THE DEVELOPMENT AND IMPLEMENTATION OF CODES
AND STANDARDS FOR ENGINEERING PRACTICE:
THE ROLE OF STANDARDS ORGANISATION OF NIGERIA &
OTHER STAKEHOLDERS
By
Chinyere V Egwuonwu (Mrs.)
Director, Standards Development
Standards Organisation of Nigeria
At a One Day Virtual Seminar organised by the NSE Codes And Standards Committee on 10th July 2010
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OUTLINE
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SEMINAR OBJECTIVES
INTRODUCTION
STANDARDS ORGANISATION OF NIGERIA IN BRIEF
SON- AS AN ESTABLISHED NATIONAL STANDARDS BODY (NSB)
THE CHARACTERISTICS OF THE STANDARDS WE DEVELOP
THE NIGERIAN INDUSTRIAL STANDARDS (NIS)
WHAT IS A STANDARD?
BENEFITS OF STANDARDS
PRINCIPLES OF GOOD STANDARDISATION PRACTICE
HOW ARE STANDARDS DEVELOPED AND STRUCTURED?
WHO MAKES STANDARDS?
STANDARDS REVIEW
WHAT IS STANDARD ADOPTION?
PARTICIPATING IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF INTERNATIONAL
STANDARDS
 ROLE OF SON IN IMPLEMENTATION OF CODES AND STANDARDS
FOR ENGINEERING PRACTICE - SON CERTIFICATION SCHEMES
 ROLE OF STAKEHOLDERS - How to Get Involved
 CONCLUSION
Seminar Objectives
Understand the role of SON as a National
standards Body with the mandate of
developing National Standards
The role of stakeholders in the standards
development and implementation
To understand what a standard is, the
different types of standards and different
levels of standards development
Understand the Stages of developing a
National (formal) standard
To Acquaint participants with the Review
of a standard, adoption of international or
regional standards as national standards is
all about and what is expected of us as
standards developers in adopting
international standards as national
standards .
INTRODUCTION
• Standards affects all aspects of our
every day life
• Develop standards to ensure
orderliness in a given context everyday life
• The importance of a National
Standards Body that would coordinate
the development of National standards
and ensure the availability of National
Standards for implementation in a
country can not be overemphasised
• Standards in Everyday Life
STANDARDS ORGANISATION OF NIGERIA IN BRIEF
Standards Organisation Of Nigeria ( referred to as
“SON”):
 Established as a National Standards Body in 1971 by an Enabling
Act No 56 of 1971. With several amendments
Repealed and re-enacted and currently the SON Act of 2015
Is a government Parastatal under the Federal Ministry of Industry,
Trade and Investment
Governed by a Governing body known as Standards Council of
Nigeria(commonly referred to as “the Council”)
SON IN BRIEF (contd)
SON
Cooperate
Headquarters
Abuja
SON
Operational
Headquarters
Lagos
State Offices
SON Has 33 state offices
covering the 36 States of the
Federation & FCT
Coordinated by the Regional
offices in the six geopolitical
zones
STANDARDS ORGANISATION OF NIGERIA IN BRIEF Cont’d
The Responsibilities of SON amongst others are:
 To develop Standards relating Products, materials, measurements, Processes and
Services
Promotion of these standards at national, regional and international levels
To ensure that locally manufactured or imported products and services comply
with the requirements of the relevant Standards through Conformity Assessment
activities.
Establish and maintain Laboratories
Establish and Maintain National Metrology Institute
Maintain and circulate information relating to standards
Advice government at all levels on matters relating to standardisation
It is Nigeria’s Representative ,National Secretariat and member of International
Standardization Bodies such as ISO, IEC, Codex Alimentarius, ARSO, AFRAC, AFSEC,
AFRIMET, ECOWAS etc .
SON in Brief (contd ) - Awareness And Collaboration
Promotion of these standards at national, regional and international
level
• Membership

African Organisation for Standardisation

Codex Alimentarius Commission

International Electrochemical Commission

International Telecommunication Union

International Organisation for Standardisation

MoUs , MRAs with other International Standardisation organisations
 WTO/TBT Desk – National Enquiry on TBT
• Membership /Agreements allow and permits the adoption (identical and
modified) of standards that are elaborated by the above International
organisations
SON- As an Established National Standards Body (NSB) – The
Standards Development

