Quality Infrastructure Development a must for global trade

By C.D.R.A. Jayawardene, Director General/CEO, Sri Lanka Standards Institution

While progress is made in making changes in administration procedures and requirements, technical barriers to trade resulting from standards and conformity assessment procedures have become more complex and require concerted efforts by the individual countries to overcome them.

As far as the standards for products and services are concerned a well established mechanism exists at International, Regional and National levels to provide the necessary normative documents that describe the requirements of products/services at each level. In fact the standardization activity at National level is nearly a 100 years old while the International standardization activity is few years short of the National programme.

In Sri Lanka too the National standardization activity commenced about 50 years back with the establishment of regulations for the control of food and drugs in 1949 and for the control of legal metrology in 1946. The establishment of the Sri Lanka Standards Institution (SLSI) in 1965 can be considered a significant step for quality infrastructure development in the country.

The Sri Lanka Standards Institution has so far published over 1100 National Standards for products and processes which are mostly consumed locally. Interests of the local consumer has been safeguarded through the standards established so far while at the same time providing a guide to the local business sector for the production of goods and services. The question is 'do Sri Lanka Standards satisfy global markets?'

It is here the International standardization programme becomes vital to all countries including Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka has decided in principle to adopt International standards whenever such standards are relevant to our industry.

If one looks at the type of International standards produced by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), most of these are not relevant to our economy.

Our economy is predominantly agricultural based and our exports are mostly agricultural commodities with little or no value added.

The garment industries are operated on the basis of buyer to seller agreement. Hence the International product standards approved by ISO are of less significance to our exports. What is important to a country like Sri Lanka is a credible system for conformity assessment acceptable to the International community.

Whatever the nature of products that is exported from Sri Lanka the quality of the product must be assured to the buyer. The assessment of quality must be reliable and credible. Such systems are essential to suppliers, consumers and regulatory authorities.

Suppliers can use such systems for market differentiation for consumers as a basis for choosing reliable products and to the regulators as a means for providing the levels of protection required by the law that they administer.

At International level the conformity assessment becomes even more important for International trade. The conformity assessment systems must be in accordance with International standards so that assessment carried out in one country would be acceptable to another. Sri Lanka is well on the way to the establishment of a credible, reliable conformity assessment scheme.

The proposed National Accreditation Board will fill the void that exists in the country for supervision and control of quality related activities.

The Cabinet of Ministers of Sri Lanka government has already given the green light to proceed with the establishment of this body and the necessary legislation is being studied by the legal draftsmen before it is presented to the Parliament.

The main objectives of the Accreditation Board are:

(a) to carry out accreditation of conformity assessment bodies in accordance with established international and national standards;

(b) to promote accreditation activities in conformity with the guidelines laid down in the national Quality Policy;

(c) to establish competence in internationally accepted accreditation practices and participate in international co-operation in accreditation;

(d) to encourage and promote the use of accreditation, training of assessors, conduct seminars and disseminate information;

(e) to conclude agreements on mutual recognition with other similar foreign and international bodies.

Initially this organization is manned by a few staff officers of the Sri Lanka Standards Institution who have been already trained in Sweden to undertake the operations of this organization. This was made possible under the Swedish International Development Agency Programme (Sida), a project implemented between SLSI and Sida for quality infrastructure development in the country.

The National Accreditation Board will supervise the laboratory accreditation, calibration, product certification, suppliers declaration and quality system certification activities undertaken by both private and public sector organizations.

For International recognition of the conformity assessment programme it is necessary that the National Accreditation Board of Sri Lanka enters into mutual recognition agreement with National Accreditation Boards of other countries.

ISO is now developing guidelines for entering into such agreements between National Accreditation Boards of different countries. One of the first responsibilities of the Sri Lanka National Accreditation Board would be to develop mutual recognition agreements with the major trading partners (both for import and export trade) so that there would be a free flow of goods between Sri Lanka and her trading partners.

Shipping

Hanjin Shipping wins award

BDP International held its annual 'Adventures in Customer Satisfaction Event' at the Company's head office from October 5 to 9 and as a result Hanjin Shipping was selected as the recipient of the award among 40 other carriers. Evaluations were based on Excellence, Dedication and Commitment to Customer Service. Those participants, John Annina, Frank Vanduyn, M.K. Kwon and many others share the credit for this special award.

