By Abba – Eku Onyeka, FCT
Director – General (DG), Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON), Mallam Farouk Salim has disclosed that the agency has provided substantial discounts for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) to enjoy the services of the National Metrology Institute (NMI) in support of the Federal Government’s economic diversification programme.
The DG made the disclosure at the recently marked World Metrology Day (WMD), celebrated every 20th May and the theme for this year was ‘Focus on Measurement for Health.’
He, therefore, added that the NMI has over the years, developed capacity in primary standards of measurement in volume, flow, pressure, length and dimension, mass, force, temperature, electrical and metrology in chemistry amongst others for traceability of all secondary standards of measurement in Nigeria and the West African Region, just as he urged major stakeholders in the healthcare delivery sector, including professional bodies and regulatory institutions to factor accuracy of measuring instruments into their activities in order to deliver quality products and services for the well being of Nigerians.
Salim therefore said that the theme as released by the Bureau International des Poids et Measures (BIPM) and the International Organization of Legal Metrology (OIML) was in tandem with the realities of the global COVID-19 pandemic, adding that it was chosen to create awareness of the important role measurement plays in health, and thus in the wellbeing of every one of us.
Stressing the need to ensure that all measuring instruments in the healthcare delivery sector give accurate values to support medical personnel in delivering quality services, he said it necessitated recent investments by SON in re-equipping the National Metrology Institute (NMI) for greater efficiency in calibration of measuring equipment nationwide. “Across the world,” he went on, “national metrology institutes continually advance measurement science by developing and validating new measurement techniques at the necessary level of sophistication.”
Reiterating that national metrology institutes, including from Nigeria participate in measurement comparisons coordinated by the BIPM to ensure the reliability of measurement results worldwide, the DG stated further that the International Organization of Legal Metrology (OIML) develops international recommendations, which aim to align and harmonise requirements worldwide in many fields. The OIML according to him, also operates the OIML Certification System (OIML-CS) which facilitates international acceptance and global trade of regulated measuring instruments.
“The international metrology systems,” according to him, “provided the necessary assurance and confidence that measurements are accurate, providing a sound basis for global trade today and helping us to prepare for the challenges of tomorrow, just as he stated that the offshore conformity assessment programme for SON regulated imports (SONCAP) provides a window of import permit for raw materials, equipment and machinery and urged stakeholders in the healthcare delivery sector to take optimum advantage of it to improve the quality of products and services being offered to Nigerians.”
He said local manufacturing of medical equipment and machinery stand to gain a lot in accuracy of measurements from the calibration services being offered by the SON promoted National Metrology Institute (NMI) located in Enugu with outreaches across the country, even as he posited that the World Metrology Day recognises and celebrates the contribution of all the people that work in intergovernmental and national metrology organisations and institutes throughout the year.
He called on all in public and private sectors to take optimum advantage of the capacities being built at the National Metrology Institute to ensure accuracy of all measuring instruments particularly in the healthcare delivery sector in the spirit of the theme of the 2021 World Metrology Day celebrations.
According to him, the services of the NMI, Enugu in ensuring accuracy of measurements in industry, trade and commerce is being expanded to all parts of Nigeria starting with Lagos, Abuja and Port Harcourt to bring its services nearer to stakeholders across the country and ensure great reduction in turnaround time to promote rapid industrialization through standardization.