KEBS Issues New Standards for Businesses
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- May 11, 2021
The Kenya Bureau of Standards (KEBS) has permitted two new standards, KS ISO 22301:2019 and KS ISO 22392:2020, on management practices in a bid to improve the capacity of businesses in responding to the COVID-19 protocols.
The other objective of these standards is to boost the capability of the organizations and businesses to identify troublesome changes in an environment and how they can adjust to them easily.
This will help in reinforcing the flexibility and continuity among various organizations.
These standards come after most organizations and businesses had been hugely impacted negatively by the Covid-19 crisis which saw about 1.7 million people rendered jobless in the country according to the recent statistics by the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics.
Various industries in the country including the tourism and hospitality industry, transport sector, real estate and financial services amongst others had been affected by the crisis.
“The standards outline requirements in that an organization is able to implement, maintain and improve the Business Continuity Management Systems (BCMS) to reduce the likelihood of the occurrence of disruptions, how to prepare for, respond to and recover from them when they arise,’’ said Bernard Njiraini, the Managing Director, KEBS.
After suffering a huge blow from the Covid-19 crisis, which was a major disruption, organizations are looking for approaches on how to resume their services quickly and efficiently hence there is a need for business continuity.
Close to 65% of businesses are experiencing a fall in demand, cash flow, and available finance according to the World Bank report on the Socioeconomic Impacts of COVID-19 in Kenya on Firms.
As the organizations and businesses are likely to face various difficulties in the coming months, the implementation of these standards by KEBS will assist businesses to endure the unplanned disruptions, adjust quickly to changes and overcome disruptions from crises.