BDP International is the largest privately-owned global logistics company in the United States. 

K Line adjusts Asia/PSW loops

In contrast, uncertainties surrounding the Malaysian economy has led K Line to discontinue direct service to Port Klang with its mainline vessels. In future, Malaysian cargo will be relayed, principally over Singapore.

Under the revised operating system, K Line is revamping its PSW service by taking out two of the six 3,500 TEU class vessels and turning the ships in Yantian. Previously, the vessels had extended west to Port Klang and also included direct calls in Singapore.

The revised PSW link will be maintained with five ships (4 x 3,500 TEU and 1 x 2,800 TEU) and offer direct calls at Long Beach, Oakland, Tokyo, Nagoya, Yantian, Hong Kong, Kobe, Nagoya, Tokyo and return to Long Beach.

Singapore will now feature as the furthest point west in the carrier's revised ASW loop, which will include direct calls at Long Beach, Oakland, Kobe, Keelung, Hong Kong, Singapore, Hong Kong, Kaohsiung, Long Beach. This service will use 6 x 2,800 TEU-class ships.The 2 x 3,500 TEU-class ships which have become surplus to K Line's transpacific requirements are being repositioned into the carrier's northern Europe/Asia link, which is also being revamped.

Commencing in November, K Line's Japan-Asia Express service will use 8 x 3,500 TEU ships on an itinerary taking in Rotterdam, Felixstowe, Bremerhaven/Hamburg, Le Havre, Port Said, Singapore, Hong Kong, Kobe, Nagoya, Tokyo, Hong Kong, Singapore and Ports Said.

The Taiwan Asia Express loop, on which K Line buys slots from its partner Yangming, is also being restructured from an eight-ship to a seven-ship operation. Its revised itinerary will feature direct calls at Rotterdam, Hamburg, Felixstowe, Antwerp, Singapore, Hong Kong, Kaohsiung, Singapore and return to Rotterdam.

K Line's Europe/Asia and transpacific services are operated in conjunction with Yangming and Cosco.

CIT two-day seminar on transport problems

A two-day international conference on Transportation covering all modes under the theme "A vision for resolving transport problems in South Asia", has been arranged by the Chartered Institute of Transport for February 20 and 21 at the Holiday Inn.

This is part of the Transport Day activities organized by the Ministry of Transport and Highways. Six foreign experts in transportation together with four local experts will present papers covering the latest trend in transportation.

The bus sector will be covered by P.R. Fouracre of the Transport Research Laboratory of the UK, Premier Research Laboratory on Land Transportation in the world. He will talk on "Taking Bus Industry into the 21st Century".

Dr. Chin Hoong Chor of the University of Singapore will talk on the bus system in Singapore which will also cover road pricing, a system which has been successfully implanted in Singapore since May, last year.

The session on highways will be covered by Nishantha R. Gunawardena of the Indiana Department of Transportation - US who will give an overview of the Private Sector involvement in Transportation in the US.

N. Rahamutullah of the Transport Development Division UNESCAP Bangkok, will talk on shipping in the Next Millennium and H.D.S.K. Premachandra of the Sri Lanka Ports Authority will dwell on the topic "Development of Port Capacity: would it exceed demand."

Adanan Shamsudin of the Malaysia Airports Berhad will talk on the Kuala Lumpur experience in designing a competitive airport as a catalyst to develop Transit Traffic. Ajith Wijesekera of Global Distrubtion Services and Senaka Fernando of Air Lanka will talk on the Computer Reservation systems and their impact on AirLine business.

Peter D. Gillhan will talk on problems and prospects of investing in Operating an Urban Light Rail System on a BOT/BOO/BOOT basis, and supported by Priyal de Silva of the Sri Lanka Railways who will talk on a vision for resolving social and technical problems facing Sri Lanka Railways.

SCL and Delmas untie W. Africa knot

Under Concorde, the two lines jointly operated their services through co-ordinating schedules and sharing space on each others' ships. In future, the two lines will operate and schedule their services totally independently, although they will continue to buy slots from each other as required and available.The new arrangement allows Delmas to build its services arround its main area of interest, West Africa. Under Concorde, it had to make compromises to suit SCL which seeks to rationalise its South African and West African services.

