Standards Organisation Of Nigeria: Ensuring Standards Through Proficiency Testing of Goods (Part Two)

Succinctly put, the indispensable roles of the Standard Organisation of Nigeria (SON) are summarized in its aims and objectives as in the followings: the preparation of standards relating to products, measurements, materials and processes among others, and their promotion at the national, regional and international levels; Certification of industrial products; Assistance in the production of quality goods; Improvement of measurement accuracy and circulation of information relating to standards.

In other words, it has power to organize tests, investigate into the quality of facilities, materials and products, ensure reference standards for calibration and verification of measures and measuring instruments, register and regulate standard marks and specifications, etc. It is by these powers mandated to carry out designation, establishment, approval and declaration of standards in respect of metrology, materials, commodities, structures and processes; certification of products in commerce and industry throughout Nigeria; Quality control of products, weights and measures; Matters relating to metrology- ensure reference standards for calibration and verification of measures and measuring instruments; Investigation of quality of products etc; Enforcement of Standards; Quality management; Registration and regulation of standard marks and specifications etc; Establishment and maintenance of Laboratories; Compilation and publication of Scientific or order data; Proffering professional advice to government of the federation or state on specific problems relating to Standards specifications; Research and so on.

Being mandated to ascertain the quality of products and services, SON embarks on testing products through its Chemistry Laboratories to execute Inorganic Testing for heavy metals analysis. Also, through its Textile Laboratories, a broad range of testing services for all types of men’s, women’s and children’s apparel and accessories such as casual clothing, outerwear, swimwear, belts, socks, handbags and gloves are done to ensure standards.

The key testing and evaluation areas include: Compliance with government regulatory requirements for labeling and flammability; Fabric construction, colorfastness, dimensional stability, skewing and appearance retention; Physical performance, such as strength and product attribute testing; Verification of special claims (stain repellency, water resistance and repellency, wicking and wrinkle resistance); Trim and component testing (zippers, snaps, buttons and embellishments); Compliance with product specifications (size, fit and construction) and Color approval.

A steel company being sealed by SON Task Force team for engaging in production of substance steel sheets.

Through testing of goods, SON under the able leadership of the Director General, Osita Aboloma, had in the last few years severally uncovered and destroyed fake, adulterated and unwholesome products in circulation. Some manufacturers or peddlers of such substandard and harmful products had also either been prosecuted, fined or imprisoned to serve as deterrent to other would be culprits. Often times, the company or industry producing the products are sealed.

For instance, an aluminum roofing sheets company operating in Onitsha Industrial Harbour, was sealed two years ago for manufacturing below approved industrial standards. Engr. Nwaoma Olujie, the then SON Coordinator in Anambra, had insisted that the company would remain sealed to prevent further distribution of the products to customers until the owners submitted themselves to entire gamut of SON’s regulatory and approval processes.

She said the firm was producing and distributing products with thickness of between 0.24 millimeters and 0.28 millimeters as against acceptable minimum thickness of 0.40 millimeters and above. The coordinator said the firm was misleading unsuspecting public into buying products that would not give them expected value for their money, stressing that such unwholesome practice would not be tolerated by SON.

In February, 2020, the  SON National Steel Task Force disclosed that it has sealed 13 steel factories across the Nation for Standards infractions. The Chairman of the Task force, Engr. Enebi Onucheyo, said that the companies located in Lagos, Ogun, Osun, Abia and Edo States were shut until further notice following a Nationwide market surveillance carried out by the SON Task Force between November 2019 and January 2020.

The Task force had obtained samples of various steel products from the open market as well as the facilities of the companies during the surveillance exercises and subjected the products to its standard laboratory tests only to confirm that they were substandard. Enebi stated that given the SON classification of Steel Bars as life-endangering products,  the Nigeria Industrial Standards provides for unique identification marks for every locally manufactured or imported steel bars for easy traceability.

