Quality and Safety Standards
Introduction
Quality and safety standards have come to the fore in the last few years as most businesses focus their efforts on attaining the suitable quality standards for their business. Kenyan Factories need to maintain certain quality and safety standards to provide their workers with a healthy working environment and ensure their safety from industrial accidents. Most of these standards are internationally recognised, to ensure the clients feel that the factory utilizes quality and safety standards and employees work in ethical and safe conditions. Accordance of quality and safety standards in Kenyan factories also ensures that the government trusts the factory owners with the products produced and the safety of the workers. Some of the quality and safety standards that Kenyan factories need or could follow are listed below.
Quality and Safety Standards
Some of the commonly known quality standards that Kenyan factories can follow are the ISO 9001:2008 QMS (Quality Management Systems), the ISO 14001 EMS (Environmental Management systems), HACCPs, the ISO 22000 FSMS (Food Safety Management Systems), the OHSAS 18001 (Occupational Health and Safety Management Systems), KS 2573 (Hygiene in Food AND Catering Establishments) and FSSC. These standards are common among Kenyan businesses as they need to comply with the international quality standards and ensure the quality of their products and services made. It is also important to assure that Kenyan factories are run on the basis of the latest quality standards, environmental management standards, workers’ health, occupational safety, food hygiene, etc. These basic quality standards are somewhat essential for running effective operation in Kenya (Kenya Bureau of Standards, 2014).
Use of other ISO standards such as ISO 17020, ISO 17025, and ISO Guide 65 are representation of international consensus. Using these standards helps in coherence and consistency of conformity assessment throughout the world and facilitates in cross‐border trading. ISO 5001:2011 is also important for energy management; it helps in addressing that the factory is run on optimum energy, due to the meagre resources of the country. ISO 31000:2009, the ISO publication on risk management is another quality standard that provides Kenyan government and factories the opportunity of focusing their potential risks and averting future crises whenever the standard is implemented. In combination, these standards are essential for factories in Kenya as they provide evidence that the factory owners are running an operation on the basis of the highest available quality and safety standards (William, 2012).
The 2010 revised OSHA Act provides for safety, welfare and health of workers and everyone present at the workplace. Section 6 involves providing and maintaining the plant and ensuring systems and procedures of work are safe to use and carry no risk to worker’s health. Section 101 requires that employees should be given requisite clothing and appliances when the working conditions are either wet or any other offensive or injurious substance. Section 102 of the Act provides that employers need to supply their employees with effective screen and goggles to protect their eyes. Section 99 specifies that workers should not be assigned to machines or processes that can cause bodily injury or ill health. In combination, these sections and others make it essential that certain working environment is provided to workers to protect their health and maintain safety at workplace (COTU, 2016).
Conclusion
Kenyan factories need to follow or can follow certain quality and safety standards to make their workplace better and safer for their employees and ensure any accidents and workplace mishaps are avoided. Quality standards from ISO are mostly applicable to ensure quality standards at maintained in the factories and the OSHA Act and its sections can be used for safety of employees is maintained at factory.
References
Central Organisation of Trade Unions. (2016). Health and Safety Laws. Retrieved 23 March 2016 from, http://www.mywage.org/kenya/home/labour-laws/health-and-safety-at-work/health-and-safety-laws
KEBS. (2014). Certified Firms Lists. Retrieved 23 March 2016 from, http://www.kebs.org/index.php?opt=certification&view=haccp_certfirms
William., A.O. (2012). The Role of ISO Standards in Kenya’s Economy. Retrieved 23 March 2016 from, http://www.iso.org/iso/iso_essay_contest-2012.pdf