SON is the organization most representative of standardisation in Nigeria → National standards

Our standards development activities are demand-driven and are developed according to international
fundamental principles of good standardisation practice articulated by the WTO, ISO IEC DIRECIVES Parts 1
and 2

Development of National Standards is Committee Driven through National Technical Committees (sub
committees, working groups)
SON is the secretariat of these committees – coordinates and facilitates the activities

 SON Oversees / coordinates other standards development organisations (SDOs)
(mandated by our SON Act)
 Publishes & maintains National standards known as Nigerian Industrial Standards
(NIS) (Maintain and circulate information relating to standards
 Represents country in regional / international standardization organizations
Independence
Operates without undue political influence
Departments and services in SON
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Standards Development
Product Certification
Management System Certification
Laboratory Services
Operations
Inspectorate & Compliance Monitoring
Metrology and Instrumentation
Planning, Research and Statistics
Finance & Accounts
Human Resources Management
Legal Services
Corporate Affairs &SON Consult
SON CERTIFICATION SCHEMES
Standards Development
Preparation of Standards Relating To Products, Process, Materials,
Measurement Among Others
SON develops National standards through the Standards
Development Directorate
Standards Development Directorate: Functions in specialised
Groups viz
Chemical Technology
Civil/Building Engineering
Electrical/Electronics
Food Technology/Agriculture
Liquefied Petroleum Gas
Mechanical Engineering
Textile and Leather
Service Standards
The Characteristics of the Standards we develop
Voluntary in participation and market driven – every interested party can
participate in the making of a standard and provide comments when a
standard is submitted to public consultation. The decision to develop new
standards is driven by market needs/requests.
Develop according to international fundamental principles of good
standardisation practice articulated by the WTO. Strict Adherence to the
internationally acceptable principles of standard elaboration
Consensus based – all standards are subject to dialogue in order to
establish general agreement and consesnus of opinion based on scientific
and technical data. Strong stakeholders’ engagement.
Approved by a recognized body – the Standards Council of Nigeria
Nigerian Industrial Standards (NIS)
As an NSB, Formal recognition to produce formal Standards
We develop Formal standards (De jure (according to law) – National Standards known as
Nigerian Industrial Standards (NIS)
National, not SON, Standards (Nigerian Industrial Standard (NIS))
Industrial standards other than those established under section 23 of this Act, shall not be
called·Nigerian Industrial Standards. (section 24,subsection 2 SON ACT 2015)
Precise, authoritative, concise, consensus and formal document approved by the SON Council
Basic support for industrialization, trade, economic growth and market development;
Recognised means for assuring quality, safety, interoperability and reliability of products, processes
and services;
Technical basis for procurement(government);
Technical support for appropriate regulation;
What is a Standard?
Learning Objectives
• To understand what a standard is.
• To get knowledge of the difference between national, regional and
international standards
• To be able to differentiate between different types of standards
including de jure and de facto standards.
Definition of a Standard
There are many definitions of a standard. The one used in
the formal standardisation system is:
• A document, established by consensus and approved by a
recognized body, that provides, for common and repeated
use, rules, guidelines or characteristics for activities or their
results, aimed at the achievement of the optimum degree of
order in a given context. [ISO/IEC Guide 2:2004, definition
3.2]
• Standards should be based on the consolidated results of
science, technology and experience, and aimed at the
promotion of optimum community benefits
What is a standard?
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:
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It is a document :
established by all interested parties
reflects consensus
approved by a recognised body
meant for common and repeated use
Developed at various levels : –
-International Standards,
-Regional Standards
-National Standards

