Bureau of Standards Jamaica (BSJ)

2 BUSINESS VIEW CARIBBEAN VOLUME 9, ISSUE 8 I n its basic essence, a standard is an agreed way of doing something and can apply to goods, services, or systems. Standards ensure safety, quality, and consistency and are fundamental to trade. The Bureau of Standards Jamaica (BSJ) is the national organization responsible for the development, adaptation, revision, and adoption of standards in Jamaica and encourages the usage of these standards by various stakeholders. Dr. Velton Gooden, Executive Director of the Bureau of Standards Jamaica shares, “In line with the public sector transformation project, which the government is pursuing under the World Bank led initiative, they have been creating a new national quality infrastructure for Jamaica. As part of this international framework that governs the trade of countries, we in Jamaica had to establish a national quality infrastructure with four basic pillars on which it stands.” Three of the pillars – the creation of standards; conformity assessment (testing & certification services); and metrology (the science of measurement) – are housed at the Bureau of Standards. The fourth pillar is accreditation, which is covered by JANAAC (Jamaica National Agency for Accreditation). A new mission, vision, and priorities have been created around achieving the BSJ’s mandate of being a facilitator of business. The Bureau of