In Delmas' eyes, SCL's priority was always South Africa; and, for Delmas, SCL's recent transfer into 100% South African ownership only underlined that strong South African orientation.

Unifeeder includes Tallinn 

Vessels call at Bremerhaven on Mondays, Hamburg on Tuesdays, and Tallinn on Fridays. In addition, empty containers can be repositioned to ports in Scandinavia and the continent by prior arrangement.

As for cargo going through other Baltic ports to Russia, Customs procedures in Tallinn are understood to be much simpler than those prevailing in St. Petersburg. Relations between Estonia and Russia are also currently said to be better than between Latvia (Riga) and Russia.

The normal service offered by Unifeeder is port-to-port only. 

FMC investigates Asian rate increases

The FMC enquiry follows a spate of criticisms from shippers and invoices who claim that shipping lines have been charging additional rates for guaranteed space on their ships.

There have also been allegations about re-negotiation and termination of existing service contracts, mis-declaration of lower value cargo to get higher rates and favouritism being expressed to larger shippers, all of which are illegal under US shipping law.

'The entire Commission is very concerned about these reports, which allege potentially unlawful activity on the part of the carriers at this peak shipping season, declared Harold Creel, Chairman of the FMC.

While this proceeding may result in prosecution, our immediate aim is to put a stop to any such unlawful practices.

The fact finding investigation is being led by Delmond Won, one of the four commissioners at the FMC. He has a 90 day period in which to finalise his report, but is hoping to complete the work much sooner.

Complaints about carriers' activities in the trade have mushroomed in recent months as the prices shippers have to pay for moving cargo have escalated. Apparently, the FMC has received information from some parties that they are having to pay up to $1,000 premiums to secure equipments to move their goods.

However, carrier executives argue that the higher rates and surcharges are a reflection of market forces and that their actions have been taken purely to recover additional operating expenses and ensure shippers reliable service. 

On a round voyage basis, for instance, revenues and margins at many companies are poorer now than 12 months ago.

Since the Asia currency crisis of summer 1997, vessels in the east-bound transpacific trade have been sailing full and some cargo has had to be rolled over.

Moreover, the liner companies have faced additional costs in trying to reposition enough equipment to those ports where demand for cargo space is highest, such as Jakarta, Port Klang, Bangkok and Seoul. Since June, peak season surcharges have been introduced to help cover additional operating expenses.

Initially, the fees were set at $100/FEU, but from mid July raised to $300/FEU. They have also been extended from end-October to end- November.

On the rating front, the Asia North America Eastbound Rate Agreement lifted tariff and service contract rates by $300/FEU. In contrast, rates in the westbound market have dropped to levels as low as $300/400 FEU.

At this stage the FMC is only conducting a fact-finding investigation, although this could lead to a formal enquiry.

Vijaya joins Union Bank

A graduate of the University of Cambridge, he is a Barrister-at- Law (Inner Temple) and an Attorney- at- Law.

Having commenced operation in mid 1995 Union Bank now has 10 offices, six in Colombo and four in the outstation namely Kandy, Kurunegala, Negombo, Matara and is the only bank to be awarded the ISO 9002 Quality Certification for the full range of Commercial Bank Services.

Cathay Pacific wins journalists' award

Cathay Pacific was voted the 1999 Journalists' Choice Airline - Asia Pacific for the effectiveness of its corporate communications depart-ment.The Journalists' Awards gives media the opportunity to express their opinions on the services provided by the aviation industry.

"We are honoured to win these accolades as recognition of our efforts to provide our trademark 'Service Straight From the Heart' to passengers as well as media colleagues," said Andrew Herdman, General Manager Public Affairs for the Swire Group. "On the corporate communication side, we are committed to openness and accuracy, no less so when we are facing challenging business conditions."

Cathay Pacific also won awards in the categories of Best First Class, Best Short Haul Executive/Business Class, best Long-Haul, Executive/Business Class, Best Frequent Flyer Programme and Best Asian Airline.

The OAG awards are voted for by subscribers of OAG Worldwide products. The Airline of the Year Awards have been held for 17 years.

