Personal protection equipment such as facemasks and hand sanitizers have played a vital role in reacting to the COVID-19 pandemic, which has engulfed the entire world since the start of this year.
Healthcare staff wear face masks to prevent germs from spreading to the patient from their noses and mouths, and to protect themselves from infection, while hand sanitizers minimize the amount of microbes on hands.
In the recent past, the topic of protective apparel has become very popular, with these items entering broader use beyond hospitals and health care facilities as a response to Coronavirus.
Demand for face masks, hand sanitizers, and other personal protective equipment has increased, attracting a number of local firms to venture into domestic manufacturing.
A few weeks ago the government approved a list of over 45 local facial mask and hand sanitizers manufacturers.
However, as companies at home manufacture such much-needed commodities, the growth of understandard and poor-quality goods has become a trend.
The government had to recall from the market a range of products and issued stern warnings to companies churning out goods that were not standard.
However, one important aspect is the issuance by the Rwanda Standards Board (RSB) of new quality standards to enable producers to make high quality products for the protection of human life.
“We developed standards for face masks and reviewed standards for hand sanitizers to protect citizens and make sure that products on the market are really serving the right purpose,” Raymond Murenzi, RSB Director General told stated last week.
The newly developed national standards according to Murenzi are RS 433-1 2020 Face masks — Specification — Part 1 Medical masks, and RS 433-2 2020 Face masks — Specification — Part 2 Barrier masks.
He also highlights technical specifications which companies must observe. Such standards as well as many other global and international standards for important products in this regard are accessible free of charge to all manufacturers, regulators, researchers and any other interested persons as a supporting measure in the battle against COVID-19.
“Normally standards are sold at different costs depending on their volume, but in this (Covid-19) period we made sure that national and international standards for essential products are accessed free of charge by any citizen and the industry. Also, we offer training, quality testing and certification services to the manufacturers,” he said.
The objective, as explained by Murenzi, is to ensure that the cost of accessing standards and certification services does not burden businesses and may affect the presence on the market of the essential protective gear.
The newly developed standards also provide key test parameters to ensure that the masks produced are compliant with the preset quality and safety requirements. The key parameters also tested at RSB Quality Testing Laboratories include: Fiber composition, Fabric specific weight, Porosity or air permeance, Tensile strength, Dimensional testing, Marking or Labeling Color Fastness inspection and packaging information as required by standards.
RSB calls for use of these national standards by mask manufacturers and other business communities engaged in the production of hand sanitizers.
“We encourage producers, especially those that produce barrier masks to access the quality infrastructure that we have. Our services do not only assure quality of products but also facilitate market access as our quality testing laboratories and certification services are acquired international accreditation, which makes the services to be internationally recognized and trusted.” Murenzi noted.
RSB trained mask manufacturers on quality specifications in April, and is currently working with some industries that have applied for face masks and hand sanitizers certification.
RSB already reports that some S-Mark hand sanitizers have been awarded and others are in the process, while the Standards Body has received and is working on face mask applications:
“Before we couldn’t get any producer who was certified,” Murenzi said, adding that at least eight face mask manufacturers sent applications and that RSB is working with them in the certification process.
The Rwanda Standards Board carries out all activities relating to the development of the country’s standards, conformity assessment and metrology services.
Currently, more than 2700 Standards have been developed and published by the National Standards Body covering the areas of food and agriculture, engineering , information technology, service, water and environment, chemistry, chemical and consumer products; and through its services domestic industry can have access to more than 60,000 standards developed by partnering International Standards establishing bodies.
In an effort to ensure customer-friendly services and contribute to the country’s socio-economic development, in addition to accrediting certification and testing services, RSB participates in international standards setting activities and the institution acquired certification of its services (ISO 9001:2015 Certification of Quality Management Systems) in 2017.
