The Bangladesh Accreditation Board (BAB) is going to get its first international recognition as an authorised organisation for providing standard certificates of export and import goods very soon.
Local manufacturers, exporters, importers and service sector organisations would not need to go abroad for certification after getting the recognition.
"The Asia-Pacific Laboratory Accreditation Cooperation (APLAC) has evaluated the working standard of the BAB through its two accreditation experts recently. The final decision will be taken in a meeting to be held next month," BAB Director General Md Abu Abdullah told the FE.
The next APLAC meeting will be held from January 8 to January 10 in Hong Kong. The APLAC board will take the decision on the BAB.
Mr Abdullah said Bangladeshi producers are missing huge opportunities of exports of their goods and services to the international markets mainly due to lack of an accreditation board for transparent and credible certification.
He said the BAB started receiving applications from various medical laboratories in Bangladesh, especially those which are operating in Dhaka.
The Board has expertise and capability to provide medical laboratory accreditation services from the Norwegian accreditation that is in institutional cooperation with the BAB.
The BAB provided some 17 certificates and is going to award three more very soon.
"We are confident that we would get the recognition as we have fulfilled all required conditions for the award," he said.
The BAB accredits organisations which test, calibrate or inspect goods meant for exports, he said.
In 2006, the government established the BAB with a mandate to upgrade quality assurance infrastructure and conformity assessment procedures in Bangladesh and enhance recognition and acceptance of products and services in international, regional and domestic markets.
According to BAB officials, most companies that have been certified by the Board have never been accredited before. International standards itself impose specific quality assurance and quality control on technical discipline.
In December 2011, the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO) hired Ned Gravel, a French-Canadian living in Ottawa, to work for the BAB as consultant under a European Union-funded project.
Mr Abdullah said Ned Gravel helps the BAB to be an international one.
The BAB DG said within three years, the Board will be self-sufficient and even a profit-making one. Currently, it earns 40 per cent of its expenditures.
He informed that currently Bangladeshi producers and manufacturers go to India and some other countries for their international certification, but smaller producers cannot go. After getting BAB recognition, they do not need to go abroad.
The BAB does not have adequate regular experts of its own. It hires expert regularly for conducting a thorough evaluation of all factors in a laboratory that affects production of test data.
About 75 per cent of the 120 assessors are from the private sectors.
Mr Abdullah said the BAB has set a successful example of public-private cooperation where the Board manages the process. Outside assessors from universities, industries, public institutions and government agencies are brought in and trained and assigned to do assessment.
"The fees of assessing and inspection are also much lower than those in Europe or North America," Mr. Abdullah added.
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Accreditation Board set to get int’l recognition
Ismail Hossain | Published: December 13, 2014 00:00:00 | Updated: November 30, 2024 06:01:00
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