Displaying items by tag: SON

Nigeria: The Federal High Court of Calabar has stopped the Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) from implementing the proposed cement standards it introduced recently. The ruling was issued by Justice Emmanuel Obile in a suit that was instituted by the United Cement Company of Nigeria Limited (UniCem) against the Attorney General of the Federation, Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment and the SON.

The judge urged the SON to ensure that it maintains the status quo over the proposed cement standardisation and warned it to halt action on the implementation of the controversial standardisation pending the hearing and determination of the substantive suit.

The process of reviewing the cement standard by the SON is surrounded in controversy as professional bodies like Council for the Regulation of Engineering in Nigeria (COREN), the Nigerian Society of Engineers (NSE), cement manufacturers among other stakeholders have cried foul over the process. The matter has been adjourned to 17 November 2014 to enable the SON to file its preliminary objection, which the court agreed would be taken together with the other pending applications.

Nigeria: The Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) has begun to implement the cement standardisation and reclassification scheme with a zonal stakeholders' forum on blocks and allied products in the south west. The SON has also received directives from the Federal Ministry of Industry Trade and Investment to immediately commence the full enforcement of the policy across all segments of the cement and allied products sector.

The federal government's regulator of quality and standards began with the official unveiling of the new packaging and labelling model for the three different classes of cement in the nation's market, with clear labelling and colour coding to help stakeholders easily distinguish between 32.5, 42.5 and 52.5 grade cements in order to prevent misuse.

The minister of States for Industry, Trade and Investment, Samuel Ortom, expressed delight over the move by SON to firm up the regulations for building materials in the country. Ortom endorsed the decision to contrive the new cement packaging and labelling in line with the recently-approved Nigerian Industrial Standard for Cement, stressing that these steps would go a long way to enhance the building and construction industries.

"One key focus of standardisation all over the world is continual improvement aimed at customer satisfaction. This is only attainable through the diligent implementation of specifications for products and services as prescribed in the relevant approved standards," said Ortom. "Standards in themselves are dynamic in that they undergo reviews as necessary, towards ensuring continual improvement in products quality."

Nigeria: The Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) has issued a 60-day ultimatum to cement manufacturers on product labelling and traceability requirements. Primarily, the new guidelines mandate the manufacturers to indicate on product bags the manufacturing and expiry dates, product application information as well as the batch numbers of the products.

Cement manufacturers, including Dangote Cement, Lafarge Nigeria, Unicem, Ibeto Cement, Ashaka Cement and Sokoto Cement, had appealed to the agency to review its initially-proposed 30-day deadline to enable them to implement the changes in their processes. The move, which is expected to enhance traceability in case of product failures, also places a responsibility on cement manufacturers to ensure that their products meet required guidelines and health and safety requirements.

Nigerian cement producers are also expected to submit their advertisements and commercials for pre-approval by the SON before they are sent to the media, while processes should be initiated to ensure that products are properly stored by distributors and retailers to avoid compromising product integrity.

Nigeria: The controversy among cement manufacturers and the Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) over the application of various cement grades for building and construction may have waned as block makers in the northern part of Nigeria have started to comply with the SON directive on the classification of cement grades and their uses.

Northern Nigerian block-makers have announced that they have complied with the SON directive as most of them now use 42.5R grade cement to produce concrete blocks. Hamza Gambo, chairman of Kaduna State Blocks and Concrete Makers Association, said that all of his members have complied with the SON directive, adding that the directive was in the national interest. He stated that most block-makers in the north now use Dangote 3X cement, which is the only 42.5R grade cement that meets the SON specification.

"We've been using the new improved cement for the past two months," said Gambo, who owns concrete block plants across Nigeria. He added that the Kaduna State Blocks and Concrete Makers Association would deal with members who refuse to comply with the SON cement grade standards according to the association's constitution.

Nigeria: A Federal High Court has rejected an application by Lafarge Cement WAPCO to restrain the Standard Organisation of Nigeria (SON) from enforcing the newly introduced cement grade restrictions. Justice Ahmed Mohammed ruled that making such an order would prejudice its order compelling the defendants to appear in court to show cause why they should not be restrained from enforcing the new cement grade.

The defendants in the suit are the SON and the minster of Trade and Investment, Segun Aganga. The counsel for the defendants had opposed Lafarge's application for an order asking parties to maintain the status quo. They argued that the court could not make such an order when its jurisdiction to entertain the suit was being challenged.

