St. Kitts and Nevis Bureau of Standards (SKNBS) in Collaboration with the CARICOM Regional Organization for Standards and Quality (CROSQ) hosts a National Consultation on the draft Regional Policy for Quality Infrastructure

Basseterre, St. Kitts – The St. Kitts and Nevis Bureau of Standards (SKNBS), within the Ministry of International Trade, Industry, Commerce and Consumer Affairs, hosted over 20 persons from Stakeholders on August 20, 2014. The “Draft Regional Policy for Quality Infrastructure” national consultation held at the Agriculture Department Conference Room, was funded through the 10th European Development Fund – Technical Barriers to Trade Component and the CARICOM Regional Organisation for Standards and Quality (CROSQ).

Quality infrastructure refers to all the fields of metrology, standardization, certification, testing, quality management system and accreditation that have a bearing on conformity assessment and quality.

The National Consultation was facilitated by Ms. Sanya Alleyne, Legal Officer at CROSQ and Mr. Fulgence St. Prix, Technical Officer- Standards at CROSQ. The purpose of this consultation was to review and discuss the Draft Regional Policy for Quality Infrastructure, specifically highlighting the gaps in the National and Regional objectives and implementation strategies of the Policy. Participants were also provided with guidelines on how to access information on standards. The International Organizations for Standardization (ISO) defines a standard as a document that provides guidelines, requirements, specifications, or characteristics that can be used consistently to ensure that products, materials, processes and services are fit for their purpose. The consultation concluded with the identification of International and Regional Standards corresponding to priority needs in efforts to prepare the SKNBS Plan for Standards Development/Adoption for the next 2-3 years.

The SKNBS, located at La Guerite, Basseterre, has the major responsibility of protecting the environment, health and safety of consumers. Its activities also focus on preparing, promoting and generally adopting standards on a national, regional or international basis relating to structures, commodities, materials, articles and other things offered to the public commercially, hence promoting standardization, quality assurance and simplification in industry and commerce.