Standards at these three levels are developed by
recognized official standardisation organisations.
De jure and de facto standards
• De jure (according to law) standards
• Formal standards – standards developed by official standardization
organizations. These organizations can be international (like ISO, and IEC),
regional (like the European ARSO,CEN, CENELEC, ETSI) or national (like
SON, BSI, GSA,AFNOR, DIN, etc.) and have been given formal recognition
to produce formal standards.
• De facto standards
• The remaining group of standards, i.e. standards that are not developed by
one of the above-mentioned recognized bodies. These are standards that
have gained currency over time e.g. music notes. Other de facto standards
could be a result of one or more companies products where the products
become the ‘standard’ on the market.
Types of standards
Different types of standards fulfill different needs
• Basic standard: covers wide range aspects or a general provision of a
particular fields - e.g. SI units (International System for units).
• Product standard: that specifies requirements to be fulfilled by a product or a
group of products, to establish its fitness for purpose e.g. toys, electrical
equipment,
• Methods/Testing standard: concerned with tests may contain other provisions
related to testing, e.g. sampling, use of statistical methods, sequence of tests
• Terminology: concerned with terms accompanied by their definitions, and
sometimes by explanatory notes, illustrations, examples– e.g. definitions of
main terms within different fields.
• Code of practice - a type of standard that document that recommends
practices or procedures for the design, manufacture, installation,
maintenance or utilization of equipment, structures or products.
• Symbols – e.g. pictograms, symbols for machines, conveniences etc
• Management systems/Service standard:
• Management systems e.g. quality, risk, energy or environmental
management.
• Service standards may be prepared in fields such as laundering, hotelkeeping, transport, car-servicing, telecommunications, insurance,
banking, trading
The Benefits of Standards
Illustration of the common benefits of a standard and standardization in general
PRINCIPLES OF GOOD
STANDARDISATION
PRACTICE
Learning Objectives
To understand the Principles of Good Standardisation
Practice
To Acquaint participants with how SON is adhering to and
complying with these Principles
To understand the role of the stakeholders in achieving
these principles.
PRINCIPLES OF GOOD STANDARDISATION
PRACTICE
Certain fundamental principles:
 Are maintained during standardisation activities.
 Have been articulated by several organisations such as the
WTO.
 Formal international /regional/national standards, such as those
from ISO and SON are prepared following such principles.
PRINCIPLES OF GOOD STANDARDISATION PRACTICE
 To ensure that international /regional/national standards (ISO, IEC,
CODEX, NIS) have global relevance and acceptance worldwide
 International /regional/national standards are developed according to
good standardization practice.
 As an ISO member, we are a part of this good practice. We follow ISO
rules, involve stakeholders, and are able to implement and adopt ISO
standards
 This means that, to develop standards, you need to have standards
systems and processes in your national standards body in line with
the good standardisation principles
PRINCIPLES OF GOOD STANDARDISATION PRACTICE
• These key principles of good standardisation practice
are:
Transparency;
Openness;
Impartiality
Consensus and Stakeholders’ Engagement;
Effectiveness and Relevance;
Coherence;
1
Transparency:
All essential information regarding:
 current work programmes,
 as well as on proposals for standards, guides
and recommendations under consideration
 and on the final results
should be made easily accessible to at least all
interested parties(including all WTO Members)
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Regularly updated information is easily accessible
in due time to allow all parties, including
stakeholders, to participate in the standardization
process if they want to.
Access to the contributions of all other parties
actively involved in the standardization work.
Established a
WTO/TBT DESK
Upload on our
website,(SOP, work
plan, catalogue)
Strategic business
plan
NNSS
2
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Openness:
This includes openness without
discrimination with respect to the
participation at every stage of
standards development.
Shall allow a specifies period (of at
least 30 days) for the submission
of comments on the draft standard
by interested parties within the
territory of a Member of the WTO
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this means giving equal
opportunity and timing to all
stakeholders
Membership of Technical
Committee should be open on a
non-discriminatory basis to
relevant stakeholders.
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Our National
Technical
Committees are
opened to all
relevant /interested
stakeholders
We ensure
participation of
stakeholders at
every stage starting
from the drafting of
the committee draft
to enquiry stage to
TC and final
approval by theTC
Chair
We allow enquiry
period of 30 days
3
Impartiality
The standard development
process will not give
privilege to, or favour the
interests of, a particular
group supplier/s, country
(ies) or region/s.
All relevant
stakeholders/bodies should
be provided with meaningful
opportunities to contribute
to the elaboration of
standards.
Enquiry
stage , TC
meetings
Consensus
 General agreement characterized by the
absence of sustained opposition to substantial
issues by any important part of the concerned
interests and by a process that involves
seeking to take into account the views of all
parties concerned and to reconcile any
conflicting arguments
Consensus procedures should be established that seek
to take into account the view of all parties concerned
and to reconcile any conflicting arguments
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make every effort to achieve a national consensus
on standards we develop
Stakeholder Engagement
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All parties participate in decision making.
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All views are sought and parties involved in coming
to decisions
General agreement as to the outcome which results in
better acceptance of the result
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(TC, TC CHAIR
APPROVAL, APPEAL)
STANDARDS DIRECTORATE SECRETARIAT
5 Effectiveness and
relevance:
In order to facilitate both local and
international trade and preventing
unnecessary trade barriers,
standards need to be relevant and
to effectively respond to regulatory
, market/industry needs, as well as
scientific and technological
developments
The relevance of standards is
ensured by an efficient
standardization work, i.e.: when the
expected deliverables are produced
within the set deadlines/Timelines
and are costs effective
Demand
driven,
 Review for
adequacy
 we have set
Timelines for
each stage of
the standards
development
stage and
abide by the
ISO directives
part 1)
 Strategic
business plan
 NNSS

