The standards Department is responsible for the development, publishing and promotion of standards in accordance with the Standards Act. No. 2 of 1996.
The Bureau has published Two Hundred and Four (204) National Standards and One Hundred and Fifty-six (156) regional standards in the public gazette
OUR VISION: To become a model of excellence for the development and popularization of standards and to add an effective quality element through national development efforts.
OUR MISSION: To efficiently manage standards, to give a competitive edge to industrial and general performance of society leading to the building of a robust economy for the benefit of all.
Standards have become an integral component of Sierra Leone’s economic, legal and social systems but their crucial role is often not recognized. The Standards Department in its core function develops national standards and maximizes the benefits of international standards through adoption and popularization to the public. This enhances the competitiveness of the Sierra Leonean industry and other related players advances global trade. Standards have extremely wide applicability and constitute a critical factor in quality management, assurance and control.
Benefits of standards to consumers:
- Standards ensure consumer satisfaction and protection.
- Standards promote and protect economic interests of consumers, industry and businesses.
- Standards ensure improved quality and reliability.
- Standards ensure better operation and compatibility between products and services.
- Standards ensure the availability of effective consumer redress.
- Standards ensure that consumers have easier access to and greater choice in goods and services.
Benefits of standards to government:
- Standards constitute vital resource for Sierra Leone Government when developing public policies.
- Standards reduce technical barriers to international trade, thus positioning Sierra Leonean industries to compete in the world economy by facilitating the movement of goods and services.
- Standards are used to regulate and monitor industry so as to prevent poor business practices.
- Standards help make laws consistent.
- Standards offer an alternative to regulation, while still ensuring that products and services are safe and of good quality.
Benefits of standards to SMEs:
- Standards minimize installation and start-up costs.
- Standards inspire confidence in your business.
- Standards assist businesses to meet mandatory regulations.
- Standards ensure improved quality and reliability.
- Standards create a competitive advantage by improving the quality of goods and services.
- Standards open new markets by assuring new customers that the quality requirements of products and services are met.
- Standards improve efficiency and reduce waste in businesses.
Participation in Regional and International technical committees
The Standards Department contributes to international and regional standardization efforts in the development and harmonization of International and Regional standards. It participates in regional and international standardization activities by taking part in Standards setting and Standards harmonization processes.
Sierra Leone’s participation allows Sierra Leone’s inputs in the development of international standards. Issues affecting developing country members at international and regional organizations are also reflected in the International standards during development.
Participation in Regional and International standardization activities has major advantages to Sierra Leone, this includes:
- Representing Sierra Leone in Regional and International Standardization activities.
- Removing barriers to Regional and International trade.
- Influencing Regional and International Standards development process.
- Creating Regional and International Pathways and Market.
- Avoiding the waste of resource by “reinventing the wheel”.
- Improvement of doing business.
- Transferring and acquiring state-of-the-art technological know-how.
- Safeguarding public health and safety by establishing the basis of requirements for application to local or imported products in these regulated areas.
WTO/TBT National Enquiry Point
World Trade Organization (WTO) members are required to be as transparent as possible on issues relating to standards in accordance to article 10.7 of TBT agreement, all technical regulations and procedures of assessing the conformity of goods and services to relevant standards. Members are therefore to notify WTO secretariat, indicating the standards and technical regulations being prepared or in the process of adoption.
It is in this scope that member countries are required to set up an Enquiry Point to handle information on Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT). The National Enquiry Point (NEP) is responsible for all notifications of the WTO Technical Barriers to Trade Agreement. Sierra Leone receives and sends notifications to and from the WTO.
It also provides Trade related information to help stakeholders in Sierra Leone access their target markets (Export). It responds to Technical enquiries from other WTO members regarding Sierra Leone’s domestic Regulations.
Benefits of National Enquiry Point
The business community benefits from the NEP in the following manner:
- Identify standards, technical regulations and conformity assessment procedures applicable to products in target markets
- Improve their competitiveness in both local and international markets
- Provide opportunities for commenting on technical regulations that may affect trade
- Promote trade facilitation by providing national exporters and importers with information on technical requirements from WTO member countries
Information resources at the National Enquiry Point (NEP)
The Enquiry point is located in the Standards Development department of SLSB head office. It responds to written, telephone, e-mail and walk in requests for information by identifying relevant standards and technical regulations available in the existing collection or by consulting other standards organizations or relevant regulatory bodies.
For more information on standards and enquiry point services contact:
- Our Online standards catalogue and
- National Notifications sent to and received from WTO at the RC.
You can contact the National Enquiry Point by e-mail at:
How standards are developed
A standard is a document that provides requirements, specification, guidelines or characteristics that can be used consistently to ensure that materials, products, processes and services are fit for their purpose. The development of standards is consensus-based, thus, it involves relevant stakeholders who constitute Technical Committees on subjects for which standards are to be developed. Any standard therefore is the collective work of Technical Committees made of academia, researchers, government/MDA’s, conformity assessment bodies, regulators, industry, trade/professional Associations and consumer advocacy groups that work together to develop national standards oriented to meet the demands of society and the market. Standards department acts as secretariat and project managers to these committees in the production of standards.
Technical Committees
A Technical Committee consists of experts (from stakeholder institutions as mentioned above) who have a recognized proficiency in a specific field of interest. It is responsible for, the preparation of Sierra Leone Standards in defined fields that reflects national interests within the respective areas.
Technical Committees and their members play a pivotal role in the development of standards. They are established with defined titles and scopes. Sierra Leone Standards Bureau currently has about 9(Nine) Technical Committees that develop national standards in line with international standards:
- Water Quality.
- Photovoltaic / Renewable Energy.
