Fri, 07 Apr 2017 09:59:29 +0000
By BUUMBA CHIMBULU
TWENTY FOUR assorted equipment for various companies used in the road construction sector have been regulated by the Zambia Bureau of Standards (ZABS) between January and February 2017 to promote accuracy in measurements.
This is part of efforts by the bureau to enhance efficiency and productivity in the road sector.
Regulation is a quality assurance activity that ensures the industry safely and reliably uses equipment to get the accurate measurement results needed in production.
Regulation services include mass, length, force, volume, temperature, pressure and electrical.
ZABS head of marketing and public relations, Hazel Zulu, explained that the bureau had between January and February this year regulated 24 compression machines, concrete cube crushers and universal testing machines.
Ms Zulu said other machinery regulated included electronic cube machines, digital compression machines and the CBR machines, all used in road construction.
“ZABS recognizes the important role that the road construction industry plays and its significant contribution to the national economy, hence the need to ensure that equipment used in the road sector are periodically calibrated to ensure accuracy and efficiency.
“Calibrated equipment will contribute to the quality and safety of roads being constructed as companies are able to measure the strength of the materials they are using and the strength of the compacting they are making,” she said.
Ms Zulu said companies whose machines were regulated in the period under review included Dangote Cement Zambia Limited, Konkola Copper Mines PLC, Alfred H. Knight and China Jiangxi Corporation.
She said other companies include Sino Hydro Lower Kafue George, China State Construction and Gomes Haulage Limited, among others.
Ms Zulu urged more companies in the road sector to ensure that their equipment were periodically checked and calibrated to confirm that they were reading correctly.
