Standards pioneer Rhynd honoured at World Quality Day ceremony

Dudley Rhynd, Barbados’ first national standards director and an architect of the region’s quality infrastructure, has been celebrated as a transformative force in Caribbean development, receiving wide recognition from top officials at a ceremony to mark World Quality Day 2025.

Rhynd was honoured during a special ceremony held to coincide with World Quality Day 2025 at the Barbados National Standards Institution (BNSI) headquarters in Warrens, celebrated under the theme “Quality: Think Differently”.

Chief Executive Officer of the CARICOM Regional Organisation for Standards and Quality (CROSQ), Dr Sharonmae Smith Walker, described Rhynd as “a true stalwart of Caribbean quality” whose foresight continues to shape regional development.

“Dudley Rhynd was a visionary professional whose commitment and leadership helped lay the foundation for what we now know as CROSQ,” she said. “Through his tireless efforts, passion for excellence and unwavering belief in regional integration, he transformed ideas into action, creating a framework that continues to strengthen trade, protect consumers, and enhance competitiveness across the Caribbean.”

Walker noted that Rhynd’s influence could be seen not just in the creation of CROSQ, but in the mindset that defines how the Caribbean approaches standards and quality today.

“Because of his foresight, CROSQ has become a beacon of collaboration and innovation,” she added. “His work reminds us that quality is not just a technical concept, it’s a culture, a mindset, and a promise to deliver our very best.”

Reflecting on this year’s World Quality Day theme, Walker said it echoed Rhynd’s legacy: “For us in the Caribbean, our quality infrastructure started out slowly with standardisation and then grew to include the other pillars — metrology, conformity assessment and accreditation. These systems must have a strong foundation, and Mr Rhynd helped us to establish some of those foundations.”

BNSI Chairman Ryan Brathwaite also paid tribute, calling Rhynd “a visionary whose lifetime of purpose and lasting impact affects us all today, not only in Barbados, but across the Caribbean and internationally”.

“He established the national standards body that has since become the beacon of excellence, the Barbados National Standards Institution,” Brathwaite said. “Under his stewardship, the institution guided industries, protected consumers, and ensured that quality remained at the heart of national development. His influence extended beyond our borders, fostering unity that eventually culminated in the establishment of CROSQ.”

Brathwaite added that the celebration was not only a recognition of Rhynd’s accomplishments, but of his belief that “quality is the cornerstone of progress”.

In accepting the honour, Rhynd expressed his appreciation for the tributes and acknowledged the many colleagues who had supported his journey.

“I have been successful because of a lot of people,” he said. “I share the tributes paid to me with them. I obviously could not have done it alone. One has to support each other, and many people have worked alongside me…for that, I am very grateful.” 

Rhynd served as BNSI’s founding director for 33 years until his retirement in 2006, shaping the development of Barbados’ and the Caribbean’s standards and quality infrastructure at the helm of the region’s first national standards body. He also laid the foundation for collaborative regional institutions, like CROSQ and the CARICOM Standards Council, which he chaired.

Rhynd’s career has been widely recognised for fostering a culture of quality assurance and advancing regional integration in trade, consumer protection and competitiveness.