COVID-19 SON undertakes quality assurance inspection in Abia, Rivers states

In continuation of its technical support to local Manufacturers in the production of essential materials to fight the coronavirus pandemic in Nigeria, Standards Organisation of (SON) has undertaken quality assurance inspection of mass production of Barrier Masks in Abia and Rivers States. The Abia State Office of SON has undertaken a quality assurance inspection of Logistics De Luke Ltd., located at 20, Park Road, Aba, Abia State where mass production of Barrier Masks was ongoing. The SON inspection team was led by the Abia State Office Coordinator, Oluyomi Lad-Alabi, accompanied by Messrs. Ben Elesho, Atowa Chidiebere and Okecwukwu Okaugo. Receiving the SON team, Director General, Abia State Quality Management Agency, Mr. 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, Mr. 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, Mr. Lad-Alabi commended the efforts of the company and the Abia State Government at curbing the community transmission of the Corona virus 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 it was 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. Copies of the Standard for making and use of Barrier Masks were given to the company at no cost.

In a related development, a team of SON inspectors from Rivers/Bayelsa office led by the State Coordinator Engr. Ayuba Samuel Ushe last week, embarked on a maiden inspection tour of Nigeria Airforce Investment Limited (NAFIL) Tailoring workshop located inside the NAF Base Portharcourt. 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.  Copies of the applicable Standards were presented to NAFIL while samples of the products were obtained for Laboratory tests and analysis.