Students benefit from Codes and Standards lecture

DPI, Guyana, Thursday, June 07, 2018

As Guyana’s building codes undergo review, the Guyana National Bureau of Standards (GNBS) hosted the first of four-series standards roadshow today.

Students from the University of Guyana (UG) and various technical institutions across the country capitalised on the one-day lecture on Codes and Standards, by the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) International, at the Pegasus Hotel

Civil Engineering Student at UG, Johanan Dolphin.

Mechanical Instructor at the Government Industrial Training Centre, Quaci Roache.

Representative of ASTM International, Jim Olshefsky.

University of Guyana students attending the ASTM’s lecture on codes and standards with local students.

Technical Institution students attending the ASTM’s lecture on codes and standards with local students.

ASTM International is collaborating with the GNBS to host the exercise. A representative of ASTM International, Jim Olshefsky said it aims to sensitise those in the construction sector on the use of ASTM standards; and for their part to listen to views of participants, on ways in which those standards can be amended to suit to meet the specific needs of future generations in the region.

Olshefsky explained that the roadshow was conceived following the restoration efforts in the Caribbean after the devastating Hurricane season in 2017.  “The losses have been heavy. We are delighted to be part of the rebuilding process as the regions seek to strengthen its buildings and infrastructure moving forward,” Olshefsky added.

Mechanical Instructor at the Government Industrial Training Centre, Quaci Roache described the lecture as informative. “It had a lot to do with the criteria that we need to set in our building codes, and the standards we have to achieve when building”, Roache said.

University Civil Engineering student, Johanan Dolphin said the lecture and interactive session was refreshing. He added, “As students, you are handed these standards in the classroom, and to find out this opportunity was made available to us, so we can question how they come up with these standards and how you can contribute to it, is refreshing.”

ASTM is an international standards organisation which develops and publishes voluntary technical standards for a wide range of materials, products, systems and services in the Caribbean. Governments and businesses throughout the Caribbean have been using them, with over 1700 citations of ASTM standards already in use.

This is the third ASTM International roadshow to be held in the Caribbean.

By: Crystal Stoll.

Images: Jameel Mohamed.