The Bureau of Standards Jamaica (BSJ) is intensifying its activities to increase the compliance rate among block makers.
Two weeks ago, the BSJ revealed that islandwide inspections of more than 200 block makers showed that eight out of every 10 blocks were sub-standard.
Head of the Bureau’s Compliance Department, Wendell Richards, said for the month of November, 61 per cent of blocks tested by the BSJ failed compared to 83 per cent in September.
At a media briefing on Wednesday, the Director of the Regulatory Division at the Bureau, Orine Henry said to date, several manufacturers have brought their operations up to standard.
“We have been going to construction sites, hardware stores, everywhere we can find block makers, we have been targeting them,” she informed.
“If persons are operating in their backyard, our team might not necessarily know of those persons, but then again, we ask persons to provide us with information.”
She added that the Industrial Training Unit of the Bureau is now in the process of planning a developmental training programme for block makers.
“There might be some competency issues, so we are now putting together a programme. We have identified experts and early in the New Year, there will be a training programme and they (block makers) will be certified at the end of that programme,” she said.
Executive Director of the Fair Trading Commission, David Miller, noted that under the Standards Act, there could be penalties of up to J$3 million and 12 months imprisonment imposed on the block maker, who sells a faulty product.
“The Fair Trading Commission has not received any complaints but we are aware of the situation and we are gathering the necessary information on a broad scale. If specific complaints come in, we can gather that specific information from that consumer and from the block maker, who the complaint is brought against,” Miller explained.
The public is being encouraged to only purchase blocks from companies that are registered with the BSJ, or from hardware stores and other entities that can confirm that their blocks were acquired from registered block makers.
