STANDARDS WRITING ORGANISATION (SWO)

Page Updated : 18^th December 2007

MTIB was appointed by SIRIM Berhad as the Standards Writing Organisation (SWO) on May 25, 1999 for the timber sector. The Second Industrial Master Plan has identified the development of standards as one of the specific measures that has to be given priority to further enhance the development of the industry. This is to ensure that the timber industry in Malaysia complies with national and international standards in order to remain competitive in the global market.

MTIB's scope of responsibilities cover development of standards on sawntimber, sawlogs and semimanufactures of timber;wood-based panels; mouldings, joinery and wood-based furniture; timber and timber products; and usage of timber and timber products including grading, nomenclature, technology and processes.

The appointment marks another milestone in its efforts to provide additional support services to the timber industry. With this appointment, MTIB has formed a Technical Committee (TC) to facilitate its role as SWO. Members of TC are from the relevant-government agencies, timber trade associations and higher learning institutes. Currently there are more than 90 Malaysian Standards on timber and its related activities. They are all available in MTIB for sale. This number is obviously far from sufficient and not reflective of its potential for growth and its significance as one of the major contributors to the nation's economy.

At regional level, MTIB is playing an important role in one of the Product Working Groups (PWG), ie, Wood Based Products, which was formed under the umbrella of ASEAN Consultative Committee for Standards and Quality (ACCSQ).

Led by Indonesia, the Director General of MTIB was appointed as the co-chair for the Wood Based PWG. Hosted by the Ministry of Development, the 6 ^th meeting of this PWG was held from 21-22 November 2007, in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Experiences and views were shared among member countries towards strengthening and enhancement of networking among ASEAN Member Countries on standards, technical regulations and conformity assessment procedures. Consultations with dialogue partners are also in the work programme of this PWG. It is to obtain better understanding of existing standards product and certification worldwide, and further to explore possible future collaborations.

MTIB is also actively involved in giving inputs for the international standards development process, and has been participating in ISO/TC 89: Wood Based Panels for the past 7 years. The Plenary Meeting of this standard committee is an annual event. The 15th Plenary Meeting which was held in Venice , Italy from 26-30 March 2007, was attended by 5 Malaysian representatives. Meetings of four subcommittees (SC), namely, the SC 1-Fibreboard, SC 2-Particleboard, SC 3-Plywood and a Working Group meeting on Test Method were convened in conjunction with the Plenary Meeting.

In addition to that, the 6 ^th Plenary Meeting of ISO/TC218 : Timber; was held in Lyiv, Ukraine from 17-21 September 2007 and the meeting of ISO/TC 165: Timber Structures was held in Oxford, UK, 24-28 September 2007. Three Malaysian representatives attended the meeting in Lyiv, Ukraine and the meeting in Oxford, UK was attended by two Malaysian representatives.

 

[Standards Development Activities]