Mohammadi: Media Play a Key Role in Institutionalizing a Standards Culture
Rasht – Gilan's Director General of Standards announced the suspension of 54 standards certificates and the issuance of 335 warnings and notices in the first six months of this year, and said media play a key role in institutionalizing a standards culture.
According to Mehr reporter, Mehdi Mohammadi, while visiting the editorial office of Ambassador Arjan Gilan, pointed out the importance of culture building in the field of standards and stated: The standard should not be considered merely a set of technical and legal requirements, but should become a general value and culture in the society.
He stated that the National Standards Organization of Iran has many tasks in the field of standards development, conformity assessment, qualification verification and metrology, and added: so far, about 35 thousand national standards have been developed, but the real value of these standards will be realized when they are properly implemented and used in the society.
Standard flows in people's daily life
General Director of Gilan Standard emphasized that the concept of standard is tied to people's daily life and stated: Many daily activities of citizens, from using household appliances and elevators to using cars and gas station equipment, are directly related to the subject of standards, safety and quality.
Mohammadi continued: Standard is not a specialized concept and far from people's reach; Rather, all citizens in the position of consumer, seller or producer can play a role in improving the quality of goods and services.
Pointing to the importance of consumer awareness when buying goods, he said: Economic conditions have made price the most important selection criterion in many cases, while attention to quality, safety and credibility of the standard mark should also be considered in purchasing decisions.
The General Manager of Gilan Standard emphasized: People work hard to meet their living expenses, and the Standard Organization is also responsible for maintaining their health and safety. Therefore, protecting public trust and improving people's quality of life should be at the center of the activities of this collection.
Dealing with violations and continuous monitoring of the quality of goods
Mohammadi, referring to the regulatory measures of the General Directorate of Gilan Standards, said: monitoring the quality of products, handling public complaints and dealing with violations are among the duties that are pursued with the aim of protecting the rights of consumers.
He stated that complaints related to the quality of goods and after-sales services are investigated in this general office, and added: Complaints received, even in cases where the product is not produced in the province, are followed up and the investigation continues until the result is obtained.
Director General of Gilan Standard stated that more than 120 cases of purchase and testing of goods were carried out in the first six months of this year: Some of these investigations have led to the identification of non-compliance cases, the results of which will be announced to the manufacturers so that they can rectify the defects.
Mohammadi continued: In cases where the non-compliance is serious and critical, the matter will be pursued through legal channels and the case of the offending units will be dealt with in the relevant commissions.
Referring to some of the legal and regulatory actions of this General Directorate in the mentioned period, he said: 27 cases related to the violations of the units were raised in the Article 42 Commission, of which seven cases resulted in fines and 20 cases resulted in warnings.
The Director General of Gilan Standard also announced the suspension of 54 standard licenses and the issuance of 335 notices and warnings in the first six months of this year and added: During this period, four cases of seizure of goods in the market and two cases of destruction of goods have been done.
Emphasizing that supporting producers should be done along with quality monitoring, Mohammadi clarified: In cases where violations occur, especially violations that affect people's health and safety, legal action against the violators is on the agenda.
Emphasizing the role of the media in informing the society
Referring to the capacity of the media in expanding the standard culture, he said: the media can help increase public awareness and strengthen demands in the field of quality by asking people's questions, informing about standard requirements and introducing the services of responsible institutions.
General Director of Gilan Standard added: News agencies are of special importance in this field due to their professional status and role in informing and publishing reliable news, and interaction with the media can provide the basis for people to become more familiar with their rights and the duties of the responsible institutions.
Referring to the limited facilities and funds for the implementation of extensive cultural programs, Mohammadi said: using the capacity of the media and designing joint programs can help promote standard concepts among different layers of society.
Training standard ambassadors in Gilan schools
Emphasizing the importance of education from an early age, he said: the institutionalization of standard culture must start from the basic layers of society, especially schools and families; Because in addition to learning these concepts, children can play an effective role in transferring them to their families.
Referring to the implementation of the "Standard Ambassador Training" project in a number of schools in Rasht city, the Director General of Gilan Standard added: About 400 students have received education related to the standard as part of this project.
Mohammadi stated: The experience of educational and cultural programs in schools shows that children have a good capacity to learn and transfer standard concepts, and strengthening this approach can be effective in forming correct consumption behaviors and paying more attention to the quality and safety of goods.
In the end, he emphasized the need for the media, families, schools and executive bodies to work together to spread the standard culture and said: The ultimate goal is to pay attention to quality, safety and consumer rights to become a part of the general culture of the society.
Standard culture building starts from schools
In the continuation of this meeting, "Kaveh Taddaari" pointed out the importance of standard public education and stated: The Standard Ambassador project is implemented in cooperation with schools, and in the form of this project, students familiarize their families with the necessity of using products with the standard mark.
He added: Just as the police assistant plan has been effective in increasing the attention of families to comply with traffic regulations, students can also encourage their families to choose standard goods by reminding them of the importance of standards.
Stating that training programs are also followed at academic and specialized levels, the Deputy of Compliance Assessment of Gilan General Directorate of Standards stated: holding specialized courses for students of related fields and educational interaction with industrial units are among the programs of this series.
Specialized training for industries to improve production quality
Pointing to the need to increase coordination between industrial units, Tadredari said: holding specialized courses and exchanging information between related industries, including cement factories and ready-mixed concrete producers, is on the agenda in order to provide the basis for creating unity of action in issues such as concrete mixing plans and technical requirements.
He also emphasized the importance of training quality control managers in the field of calibration and analysis of metrology certificates and said: Just performing the calibration of a measuring device does not mean the complete accuracy of its performance, but the results included in the certificate should be properly analyzed and possible errors should also be included in the production process.
The Deputy Compliance Assessor of the Gilan General Directorate of Standards continued: The accuracy of measuring equipment plays an important role in production quality, product formulation and the size of industrial parts, and neglecting this issue can cause disruption in the production process.
Controlling the weight of goods and monitoring the quantity of products
Referring to the responsibilities of the field of conformity assessment in the field of quantity control of pre-packaged goods, the deliveryman stated: Sampling of the products offered in the market and checking their weight and volume are among the supervisory measures of this field.
He added: Adding the net weight on the packaging of food products and controlling the compliance of the declared weight with the actual amount of the product are among the issues of concern to the standard inspectors, and if a violation is observed, the case of the offending units will be referred to the legal authorities for consideration.
Referring to the monitoring of net sales in confectioneries, he said: the weight of the box and packaging should not be calculated as the weight of the product, and this issue is taken into account during inspections.
The Deputy Compliance Assessor of Gilan General Directorate of Standards also informed about the quantity control at the fuel supply stations and stated: Measuring and checking the volume of liquid and gas fuel is one of the measures that are carried out with the aim of ensuring compliance with the relevant requirements.
Supervision of gold artifacts with the aim of protecting the rights of consumers
Referring to the importance of monitoring gold artefacts, the delivery man stated: gold artefact producers must comply with relevant legal requirements and domestically produced products must also have a valid identification code.
He advised the citizens to pay attention to the identification code engraved on the product when buying gold artifacts and refrain from buying goods without valid identification.