6
Coherence:
In order to avoid the
development of
conflicting international
/national standards, it is
important that
international or national
standardizing bodies
avoid duplication of, or
overlap with, the work
of other international
standardizing bodies. In
this respect,
cooperation and
coordination with other
relevant standards
development
organisation/bodies is
essential.
collaborating with
sectorial associations,
professional bodies in
the development of
standards eg NSEs
In line with SON Act
2015 (section 5
subsection 2)
“For the purposes of
uniformity of standards in
Nigeria, all regulatory Agencies
or Organisations dealing with
matters pertaining to or related
to standards shall do so in
collaboration with SON”
HOW ARE STANDARDS
DEVELOPED AND
STRUCTURED?
Who Makes Standards?
Standardisation is open to anyone.
Standards are developed by groups of experts called
Technical Committees - stakeholder committees
representing the interests of all those who will be (or
are likely to be..) affected by the standards.
Technical Committees(sub committees,
working groups) - group of relevant experts and
other stakeholders in the public and private sector
charged with the responsibility of formulating our
National Standards) - consumers, manufacturers
Govt Agencies, the Academia , research institutes,
NGO,
The easiest way to find out and to get involved in
standardisation is to contact your National Standardisation
Organization - SON
Technical committee
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TC members: interested stakeholders
nominated by their organisations,
companies, groups to represent
them at the TC.
TC Chair: The chair of a Technical
committee is elected by the members
of the TC and is responsible for the
overall management of the technical
committee, including any
subcommittees and working groups
The secretariat of a Technical
Committee: provides technical and
administrative services to allocated
technical committee or
subcommittee
How are Standards Made?
Standards elaboration involves a lot of activities
starting from the identification of the need for a
standard (initiation) to the drafting, to the phase
of a Public Enquiry, Technical Committee,
approval by the Standards Council of Nigeria,
publishing and finally, the implementation of a
standard.
 SON standards development processes are guided
by the WTO/TBT agreement and ISO/IEC Directives
Parts1(Procedures for the technical work ) ad
2(Rules for the structure and drafting of
International Standards).
Revising a standard is also part of the lifecycle of a
standard. The Technical Committee makes sure that
a standard is up-to-date
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Stages in developing a Nigerian Industrial Standards
(NIS)
Stage 1
Stage 2
Stage 3
Stage 4
Proposal stage - Initiation of the need for a
standard (Needs may be identified by any of the
stakeholders (from government, individual or
public , private organisation sectorial groups.
Approval of new work
Preparatory stage - The preparatory stage covers
he preparation of a working draft (WD) by the
Technical Secretary
Committee draft stage – development of the
committee draft (CD) by working group
(comprising of some relevant
experts/stakeholders and SON).
Enquiry - circulation of the enquiry draft (DNIS)
to all stakeholders for 30 days using Comment
Template. Wide circulation as much as possible
(not only to TC members) Collation of comments
from stakeholders
Stage 5
Technical Committee meeting
(– Round table meeting for
consensus on the draft
standard. Approval by the TC
Chairman)
Stage 6
Editing by the Editorial
Committee
Stage 7
Approval stage - Approval by
Standards Council of Nigeria
Stage 9 Publishing
How Standards are
Structured?
• One important feature
of de jure standards is
that they are all
structured in the same
way. This makes it
much easier to get an
overview of, and to
find specific
information in a
standard.
Standards Review
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Is the activity of checking a standard to determine whether it
is to be reaffirmed, changed or withdrawn
Standards are reviewed after 5 years inline with ISO and SON
Act
Why are standards reviewed?
Standards are reviewed:
 To ensure that the standard is still adequate
 Due to change in Government policy
 When standard is noted to be defective
 Due to change in technology/process.
The review may lead to the revision of the standard or its
withdrawal
What is Standard
Adoption?
Standards adoption
What is Standards adoption ?
This is the process of acquiring an existing national , regional, or international
standard as Nigerian Industrial standard with or without amendment to the original
standard. This is normally done when the requirement of the standard suits our local
environment
The adoption of an International Standard is defined as:
“The publication of a regional or national normative document based on a
relevant International Standard, or endorsement of the International
Standard as having the same status as a national normative document, with
any deviations from the International Standard identified”
(ISO/IEC Guide 21-1 (Adapted from ISO/IEC Guide 2:2004, 10.1.)
Why adopt international standards?
• Improves quality of local products/produce and services
• Enhances market competiveness of the products both locally and
internationally.
• Constitutes important basis for the removal of technical barriers to
trade. Therefore, Promotes export of products
• Protects the country against the practice of dumping of sub standard
products.
• Reliable basis for technological transfer and industrial development
What to consider before adopting a standard
International standards to be adopted for national
use shall comply with the following:
 Not
dependent on indigenous technology
 Not
dependent on climatic conditions
 Not
dependent on trade practices
 Not
in conflict with statutory regulatory
requirements
Types of Adoption (Identifying the degree
of correspondence)
ISO/IEC Guide 21 defines three degrees of correspondence between an International
Standard and adopting regional or national standard

