To:  All Industry Members

RE: NRCS BUSINESS CONTINUITY CONTINGENCY PLANS IN LINE WITH COVID-19 REGULATIONS

President Cyril Ramaphosa declared the state of National Disaster in terms of the Disaster Management Act No 57 of 2002 on Monday 23 March 2020 and announced the National Lock – Down compelling all business and work places to close to limit the transmission of the novel- coronavirus.

In May 2020, The risk adjustment strategy was implemented which comprised of 5 risk levels. During level 5 and 4, the NRCS only provided skeleton services with regard to essential products.

Level 3 of the risk adjusted strategy which permitted the opening of most of the economic activities was declared from 1 June 2020 which necessitated the NRCS to adjust and develop its return to work operational plan in order to enforce its mandate under the NRCS Act and other relevant legislations.

In support of market surveillance, calibration and approval activities, the NRCS has developed its guidelines for conducting field work activities/inspections which provide guidance on precautionary measures to be taken by both NRCS staff members and its stakeholders. In terms of the inspection guidelines, the regulated industries needing service from the NRCS are expected to comply with the COVID-19 regulations.

 In line with level 3 risk adjusted strategy, the NRCS will be offering the following services with strict adherence to all Covid-19 regulations and protocols.

1.      Sampling activities,

2.      Verification of Measuring instrument,

3.      Product inspection for approval purposes,

4.      Factory inspection,

5.      Type Approval of Measuring instruments

6.      Calibration of measuring equipment

7.      Assessment services, theoretical examinations and practical examination

The industry is further advised that:

8.      The submission of inspection and health guarantees requests and applications for approvals must be submitted as normal to the applicable central email addresses or CRM system.

9.      Vessel inspections, Retail inspections and inspection in the mines are considered very high-risk area of inspections for the inspectors. Accordingly, Vessel inspections can only be conducted if there is an assurance from the vessel owner that Covid-19 regulations have been fully complied with.   In the event were an inspector is not comfortable to conduct the inspection due the Covid-19 related risk, the operators can provide additional information that will assist the inspector to issue the compliance certificate.

10.   The issuing of Letters of Authority/Certificates shall be issued as normal via electronic communication, courier/postal services or collection as per prior arrangements

In conclusion, NRCS will continue to monitor the situation concerning the safety of all fieldworkers and possible further announcements by the National Coronavirus Command Council (NCCC) and thus review our decisions and protocols accordingly and provide updates from time to time.

Table of contact persons in all NRCS facilities:

Checklist for industry compliance with Covid-19