Jul 26, 2016

Guyana National Standards Body Signs MOU; Report from Mauritius Indicates Progress

ASTM and the Guyana National Bureau of Standards signed an MOU in October. The MOU was signed by James Thomas, president, ASTM, and Evadnie Enniss, executive director (A.G.), Guyana National Bureau of Standards. This MOU is the 72nd that ASTM has signed with a country's national standards body; ASTM has additional MOUs with three regional standards bodies.

Initiated in 2001, ASTM International's memorandum of understanding program promotes communication between ASTM International and national standards bodies worldwide, fostering awareness of the standardization systems of all parties involved. The purpose of the program is to increase greater worldwide participation in the ASTM standards development process and facilitate the development of national standards that will aid health, safety and environmental and economic conditions. More information on the MOU program can be found on the ASTM International website.

An annual report submitted by the national standards body of Mauritius details this organization's MOU relationship with ASTM.

The Mauritius Standards Bureau is a corporate body responsible for standardization, quality assurance, testing and metrology. MSB operates a certification marking scheme for products and a national management system certification scheme. There are 13 MSB standards committees that cover sectors such as building and construction, energy and environmental management, mechanical engineering, chemicals and more. ASTM and MSB signed an MOU in 2005.

MSB notes that in the last year, 23 ASTM standards were used as reference documents in the development of Mauritius national standards, while six ASTM standards were consulted in the preparation of national standards. The majority of the referenced standards were developed by ASTM Committee E28 on Mechanical Testing. MSB has also participated in the ASTM Proficiency Testing Program on the mechanical testing of metals.

Through the MOU program, MSB has access to all ASTM International standards through the ASTM website. Khemraj Ramful, director of MSB, says that sales of and references to ASTM International standards continue to increase in Mauritius.

"Many of our stakeholders in Mauritius are now well aware of the existence of ASTM standards and are very often using them as a reference," says Ramful. "With the invitation of Mauritian experts to join ASTM technical committees and the offer of virtual training to these experts, ASTM will continue to gain more recognition in our country."