This year Uganda National Bureau of Standards (UNBS) marks 25years of existence and service.To celebrate this milestone UNBS will hold a consumer awareness week to drive awareness on fuel quality and quantity that will run from the 25th – 29th August in partnership with Shell Service Stations.
During this week, Vivo Energy, the company that distributes and markets Shell branded fuels and lubricants in 16 African countries,as a leader in the oil sector has partnered with UNBS and Ministry of Energy to educate its consumers about product quality.
The consumer awareness week was launched at Shell Lugogo, in the presence of Minister of Energy, Hon. Irene Muloni, and Executive Director of UNBS, Dr. Ben Manyindo. As part of the week’s activities, the partners will also carry out demonstrations and quality tests on Fuelsat selected Shell Service Stations includingShell Mengo, Shell City Square, Shell Kagoma, Shell Ndeeba, Shell Kajjansi and Shell Bombo Road.
Speaking during the launch of the awareness week, the Retail Manager Vivo Energy Uganda, Edward Walugembe stated thatVivo Energy is committed to maintaining the superior Shell brand standards through the stringent Quality Control process for all their products.
“Vivo Energy Uganda is the only oil importing company with a modern fuel testing laboratory located at our depot in Kampala. We test all our products at every point of loading and offloading to ensure the quality is up to scratch. In March this year, we launched the first mobile fuel- testing lab in Uganda, which conducts random tests and produce immediate resultsat all Shell fuel stations in the country. The tests check for presence of water or any other contaminant in the product through water and density tests.” He added.
The objective of the mobile testing lab is to protect customers by ensuring that they receive product of same superior quality as it moves through each phase of the supply chain. Vivo Energy has chosen to take the route of self-regulation to ensure Shell fuels remain in tiptop shape when they are received by a customer.
“We understand that customers invest heavily in their vehicles, and the company aims to protect that investment by conducting tests in our lab and randomly at each of our Shell fuelling stations.” Walugembe concluded.
The Executive Director of UNBS, Dr. Ben Manyindo applauded Vivo Energy of the initiatives they have put in place to ensure that product quality is maintained across the supply chain. “With players like Vivo Energy conducting self-regulation, we have confidence that if all players in the market emulate this behavior, fuel adulteration will reduce. And it is indeed true that fuel adulteration is slowly coming to a decline.” He stated.
UNBS has in place a fuel marking system as well as mobile laboratories that monitor all players across the country.