‘Made in Pakistan’ tag on textiles, but it could be on so many other products,” says De Groot. PHOTO: CREATIVE COMMONS

ISLAMABAD:


Better international trade opportunities and local consumer satisfaction are some of the main benefits of having effective quality control mechanisms and strict testing regimes for products. Even though Pakistan still lags behind globally in terms of quality control, the country’s commitment to ensuring use of international standards of measurement was strengthened on Monday.


On the World Metrology Day, celebrated each year on May 20, six laboratories of the National Physical and Standards Laboratory (NPSL) were accredited by the Pakistan National Accreditation Council (PNAC) with the internationally-recognised ISO 17025 standards in a ceremony held in Islamabad. Both PNAC and NPSL fall under the Ministry of Science and Technology.

Metrology is the science of measurements – not to be confused with meteorology, which is the scientific study of the atmosphere.

The accreditation will allow NPSL – Pakistan’s official custodian of physical standards of measurements and materials – to provide internationally valid testing and calibration services to Pakistan’s industry.

Internationally-recognised testing and calibration for measuring instruments used in industry are essential for ensuring the kind of product quality control demanded by international markets.

NPSL’s achievement of international accreditation was helped in part by the European Union’s Trade Related Technical Assistance (TRTA) II programme, which is being implemented by United Nations Industrial Development Organization.

The TRTA II programme, which ends in 2014, aims to improve Pakistan’s international trade through trade policy capacity building, improvement of quality infrastructure for export development, and strengthening of the country’s intellectual property rights system, said Ali Abbas Qazilbash, a programme officer for the TRTA II’s second component, which deals with quality infrastructure.

At the ceremony, Berend De Groot, Head of Cooperation of the European Union delegation in Pakistan, said the accreditation certificate awarded to NPSL by PNAC signified a “great moment” for Pakistan.  It shows that the country is moving ahead, De Groot said.

“You see the ‘Made in Pakistan’ tag on textiles, but it could be on so many other products,” he said, addressing the Pakistanis in the audience. “Branding: that is something you should be working on.”

Qazilbash said Pakistan’s accreditation and testing services were up to international standards, but the country’s quality control mechanism needs to be strengthened. He said the quality control framework was archaic and there a lack of business acumen in the country significantly hinders exports.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 21st, 2013.

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