In the recently held Dialogues on National Quality Infrastructure (NQI) at the Asian Institute of Management, Dr. Clemens Sanetra of Physikalisch Technische Bundesanstalt or PTB, Germany’s national metrology institute providing scientific and technical services, presented how the national quality infrastructures could help make Philippine industries more competitive.

Dr. Sanetra, who had been in the industry for more than two decades, emphasized that products are not only gauged based on their price. “Quality and performance are also areas of competition and there are “MUSTs” “SHOULDs” and “COULDs” in quality.”

“Musts,” he said, “refer to anything that has to do with security and health- like food safety. The ‘Should’ in quality, on the other hand, pertain to protection issues like labelling. Labels should indicate what the product is made of. Labels should address the customer concern: ‘I do not want to be cheated.’ These, the MUSTs and the SHOULDs, are the minimum requirements that have to be defined in technical regulations.“

“The ‘could’ in quality,” he added, “refer to those that are not mandated or are voluntary. These are optional and could be interpreted as the added value of the product. These are additional requirements- like assurance of quality- that contribute to the competitiveness of the product.”

“Competitiveness,” he reiterated, “does not only mean price competitiveness. Quality and performance are also areas of competition.”

He went on defining the various areas encompassed by quality infrastructures which include the following:

• Standardization - definition of properties, dimension, tolerance, etc.
• Metrology – guarantee of exact and reliable measurements;
• Testing – analysis of properties, ingredients, characteristics, etc.;
• Quality management – reliable application of quality standards;
• Certification – conformity with measurements defined in standards; and,
• Accreditation – recognition of technical competence.

“Quality Infrastructure,” he furthered, “supports quality improvement and consumer protection. There should be a national policy that spells this out and identifies the various bodies responsible for carrying out its functions such as National Standards Institute, National Metrology Institute, Testing/Calibration Laboratories, Certification / Inspection Boards and a National Accreditation Body.”

He mentioned a particular experience in Germany on standardization which has been adopted internationally.

“In 1922,” he narrated, “there was a German DIN 476 standard for paper which defined paper sizes by halving the preceding paper size across the larger dimension. The advantage was scaling without compromising the aspect ratio from one size to another without any cut-off or margins. The DIN 476 Standard spread to other countries and was established an ISO Standard, that is, ISO 216.”

A4, which is the official document format for many government entities, including international organizations like the United Nations is a specification of ISO 216 A-Series.

Ms. Cirila S. Botor, former director of the Bureau of Philippine Standards likewise shared information on the country’s initiatives on NQI. She mentioned that a National Stakeholders’ Workshop had been held in the country in October last year where a Working Group under the National Competitiveness Council was established to promote the NQI cause.

Working Group Members include the following organizations: Bureau of Philippine Standards (BPS), Philippine Accreditation Bureau (PAB), National Metrology Laboratory (NML) of the Industrial Technology Development Institute of the Department of Science and Technology, Food and Drugs Administration (FDA), National Meat Inspection Service (NMIS), and the Department of Public Works and Highways Research and Standards Bureau.

Representatives from the private sector comprise of PhilExport, the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industries (PCCI), Federation of Philippine Industries (FPI), National Association of Consumers, Inc. (NACI), and the Philippine Metrology, Standards, Testing and Quality, Inc. (PhilMSTQ).

The Competitiveness Bureau of the Department of Trade and Industry serves as its secretariat.

The group is currently working on the draft NQI legislation, draft NQI Strategy, preparation of road maps for various industries and finalization of the vision of NQI for the Philippines.

Mr. Virgilio Fulgencio, Executive Director of the Department of Trade and Industry’s Center for Industrial Competitiveness facilitated the open forum after the talks.

In support of the NQI initiatives, UP ISSI signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with PhilMSTQ to promote a responsive and sustainable national quality infrastructure in the Philippines.

In this regard, a two-day forum-workshop is being organized in November 2014 to bring together mSMEs; government agencies; regulatory bodies; business support organizations, certification, testing, inspection and calibration bodies; industry associations; and other stakeholders in the food processing industry.

The forum aims to enhance participants’ awareness, knowledge, and understanding of NQI and its significance in ensuring consumer health and safety, environmental protection, fair trade, and competitiveness within the food industry; identify NQI-related needs and issues; and develop a joint action plan to address the identified NQI issues.

“Focusing on quality improvement under the framework of a National Quality Infrastructure (NQI) can help ensure that Philippine-produced processed food products comply with international standards and conformity assessment requirements of trading partners,” expounded Ms. Amparo Montemayor-de Asis, Executive Director of PhilMSTQ, on the planned collaboration with UP ISSI.

“This would increase the competitiveness of Philippine-made processed food products in both the local and global market,” she concluded.  -###-

By: Nova Z. Navo

Original Source: http://entrepreneurship.org.ph/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=556:national-quality-infrastructure-key-to-philippine-industries-competitiveness&catid=16:infomercial