Cathay Pacific has received more than 20 major industry and travel awards over the past 12 months in recognition of it's outstanding service, quality products, marketing and environmental initiatives, and corporate reputation.

Three who reached the top in services

His pioneering efforts in promoting eco-tourism in Sri Lanka are widely acclaimed. Under Mr. Cooray's pioneering leadership Aitken Spence Group was able to establish Kandalama Hotels, a masterpiece in eco-tourism which won the prestigious Green Globe Internationl Award for Eco-Tourism three times. Mr. Cooray was instrumental in expanding off-shore tourism by setting up two resorts under Aitken Spence Group in Male.

Due to Mr. Cooray's initiatives with the World Travel & Tourism Council, Sri Lanka's travel and tourism industry has benefited a great deal as a Green Globe Destination. Mr. Cooray also holds the Office of President, Tourist Hotels Association of Sri Lanka.

Kingsley Wickremasuriya, BA (Cey.), MPA (Sri. J.), MSc. (Southern Illinois) retired from the Public Service in 1998 from the Department of Police. Having joined the police in 1963 as a probationary Assistant Superintendent of Police Mr. Wickremasuriya served the police for over 30 years in different capacities as a Police Administrator. His service as SSP Jaffna had been praised in the Parliament by the leaders of Tamil political parties. Mr. Wickremasuriya has made a significant contribution towards improvement of various aspects of Management in the Police Department during his tenure as DIG (Logistics), DIG (Personnel) and Senior DIG (Administration).

Ms. Marise Deckker, MBA (Sri. J.), Chartered Accountant, is the Chairperson and Managing Diector of Astron Ltd., which develops and manufactures a wide range of pharmaceuticals and health care products. Ms. Deckker was appointed as the first woman Finance Director of Pfizer International Ltd.

Later she became the first woman to be appointed as Managing Director of a Multi-national Subsidiary in Sri Lanka.

She spearheaded the first management buyout in Sri Lanka of a multi-national subsidiary. She is the first woman to be appointed as the Chairperson of the Sri Lanka Pharmaceutical Manufacture Association in 1977 to-date.

AD. campaign wins award

The campaign was conceived by Foote Cone & Belding of Singapore, a worldwide advertising Agency whose creative director is Christopher Khyme, an award winning European creative director who has brought many multi-national brands to the limelight. The campaign has received appreciation for its concept, execution and correct focus on strategy, a news release said.

The campaign has also been selected for inclusion in the FCB worldwide showreel and almanac. FCB has also entered the campaign to many international competitions. Locally the response from marketers, consumers and advertisers was unprecedented. It was also a subject for a case study in two key universities.

Emirates scoops four awards

First came the overall, global Airline of the Year 1999 title at the prestigious OAG (Official Airline Guide) - formerly the Executive Travel - awards which featured 18 airline categories. This is the third time and the second year in succession that Emirates has won this title - first in 1994 then 1998 and now 1999.

Emirates was also named Best Middle Eastern and Indian Subcontinent Airline. The airline has won the Best Middle Eastern and Indian Subcontinent Airline in these awards consistently since 1988, less than three years after the carrier began operations.

The day after the OAG awards, Emirates was named Best Airline to the Middle East at the Travel Weekly Globe Awards 1999, voted by readers of Travel Weekly, one of the UK's premier travel trade publications with a circulation of 23,000. Emirates has won this title every year since 1994.

On Monday January 25, came the title of Best Business Airline Middle East at the Business Travel World Awards 1999, voted by readers of the monthly magazine for business travel professionals.

Emirates has won nearly 170 awards in its 13-year history. During that time, its network has grown to 47 passenger destinations including its Dubai hub. The carrier operates a fleet of 24 wide-body Airbus and Boeing 777 aircraft which is among the youngest in the world. A further 25 aircraft are on order, a number of which will replace the existing Airbus A300 and A310 aircraft. 

Asia-Interprise Penang '99 for Small Industries

The event will provide a platform for participating SME's to meet, interact and conduct business. It will create the opportunity for these companies to discuss or seek financial support, technical co-operation, technology transfer and products.

The Asia-Interprise Penang '99 will focus on electrical and electronic parts and components; Tool, mould and dye and Automotive components.