Identical adoption
Identical in technical content, structure and wording (or is an identical translation )
Can contain certain defined minimal editorial changes (eg substitution of a decimal
comma by a decimal point; correction such as spelling errors or pagination changes )


Modified adoption
Can contain technical deviations (changes introduced in the adopting regional or
national standard), which are clearly identified and explained
Changes to the structure of the standard must be limited so that an easy comparison
is possible between the adopting regional or national standard and the International
Standard
Not equivalent
Not equivalent in content and structure, technical deviations
identified
are
not clearly
Degrees of correspondence
Identical
Adoption
Modified
Adoption
Not equivalent
No adoption
A regional or national standard, which has a degree of
correspondence to the International Standard identified as “not
equivalent” IS NOT an adoption
THEREFORE:
An International Standard is considered to have been adopted when
the regional or national standard is identical or modified in relation
to the International Standard.
Methods of indicating technical deviations
and editorial changes

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The regional or national standards should include an
explanation using a regional or national introduction or
preface or foreword
Note that where technical deviations (and reasons for them)
or editorial changes are few, they may be placed in the
regional or national introduction or preface or foreword,
But where the text is large they can be placed as an annex
which will be refrenced in the foreword
We use NATIONAL FOREWORD
Content of a National Foreword
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A national foreword may contain information or instructions pertinent to the
national adoption of the standard. Such information would normally include the
following:
The status of adoption (whether identical or modified)
The original parent publication title and reference number of the international
standard(with the year of publication), e.g. ISO 9001:2015, Quality management
systems — Requirements

The name of the National Technical Committee responsible for the adoption of the
standard.

Where it applies, details of editorial changes;