Nigeria: The management of Lafarge Nigeria has urged stakeholders in the cement sector to cooperate on the need for proper product labelling by manufacturers.

The company's general manager (Industrial Performance), Lanre Opakunle, said that the step was necessary to address the issue of incorrect cement application in the Nigeria. Opakunle said that there is a need to review how cement products are labelled in order to educate end users on the basic steps necessary for the correct application and results.

"We discovered that labelling is not adequate and we made some proposals," said Opakunle. "However, those proposals have not been taken on board. We will keep making efforts to see that they are." Opakunle added that correct labelling would help to ensure that people have the right information at their disposal.

"Lafarge is the only cement manufacturer in the market that puts the uses and specifications of cement on their bags," said Opakunle. "In our technical submission to SON we said that we want to do more than that; we want to put it in a way that the layman can understand." He noted that issues of cement application should not dwell on the cement grades; rather it should be about knowing the right mix.

"The most widely used individual application of cement in the world is 32.5 grade," said Opakunle. "It is important that the user understands how to use whatever grade of cement that is available on the shelf because of certain risks which may maybe associated with these grades, whether it is 32.5 or 42.5 grade. The information should be properly labelled on the bags."

Nigeria: Lafarge Cement WAPCO, Ashaka Cement and Unicem have established suits against the Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) over its recent decision to employ a new Mandatory Industrial Standard Order for the field of cement manufacturing, distribution and effective usage in Nigeria.

The cement producers are also seeking an order of the court restraining SON, their privies, agents and whosoever is involved in purporting to act through the respondent from implementing the Mandatory Industrial Standard NIS 444-1 2014.

Following the Standards Industry of Nigeria's (SON) decision earlier this week to ban 32.5 grade cement for all applications except for plastering, the country's cement industry is likely to be faced with some difficult decisions. The new rules state that 42.5 grade cement must be used for casting of columns, beams, slabs and for moulding blocks, while 52.5 grade cement is now mandatory for building bridges. As a developing country, Nigeria is home to a large number of construction and infrastructure projects. To ensure safety this means that the construction industry must be well-regulated.

Arguments against the use of low quality cement in Nigeria have been long drawn out as low quality cement has been blamed for a spate of building collapses, resulting in the deaths of 297 people in 1974 – 2010.

In support of the country's cement producers, SON's director general Joseph Ikem Odumodu was eager to point out that low quality cement is not to blame for Nigeria's building collapses. He said that cement grades 32.5, 42.5 and 52.5 are designed for different applications, which are not being adhered to by builders. While 42.5 grade cement is the minimum suitable grade for multi-story building construction like residential homes, 32.5 grade cement is frequently used instead as it is cheaper and more readily available.

Dangote Cement is currently the only company producing 52.5 grade cement in the country, which it sells at the same price as its 42.5 grade cement. The new SON decision is therefore expected to be good news for Dangote, potentially increasing sales volumes and improving the company's reputation.

With regards to the rest of Nigeria's cement producers, unless they are able to convert their production process for 42.5 and 52.5 grade cement extremely rapidly, Nigeria's cement imports and prices for domestic 42.5 and 52.5 grade cements are likely to increase, in contrast to recent trends. The new regulations, which SON has said will be strictly enforced, provide an excellent opportunity for market share expansion to those cement producers that respond rapidly. It might also be considered the ideal moment for companies to begin exploring brand identities and marketing campaigns. Lookout for our new report on cement branding in a future issue of Global Cement Magazine.

Nigeria: The Standard Organisation of Nigeria (SON) has explained why the agency has restricted the use of 32.5 grade cement and why it has urged manufacturers to commence the production of 42.5 grade cement.

The director general of SON, Joseph Ikem Odumodu, said that the restriction placed on the use of low grade cement was important to mitigate the problem of building collapses in the country. It is estimated that from 1974 to 2010, collapsed buildings have claimed about 297 lives.

Odumodu said that Nigeria cannot afford to be a 'pariah state' on the issue of cement quality, adding that world's progressive countries have stopped using 32.5 grade cement. He said that SON has restricted the use of 32.5 grade cement and will enforce compliance.

Dangote Cement is the only company that currently produces 42.5 grade cement in Nigeria. Odumodu said that companies that have decided to continue 32.5 grade cement production have done so for profiteering.

SON had issued a directive that 52.5 grade cement must be used for bridges, 42.5 grade cement can be used for casting of columns, beams, slabs and for moulding blocks, while 32.5 grade cement can only be used for plastering.