Federal Government inaugurates Competency Certificate Examination Board

The Federal Government has inaugurated the Competency Certificate Examination Boards for both the Lifting and Allied Work Equipment (Safety) Regulations, 2018, and the Boiler/Pressure Vessel Regulations, 2018.

A statement from the Ministry of Labour and Employment stated that the Minister of State in the Ministry, Mr Festus Keyamo, inaugurated the Boards in Abuja the nation’s capital.

Mr Keyamo stated that the move was for the effective implementation of both regulations, for the occupational safety and health of workers in workplaces with heavy and hazardous equipment.

Putting the Board in place is a statutory condition precedent to the process of certification and implementation of the provisions of Regulation 35 of the Lifting and Allied Work Equipment (Safety) Regulations, 2018, and Regulation 21 of the Boiler/Pressure Vessel Regulations, 2018.

Represented by the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry, Dr Yerima Peter Tarfa, Keyamo said the Boards would provide guidance for the examination and registration of heavy and hazardous equipment, as well as for the examination and certification of operators and inspectors of those equipment in workplaces.

According to him, the Boards would provide “Specific, structured and detailed guidance for the examination and certification of operators and inspectors in the safe design, construction, manufacture, use, operation, installation, maintenance, repair, alteration, testing, inspection, thorough examination and registration of heavy and hazardous equipment within workplaces.

“The Competency Certificate Examination Boards shall ratify the requirement, structure, venue and passing grade of the Competency Certificate Examination,” the statement read in part.

The Minister disclosed that the two regulations were put in place to regulate and curtail the occurrence of accidents, injuries and fatalities in workplaces where lifting equipment and its accessories, and boiler/pressure vessel systems are in use.

He said that the use of heavy and hazardous equipment such as lifting equipment and its accessories, boilers and pressure systems had become prevalent in workplaces, and had introduced new forms of hazards, which pose a serious threat to the health, safety and wellbeing of workers in workplaces adding that effective implementation of the Regulations would significantly reduce the risks associated with heavy and hazardous equipment.

While reiterating the Federal Government’s commitment to ensuring the highest standard of safety, health practices and procedures in workplaces nationwide, Keyamo called on stakeholders to adhere strictly to the guidelines specified in those regulations and to also adopt established good practices.

He also charged the two Boards to conduct the assessment, examination and certification of operators and inspectors, as well as their other responsibilities, in a credible and professional manner.

The Competency Certification Examination Board for Lifting Equipment and Accessories has as Chairman, Director, Occupational Safety and Health Department, Lauretta Adogu, and Henry George Umoh, as secretary, both from the Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment.

The other members of that Board are representatives of Lifting Equipment Inspectors Association (LEIA), Standard Organisation of Nigeria (SON), Oil Producers Trade Section (OPTS), Institute of Non-Destructive Testing, Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), and Department of Petroleum Resources.

The Competency Certification Examination Board for Boiler/Pressure Systems is Chaired by the Director, Occupational Safety and Health Department, Lauretta Adogu, and Olaniyi Oderinde, as secretary, both from the Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment.

Other members are drawn from the National Guild of Boiler Inspectors of Nigeria (NAGOBIN), Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB), Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), Institute of Non-Destructive Testing, Standard Organisation of Nigeria (SON), and Department of Petroleum Resources.

The inauguration of the two Boards is expected to pave the way for a seamless implementation of the two Regulations, which would provide the needed occupational safety and health guidance to employers and workers in both the formal and informal sectors of the economy.

PIAK