Mission
The mission of the Ghana Standards Board is to contribute towards the strengthening of the economy of Ghana and towards the enhancement of the quality of life for all her people through promotion of standardisation.
Vision
To become the leading National Standards Body in the West African Sub-Region.
The National Quality Infrastructure is supported by the Ghana Standards Board (GSB), which is the national standards body on behalf of the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MOTI).
Services
- Standards Development
- Testing
- Inspection
- Certification
- Calibration and Verification
- Library and Information Dissemination Services
- Training & Sensitisation Activities
- Public Education & Consumer Protection
- Development of National Standards which are harmonised with relevant international standards
- Adoption(identical or modified) of relevant International Standards
- Assisting in the development of Company Standards for organisations (both Government and Private)
- Development of Standards for contractual services such as bulk commodity procurements/core works and other services
- Development of Standards for non-traditional export products
Testing
The GSB provides a diverse range of testing facilities and services as follows
Engineering Products and Materials
Areas covered are:
. Plastics,leather,rubber products
. Building and construction materials
. Electrotechnical products
. Mechnanical products(including metal fabrications)
. Petroleum products
. Packaging materials
. Textiles,garments and related products
. General and household chemicals
Chemical and/or Microbiological Analysis
Areas covered are:
. Food and Drugs
. Cosmetics, soaps and detergents
. Industrials raw materials
. Toxicological and forensic samples/specimens
. Pesticides residue levels in fruits and vegetables
. Afflatoxins and mycotoxins in cereals and nuts
. Metallic contaminants in foods
. Alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages
Inspection
Inspections and audits are conducted in support of the product certification scheme,
destination inspection programme and onbehalf of foreign certification.
These involve :
Factory Inspection
Destination Inspection
Fish Inspection
Market Surveillence
Certification
The Board carries out :
Product Certification
The GSB serves as an independent third party, undertaking product certification which
aims to provide confidence and assurance that a product complies with specified
national or international standards and specifications.
Licenses are then issued out for the use of the GSB
STANDARDS MARK.
Quality System Certification
Assists companies in both the manufacturing and service sectors to attain
certification to ISO 9000 Quality Management Systems
Calibration and Verification
The GSB as the custodian of weights and measures is responsible for the realisation, establishment
and maintenance of the Ghanaian National Standards of Measurements.
Under the weights and Measures Decree(NRCD 326,1975), the Board offers
Calibration and Verification services as indicated below
. Mass Measurements
. Dimensional and Linear Measurements
. Volume and Flow Measurements
. Pressure and Force Measurements
. Temperature Measurements
. Electrical Quantities Measurements
. Time and Frequency Measurements
Library and Information Dissemination Services
Sale of Standards
Rendering of library services, including the provision of information on standards, quality management and related fields.
Dissemination of information on Trade and/or Technical Regulations, Standards and Conformity Assessment Procedures to importers, exporters and general public (WTO/ITC National Enquiry Point).
Training & Sensitisation Activities
In line with the Board's efforts at assisting organisations to be competitive, on-site and off-site training programmes, seminars and workshops in Metrology, Standards, Testing and Quality Assurance are organised for the benefit of operators in the various sectors of the economy.
Some of the training programmes are:
Codes of good practices
Hazard Analysis Critical Control Points (HACCP)
Quality Management System (QMS)
Relevance and Application of standards
Import/Export procedures and requirements
Packaging and Labeling Requirements
Public Education & Consumer Protection
The Board also organises educational campaigns to sensitise the public on issues such as the relevance and usage of standards, labelling requirements, codes of practice as well as good manufacturing, management and trade practises.
Public Education on Standards and Quality are also held to create quality consciousness.
Current News
The Quality Assurance Division of Ghana Standards Board announces the following programme for training for the industry in the various regions apart from Greater Accra region. Registration should be done at the various GSB regional offices. The venue for the training will be decided in the various regions and all programmes start at 9:00am prompt.
The Quality Assurance Division of Ghana Standards Board announces the following programme for training for the industry in the greater Accra region. The venue for the training is the Ghana Standards Board training room and each course starts at 9:00am
The Ghana Standards Board in collaboration with the European Union has organized a training programme dubbed Better Training for Safer Food in Africa. It was aimed at strengthening national and regional sanitary and Phyto-sanitary capacities in Africa with reference to international standards. The training is crucial because of its importance to food security and the welfare of people.
It was attended by stakeholders from different parts of the country whose activities are relevant to food production and safety. The stakeholders included ELSA Foods, Ann Products, pastel Food Products, Everpure Ghana Limited, Orchids, BET-Abokoma, WEB Enterprise and Ermaks Enterprise.
The programme was also attended by officials from Ministry of Trade and Industry, Ministry of Food and Agriculture, Food and Drugs Board and University of Ghana.
Better Training for Safer Food in Africa (BSTF) is intended primarily for public authorities, producer associations and small and medium enterprises (SMEs). It is meant to improve the use of products such as fertilizers, pesticides and veterinary drugs and hygiene during production and distribution.
Again, the programme helps to strengthen control and certification of animals and products to increase the contribution of agriculture to rural development and food security with positive knock-on effects on growth and employment in Africa.