Where it applies, the technical deviations and changes in structure, together with the
explanations of why they have been made (reasons for them), and how they are
identified in the text. ( or reference to the annex giving this information).
Participating in the development of international Standards
International Standardisation Activities
• Involved in International Standards Development at ISO, IEC, CODEX.
• Use Natiomal Experts
• National Mirror/Technical Committees
• The National Mirror Committee are expected to articulate the views of the
industries and regulators from Nigeria and canvas it through its national
delegates to the technical committee, subcommittee or workgroups
meetings
• Articulate and ensure inputs in developing international standards
• Adopt International Standards (identical or modified)
Harmonisation of standards
• Harmonized standards - equivalent standards on the same subject
approved by different National standardizing bodies.
• Harmonisation of standards within ECOWAS
• Harmonisation of standards within Africa
• In both where there are international standards of interest we adopt such
• Adopt the harmonised standards and withdraw conflicting National
standards.
• Participated actively in formulating the ECOWAS quality policy
• AfCFTA – working hard to ensure standards of interest to our stakeholders
are presented for harmonisation – Nigerian National Standardisation
Strategy
Role of SON in implementation of Codes and Standards
for Engineering practice - SON CERTIFICATION
SCHEMES
Ensure locally manufactured or imported products
and services comply with the requirements of the
relevant Standards through Conformity Assessment
activities.(SON ACT OF 2015)
 PRODUCT CERTIFICATION SCHEMES
Product certification Directorate
- Is in the process of achieving accreditation to ISO/IEC 7065
The main product certification schemes operated
by SON:
Mandatory conformity Assessment Programme
(MANCAP)
SON Conformity Assessment Programme (SONCAP)
Product type Certification for Exports
Voluntary Product Certification Scheme (NIS Mark of
Quality).
Nigerian Quality Award Scheme (NQA)
Various Agricultural produce/products, farming
tools/machineries, engineering products have
been certified –PMS, Lubricants, LPG, AGO, paints,
Welding electronic, cables, electrodes, welding
equipment, safety equipment, petrol, LPG, AGO,
Lubricating oil, bolts and nuts, screw, pressure vessel,
pipelines, Fuel tanker etc.
Role of SON in implementation of Codes and Standards for
Engineering practice - SON CERTIFICATION SCHEMES
Management system Certification Directorate
Accredited to to ISO/IEC 17021
Offers third party certification services to organisations on
applicable management systems standards (Quality,
Environment, Food safety, Occupational Health and safety and
integrated Management System).
Use highly competent Auditors
Have certified several organisations (including many
engineering firms ) spread across the country
Role of SON in implementation of Codes and Standards for
Engineering practice - SON CERTIFICATION SCHEMES
Establish and maintain Laboratories
Laboratory Services Directorate
The Laboratory Services Directorate offers
testing services using high tech testing facilities
to enable effective performance of quality
assurance activities during the implementation
of standards.
The laboratories are:
Food Technology Laboratories , Lekki, Lagos
Chemical Technology Laboratory
Electrical/Electronic Laboratory
Engineering Laboratory
Textile and Leather Laboratory
 The physico –
Chemical Testing
and Microbiology
laboratories have
been accredited
 The Micro nutrient
Laboratory is also
in the process of
getting accredited
 The Electrical
laboratory is also in
the process of
getting accredited.
Role of stakeholders - How to Get Involved
There are different ways to get involved and different levels of
involvement in the standards development process:
 Become a member of a National Mirror/ Technical committee, working group
 Ensure Effective Participation in TC/NMC Meetings
 Have demonstrated competence in the field in which the committee is writing
standards
 Attend meetings and actively participate in the development of a standards project
 Submitting comments at the public consultation stage.
 Work with SON to ensure the availability of national standards,
 Share information obtained through research, experience
 Have the ability to represent the NMC consensus viewpoints in a clear, concise and
persuasive manner
 Implement the published standards (testing and certification)
CONCLUSION
Standards are key drivers of business across all sectors of the
economy
Promotes consumer confidence
SON certification schemes promotes global competiveness of Nigerian
products /services: among domestic manufactures and organisations
through compliance with the requirements of the relevant NIS or
equivalent International standards
Processes are streamlined and made easy for stakeholders
The world can not do without standards
CONCLUSION
Standards rule the world. We are in a very complex world,
where countries are striving to improve their systems and
processes in order to gain market share of the Global market.
 It is only the Technical specifications contained in the
standards that determine what is acceptable to the market.
The SON is alive to its responsibilities to contribute to national
wealth, improving quality of life, increasing employment,
improving health and safety of Nigerians through standards.
Conclusion
The NSE is encouraged to
continue to:
 Work together with SON to
ensure availability of
standards
 Collaboration with the
Standards Organisation of
Nigeria as it deals and
handles its regulatory duties
and matters pertaining to or
related to standards as
specified by the SON Act of
2015
57
Thank you
For Your Attention
• QUESTIONS