NIOSH holds first auditor competency course in Sabah
SANDAKAN: The National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) for the first time organised the Malaysian Sustainable Palm Oil (MSPO) Auditor Competency Course in the state with 16 participants.
The three-day course ending today was implemented by NIOSH through its subsidiary, NIOSH Certification Sdn Bhd after obtaining approval from the Malaysian Palm Oil Certification Council (MPOCC).
NIOSH Certification general manager Syamsul Zahrin Zainuddin said the attendees were directors of companies, managers, engineers, officers and individuals from the oil palm sector.
He said the course was divided into two main topics, namely, understanding and implementation of the MSPO Standard as well as the processes and techniques of performing the audit.
"At the end of the course, participants will go through a written assessment test. Participants who passed all assessments will be awarded competency certificates and eligible to carry out the MSPO audit," he said in a statement yesterday.
According to Syamsul Zahrin, the MSPO standard was developed by the Malaysian Palm Oil Board (MPOB) taking into account the national laws and regulations, sustainability best practice and stakeholder feedback.
MS2530: 2013 is the MSPO standard issued by the Department of Standards Malaysia and all in the oil palm sector must obtain MSPO certification in 2019.
He said the next MSPO Auditor course would be held in Kota Kinabalu on Aug 14-16.
Meanwhile, Malsa Corporation's director Kelly Lim said being a representative of one of the oil palm companies in Sandakan, he participated in the course to find out the audit techniques and also to understand more about the MSPO standard and the audit process conducted.
DAB OH Sdn Bhd's managing director Dr Mohd Azizan Abd Aziz said he attended the course to qualify as an MSPO auditor.
NIOSH Certification Sdn Bhd is a certification body which has been accredited by the Department of Standards Malaysia.
Among others, it also offers certification services for Occupational Safety and Health Management Systems (OHSAS18001 and MS1722), Quality Management System (ISO9001), Environment Management System (ISO14001) and Food Safety Management System (ISO22000).