- Electrical & Electronics.
- Mechanical Engineering.
- Civil Engineering.
- Energy Management.
- Information Security Management Systems.
- Food and Agriculture.
For more information on every specific Technical Committees, together with their scope and work program, kindly send a mail to………………………….
How to get involved at the Public Review Stage
SLSB involves all those with significant interest in the standardization work during the standards development process.
Participation in standards setting is on a voluntary basis, and you can be involved in helping to develop national standards by commenting on the draft standards at the Public review stage.
For more information on how you can be involved at the public review stage, kindly send a mail to ………………………….
National, International and Regional standards
The technical description of the characteristics to be fulfilled by a product, system or service is reflected by the requirements of the respective national, regional and international standard.
International standards play a crucial role in helping countries increase productivity, access international markets and maximize the benefits of joining value chains. International Standards bring about economic and technologic development, social progress and protection of the environment.
They help to unify technical specifications of products and services thereby opening up global markets with access to new ventures with compatible products and services. Consequently, open, fair, and transparent trade is promoted. Conformity to International Standards helps to increase the confidence of consumers that products are safe, efficient and has minimum impact on the environment.
They are widely adopted at the regional or national level and are used by manufacturers, trade organizations, consumers, testing laboratories, governments, regulators and other interested parties.
These standards constitute one of the important bases for the removal of technical barriers to trade as recommended by the WTO (World Trade Organization) in its agreement on
TBT (Technical Barrier to Trade) because, generally, they reflect the best experience of industry, researchers, consumers and regulators worldwide, and cover common needs in a variety of countries. As such for our national standards development efforts the first point is the adoption of an international standard if available.
Participation in Regional and International technical committees
The Standards Directorate contributes to international and regional standardization efforts in the development and harmonization of International and Regional standards. It participates in regional and international standardization activities by taking part in Standards setting and Standards harmonization processes.
Sierra Leone’s participation allows Sierra Leone’s inputs in the development of international standards. Issues affecting developing country members at international and regional organizations are also reflected in the International standards during development.
Participation in Regional and International standardization activities has major advantages to Ghana, this includes:
- Representing Sierra Leone in Regional and International Standardization activities.
- Removing barriers to Regional and International trade.
- Influencing Regional and International Standards development process.
- Creating Regional and International Pathways and Market.
- Avoiding the waste of resource by “reinventing the wheel”.
- Improvement of doing business.
- Transferring and acquiring state-of-the-art technological know-how.
- Safeguarding public health and safety by establishing the basis of requirements for application to local or imported products in these regulated areas.
International and Regional Standardization cooperation
SLSB also maintains Membership and licensee agreements with the following organizations:
- ISO– International Organization for Standardization (org)
- IEC– International Electro-technical Commission (ch) – Affiliate member
- IEEE– Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (https://www.ieee.org)
- CODEX-CODEX Alimentarius International Food Standards (org)
- WTO-World Trade Organization (https://www.wto.org)
- ASTM-American Society for Testing and Materials (org)
- AOAC– Association of Analytical Communities (org/)
- OIML– International Organization of Legal Metrology (https://www.oiml.org/en)
- CEN–CENELEC – European Regional Standardization (https://www.cencenelec.eu/aboutus/Pages/default.aspx)
- ASME– American Society of Mechanical Engineers
- African Organization for Standardization (http://www.arso-oran.org/)
- ECOWAS Standards Harmonization Mechanism (ECOSHAM)
BUY A STANDARD.
The standards Directorate is well poised to ensure that standards are available, in line with international best practice and effectively disseminated to drive national economic development and to support governments programs.
To get an approved standard, a client can get a printed or electronic copy of the standard after payment. Standards and their prices are available through our online standards catalogue.
PROCESS INVOLVED IN OBTAINING STANDARDS
The steps below outline the process by which standards are obtained from the Sierra Leone Standards Bureau:
- R.U/RECIPTION – Serves as the face of the Institution, all enquiries are made here (purchasing of standards, testing of samples etc.).
Standard Department – The SRU contacts the standards department on the availability and type of standard the client requires.
Finance Department – The standards identified by the standards department are being cost and an invoice is issued by the finance department.
Bank – All cash and cheque payment shall be made to the Sub-Treasury Account, Sierra Leone Commercial Bank, account number: 003-001-011094112139, payment slip brought to the SLSB.
N.R.A – The NRA has a desk officer at the Sierra Leone Standards Bureau who verifies bank payment and issues receipt.
Finance Department – The Client must submit the NRA receipt and SLSB invoice to the Finance department.
Standard Department – The finance department minutes the NRA receipt and SLSB invoice to the Standards department, which is also forwarded to the IT/Estate officer for the printing and issuance of standards.
IT/Estate Officer – Within Four (4) working days, standards are being licensed to the client’s company and ready to be collected.
Secretaries – Clients collect their standards from the secretaries, as they need to sign for them.
SALE OF ISO STANDARDS
ISO members have the key responsibility for the sale and distribution of ISO publications in their national territories, either in their original form or as translations or national adoptions. For this reason ISO has improved access to their standards whereby an “ISOlution webstore” platform has been developed to permit customers to buy ISO standards via ISO member’s website………………………
PAYMENT METHODS
- Bank transfer is made at the Sub-Treasury Account, Sierra Leone Commercial Bank, account number: 003-001-011094112139.
NUMBER OF PUBLISHED NATIONAL AND REGIONAL STANDARDS
- SLSB has published 204 approved national standards and 156 regional standards.
SALE OF STANDARDS
- Over 130 national standards are sold each year
- Bestselling standards are in area of food and agriculture and include food hygiene, water standards, petroleum and petroleum products.
