SON undertakes quality assurance inspections in Abia, Rivers states

As part its technical support to local manufacturers in the production of essential materials to fight the coronavirus pandemic in Nigeria, the Standards Organisation of (SON), has undertaken quality assurance inspection of mass production of Barrier Masks in Abia and Rivers states.

The Abia State Office Coordinator, Oluyomi Lad-Alabi, accompanied by Ben Elesho, Atowa Chidiebere and Okecwukwu Okaugo, led the SON inspection team.
Receiving the SON team, Director General, Abia State Quality Management Agency, Sam Hart, on behalf of the State Government, described the inspection as timely.

According to him, the company had just received an order through the General Theophilus Danjuma Foundation to supply 200, 000 units of the barrier masks to Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camps in the North East of Nigeria.He expressed the appreciation of the Abia State Government to SON for its past collaboration in the area of quality assurance support to Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises in the State.

The General Manager of the Company, Chijioke Nwagwugwu explained that the company was mainly producing the Barrier Masks for the State Government to curb the community transmission of the Coronavirus.

Responding, Lad-Alabi commended the efforts of the company and the Abia State Government in curbing the community transmission of the Coronavirus in the State in particular, and the country in general. He explained that the SON inspection was to complement the efforts of the State Government through value addition to ensure that the barrier masks are produced to the requirements of the AFNOR SPEC S76-001: 2020, and thus achieve the protective measures that they are intended for.

The SON inspection team explained the standards in detail, while being conducted round the company production processes. The interactive session generated questions and answers on various aspects of the standard and the production process, while the SON team duly made clarifications.

In a related development, a team of SON inspectors from Rivers/Bayelsa office led by the State Coordinator, Ayuba Samuel Ushe, last week, embarked on a maiden inspection tour of Nigeria Airforce Investment Limited (NAFIL) Tailoring workshop located inside the NAF Base, Port-Harcourt.

The Managing Director of NAFIL, Air Commodore Clavartrinitas Uchechi Nwagwu, who disclosed that the centre was established to produce coveralls uniform for the Air Force personnel as well as personal protective equipment (PPE) coveralls for frontline health workers, received the SON team.

Air Commodore Nwagwu commended SON for being in the frontline of fighting COVID-19 during these perilous times.
He stressed that the company was ready and willing to complement SON efforts by ensuring that its products conform to applicable standards and are able to meet certification requirements.

According to him, the company had received orders from the Nigerian Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), and the Lagos State Government, while also getting requests from other organisations.

Responding, Engr. Ayuba applauded the management for switching attention to Barrier Masks and PPEs to meet the need for mass production, in order to enable the country flatten the curve of the COVID-19 infection.

He advised the NAFIL on the need to inscribe factory location for traceability and user’s instruction on the product packaging. The SON also advised tight sealing of the packaging materials to prevent the contamination of the products in transit.