All participants of Asia-Interprise Penang '99 will be from these industries which will provide an excellent platform for discussion, networking and better business link. There will be 150 booths available for Asian SME's.

Hilton wins BHQ status

The award symbolizes the fruition of joint promotion efforts of both the Singapore Tourism Board (STB), and the Economic Development Board (EDB), a Colombo Hilton relase says.

Hilton International Asia Pacific is the Asia Pacific headquarters of Hilton International Corporation (HIC), which has its head office in the UK.

Seminar on ISO 14000

Through this awareness programme SLSI expects to educate the senior managers of organizations on details of different aspects of the standards, applications and the approach in developing the systems.

This programme will be conducted in association with the Central Environment Authority (CEA) and the regulatory aspects on environment will be outlined by the CEA officials. 

ISO 14000 standards cover basic element of an effective Enviornment Management System(EMS) and the relationship of this system with Environment Impact Assessment. E-co labelling will also be explained during this seminar.

SLSI had already finalised the rules and regulations to grant certification based on these standards and 16 staff members had been trained as ISO 14000 auditors by the British Standards Insitution (BSI) under an assistance programme provided by the British Council.

Those organizations who had already developed ISO 14000 systems could now seek certification from SLSI and the procedure for certifcation will be explained at the above seminar.

IMSL to work closely with AIMA

Major General D.N. Khurana, Director General of AIMA, in communicating this decision to the IMSL General Secretary Sunil Wickramatunga, indicated that this good gesture by the AIMA Governing Council was made purely to promote close friendly and fraternal relations between the two Associations, and the IMSL would be in a position to avail all facilities extended to Institutional Members.

The IMSL, which completed 20 years, is making arrangements to hold its National Management Conference from February 11 to 13 at Taj Samudra Hotel, Colombo.

World Bank Assistance for Y2K

The project will provide technical assistance and financing for Year 2000 (Y2K) remediation activities in the financial sector and some critical government agencies, a WB release says.

As the new millennium approaches, the Government of Sri Lanka is taking steps to avoid a disruption of computer-based information and service delivery.

Due to a high level of automation in the banking sector and many public services, the government established a joint Y2K task force to ensure that public and private institutions are prepared for the Y2K problem. 

Given the immediate need and potentially harmful and widespread effects of the problem, additional support is being provided by the World Bank to increase awareness and make funds available to solve the Y2K computer glitch.

The project will supplement the Government of Sri Lanka's on-going Y2K efforts with financing for equipment, technical assistance, and effective project management to ensure timely and strategic use of Y2K resources.

The first component of the project will target the financial sector by providing sub-loans through the Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) to banks for Y2K compliance efforts. The CBSL will monitor and co-ordinate Y2K activities among public banks, private banks, and finance companies. Given the volume and complexity of computerized transactions in the banking sector, this is the larger of the two components.

"The Central Bank of Sri Lanka, in its regulatory and supervisory role, has taken the initiative to ensure that Sri Lanka's financial sector will continue to function uninterrupted," says Ms. Shideh Hadian, project task manager in the World Bank's South Asia Finance and Private Sector Development Unit. "There is a high degree of leadership and commitment and a firm understanding of the Y2K problem on the part of the government."

The second component of the project targets critical public sector agencies, which have varying capacities to design and implement Y2K remediation plans. Technical assistance and equipment will be provided through the Ministry of Finance to help those government agencies which need support in their Y2K remediation. These agencies could initially include electricity, customs, revenue, census and statistics, insurance, and telecommunications regulatory authorities.

Because Y2K remediation plans must be specific to the relevant institution, two project co-ordination units have been created in the Ministry of Finance and the Central Bank to work with public agencies and banks, respectively. The government's joint Y2K task force will facilitate implementation of Y2K activities on a national level.

Total costs, for components covered under the project, are US $38.0 million, to which participating bank will contribute US $8.0 million, and the Government of Sri Lanka will contribute US $0.5 million. The US $29.0 million equivalent interest-free credit is provided to the Government of Sri Lanka by the International Development Association (IDA), the World Bank's concessionary lending affiliate, on standard IDA terms with 40 years maturity and a ten-year grace period. 

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