'SLS' accepted in many countries

Jayasri Jayakody

The 'SLS' product certification mark of the Sri Lanka Standards Institution (SLSI) is now accepted in many countries and officials of the SLSI regularly visit overseas to assess the relevant quality control practices and to determine the product conformity against the applicable national standard of the interested organizations as part of the procedure of granting the 'SLS' for the products manufactured by those organizations.

Because of this initiative 'SLS' mark has been granted to many manufacturing organizations in countries such as Pakistan, Malaysia, China, Singapore, Indonesia, India, Turkey and UAE thereby earning much needed foreign exchange for the country, the Director General and the Chief Executive Officer of the Sri Lanka Standards Institution, Dr. Lalith N. Senaweera said.

"We always check imported consignments of items coming under the purview of the compulsory scheme for compliance to Sri Lankan standards and this is a time-consuming process as the required tests have to be performed for each and every consignment to assure quality.

To get over the delays in exporting, some countries requested us to send our personnel to assess their manufacturing facilities to establish 'Sri Lanka Standards' and after doing thorough assessments and conducting tests of the products SLSI grants the product certification mark 'SLS' ensuring the quality of such products.

Now, after a thorough familiarization process, the consignments arrive in Sri Lanka marked 'SLS.'

This is a great accomplishment for the country and an acknowledgement that its' standards are accepted world over.

We are also able to bring in much needed foreign exchange to the country through this programme," Dr. Senaweera said.