To support the requirements not only of business and industry but as well as that of the government, academe and the general population, the DOST Visayas has been operating its Regional Standards and Testing Laboratory (RSTL) for several decades already. Over the years, DOST Visayas RSTL was able to upgrade its laboratory equipment and facilities and acquired ISO/IEC 17025 accreditation for its laboratory quality management system. It has likewise acquired DOH and FDA accreditations and complied with various other government accreditation and licensing requirements. To improve and support its operations, DOST Visayas RSTL was also able to establish its IT-based laboratory information system and enhanced its human resource among others. All these were made possible with the continuous assistance and support of the national project on OneLab®, as well as prior years projects, that have significantly enhanced the capacity of the DOST Visayas RSTL in providing critically needed testing and calibration services to micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) especially in the processed and food service sectors. The academe, government, and non-government institutions as well as the public in general have benefited from the wide range of service offering of the DOST Visayas RSTL
DOST Region VII
Visayas Cluster
DOST Visayas Cluster
General Objective: To strengthen the laboratory testing and calibration capabilities of the RSTL to better support the needs of MSMEs in the Visayas.
Specific Objectives:
1. To sustain and expand testing and calibration services backed up with quality management and laboratory information management systems.
2. To strengthen the OneLab® referral system in the region.
3. To assist regional laboratories to comply with mandatory/voluntary accreditation requirements.
4. To assist the local food industry with their quality assurance and product development and improvement activities.
Among others, the potential outcomes of this project are the following:
• Increased testing and calibration capability of the RSTL
• Rationalized services of the RSTL
• Increased number of regional laboratories aligned with ISO standards
• Increased number of regional laboratories compliant to regulatory requirements
• Increased number of MSMEs availing testing and calibration services
• Enhanced technical competencies of RSTL’s men and women personnel
• Technical guide in product and process standardization for ethnic food products made available to MSMEs in the region
• Strengthened partnership with DOST PSTCs and linkage with various LGUs, laboratories in the region, R & D partners, and other stakeholders.
Potential Impacts (2Is):
Social Impact: This project shall strengthen the ties and promote positive collaboration, rather than competition, among different laboratories in the region. The transition towards strengthened referral and rationalized tests and calibration services as well as the technical assistance to be provided shall promote a proactive involvement of different non-DOST laboratories which will be beneficial to all stakeholders.
Economic Impact: The project shall promote improved competitiveness of the MSMEs in the Visayas because of the project’s various technical assistance in the form of tests and calibration services, product and process R & D initiatives and contribute to income and employment generation thereby improved lives of the men, women, and children in the region