According to him, Laboratory Tests and Analysis carried out on the samples revealed that most of them failed to meet the minimum requirements for ′diameter′ and ′mass per meter′ as provided in the Nigeria Industrial Standard (NIS 117:2004). Enebi maintained that these are critical parameters in the standard for reinforcement bars for concrete.

Enebi said the shut down exercise followed earlier warnings to all the steel manufacturing companies on observed infractions with directives to ensure strict compliance with the requirements of the NIS 117:2004. The Task Force Chairman disclosed that some of the companies were found to have tampered with products earlier placed on hold by SON in their facilities while an unregistered identification mark “GE” was discovered in one of the products sampled.

Also in Imo state, in December 2019, SON had classified concrete poles being manufactured as substandard as they were short of the minimum requirements of the Nigerian Industrial Standards (NIS) 586:2007. SON Director General, Osita Aboloma, expressed displeasure in Owerri at discoveries that many concrete pole manufacturers in the state were not adhering to the requirements of NIS.

Aboloma who spoke through the State Coordinator,  Engr. Rose Madaki,  enjoined Concrete Pole manufacturers in Imo to adhere strictly to the requirements of the Nigerian Industrial Standards (NIS) 586:2007 to guarantee the quality of their products and value for money to consumers. Engr. Madaki listed the negative observations as including: – using 32.5grade of cement instead of 42.5grade specified in the standard; having more than one joint in one bar line on longitudinal reinforcement against the specification in the standard; using 10mm as reinforcement bar for High Tention (HT) mould instead of 12mm minimum specified in the standard; reduction in length of poles to 8.35m for Low Tension (LT) instead of 8.53m minimum and 10.05m for HT instead of 10.40m minimum specified in the standard; and failure to cure poles for 28 days after production to obtain optimum strength as required by the standard before sale.

Further, in terms of prosecution of culprits of substandard and fake products, SON had docked three persons at the Federal High Court sitting in Awka, Anambra state over alleged fabrication and sale of substandard Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) cylinders. The defendants – Jerry Azubuike, Patrick Ikechukwu and Cosmas Onwuka who were members of the United Welders Association in Anambra, were arraigned before Justice Babatunde Quadri.

The prosecution counsel, Mr Moor Kuma, alleged that the defendants exposed for sale and use, substandard gas cylinders of various sizes (3kg, 5kg, 6kg and 10kg) on 58, Bida Road, Onitsha, on June 27, 2018, which did not comply with the Nigerian Industrial Standard (NIS) 69:2013, –  the specification for refillable LPG cylinders.

The prosecution counsel  said that the offences were punishable under Section 26 (2) (i), Section 31 (2) of the Standards Organisation of Nigeria Act, 2015, adding that fabrication of substandard gas cylinders contravened Section 1 (18) (ii) of the Miscellaneous Offences Act, 2004.

For the ease of testing goods and services nationwide, SON recently said plans are afoot to establish laboratories in the six geo-political zones for ensuring standardisation in the country. Mr Bola Fashina, Special Assistant to the Director-General of SON, gave the confirmation saying that the  organisation had in its 2020 budget, plans to establish laboratories in the six zones to ensure that products met required standards for certification.

While giving further insight, he said SON would ensure that products within each region can easily be tested at the regional laboratories, instead of sending them to its laboratories in Lagos, Kaduna or Enugu. According to him, “In the last four to five years, we have had a new laboratory complex consisting of about 36 laboratories in Ogba Industrial Estate in Lagos. A lot of laboratories there have already attained international accreditation. This is to ensure that the result of whatever test that is carried out there is acceptable globally.”

He explained that the establishment of the laboratories was aimed at supporting government’s Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP) to ensure that Nigerian products and produce were easily exported without rejection, adding that “Apart from these ones, we have other laboratories, namely textile and leather laboratory located in Kaduna, engineering laboratory in Enugu, and another laboratory in our operational headquarters in Lekki, Lagos.

***To be continued next week on another aspects of SON’s achievements