KENYA STANDARDS        DKS 2467:  2018 
ICS 97.080  
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Coco leaf midrib brooms (Petiole ) — 
Specification  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
© KEBS 201 8         First Edition 201 8 
 
PUBLIC REVIEW DRAFT  DKS 2467:  2018 
 
ii  © KEBS 201 8 — All rights reserved  TECHNICAL COMMITTEE REPRESENTATION  
 
The following organizations were represented on the Technical Co mmittee : 
 
Kenya Industrial Research and Development Institute (KIRDI)  
Kaloleni Coconut Development Project  
 Precious Food  
Tezo/Roka Farners Co -operative Society  
Sereni Kenya  
Pwani University  
Rumorth Group of Companies  
Amua Self help Group  
Honest Indusrie s Ltd.  
Export Promotion Council  
Kentaste  Products Ltd.  
Pwani Aloe Vera  
Mnazi  Development Enterprise  
New Galana Farmers Co -operative Society  
Msambweni Coconut Producers  
Tarumbeta Women Group  
Palm International  
T.M. Abdulhussein and  Sons (Minara)  
Wakesh o Women Group  
Pate Self help Group  
County Council of Lamu  
Kenya Coconut Development Authority (KCDA)  
Kenya Bureau of Standards — Secretariat  
 
 
 
 
 
 
REVISION OF KENYA STANDARDS  
 
In order to keep abreast of progress in industry, Kenya National Workshop Agree ment  shall be regularly 
reviewed. Suggestions for improvements to published standards, addressed to the Managing Director, 
Kenya Bureau of Standards , are welcome.  
 
 
 
© Kenya Bureau of Standards , 2018 
 
Copyright.  Users are   reminded that by virtue of Sect ion 25 of the Copyright Act, Cap. 12 of 2001 of the Laws of Kenya, copyright 
subsists in all Kenya Standards and except as provided under Section 26 of this Act, no Kenya Standard produced by Kenya Bure au of 
Standards may be reproduced, stored in a retriev al system in any form or transmitted by any means without prior permission in writing 
from the Managing Director.  
 
 
 KENYA STANDARDS        DKS 2467:  2018 
ICS 97.080  
© KEBS 201 8 — All rights reserved      iii  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Coco leaf midrib brooms (Petiole ) — 
Specification  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
KENYA BUREAU OF STANDARDS (KEBS)  
 
Head Office:   P.O. Box 54974, Nairobi -00200, Tel.: (+254 020) 605490, 602350, Fax: (+254 020)  604031  
E-Mail: info@kebs.org,  Web:http://www.kebs.org  
 
Coast Region     Lake Region          Rift Valley Region  
P.O. Box 99376, Mombasa -80100   P.O. Box 2949, Kisumu -40100        P.O. Box 2138, Nakuru -20100  
Tel.: (+254 041) 229563, 230939/40   Tel.: (+254 057) 23549, 22396        Tel.: (+254 051) 210553, 210555  
Fax: (+254 041) 229448    Fax: (+254 057) 21814  
 
 DKS 2467:  2018 
 
iv  © KEBS 201 8 — All rights reserved  Foreword  
 
Kenya Bureau of Standards is a national standards bod y (NSB). The work of preparing Kenya  Standards is 
normally carried out through national  technical committees. Each member body interested in a subject for 
which a technical committee has been established has the right to be represented on that committee. 
National  organizations, governmental and non -governmental, in liaison with KEBS , also take part in the work.  
Kenya  Standards are drafted in accordance with the rules given in the KS ISO/IEC  Directives, Part  2. 
The main task of technical committees is to prepare National  Standards. Draft Kenya  Standards adopted by 
the technical committees are circulated to the technical committee member s for ballo ting. Publication as a 
Kenya  Standard requires approval by at least 2/3 of the member s casting a vote.  
Attention is draw n to the possibility that some of the elements of this document may be the subject of patent 
rights. KEBS  shall not be held responsible for identifying any or all such patent rights.  
This Kenya Standard  was prepared by Technical Committee KEBS /TC 171, Coco nut and Coconut Related 
Products  and Services . 
 
During the development of this Workshop Agreement , reference was made to the following documents:  
 
KS 982:1990, Method of determination of physical an d mechanical properties of wood,  Part 12: 
Sampling and gen eral requirements . 
 
KCDA 05:2010,  Coco leaf midrib brooms ( Petiole ) 
 
Acknowledgement is hereby made for the assistance received from these  source s 
 
 
 
 
. 
KENYA STANDARDS       DKS 2467:  201 
 
 
© KEBS 201 8 — All rights reserv ed     1  
Coco leaf midrib brooms (Petiole ) — Specification  
 
1 Scope  
 
This Kenya National Workshop Agreement  prescribes requirements and tes t methods for brooms made from 
coconut leaf midrib (Petiole) . 
 
2 Terminology  
 
For the purpose of this Workshop Agreement, the following definitions shall apply :  
 
2.1 
broom  
a cleaning tool consisting of dry stiff leaf midribs (petiole)   from coconut tree (cocos nuciferus)  tied together in 
bundles parallel to each other and the stock ends bound together using a metallic strip, or sisal, or plastic, or 
better still,  securely sewed raffia leaves  
 
2.2 
leaf midrib  
central or main v ein of a leaf, as in magnolids and ferns, generally protruding from the underside of leaves 
with pinnate venation  
 
3 Requirements  
 
3.1 Moisture content  
 
When measured in accordance with the method described in Annex A , the broom shall be dry with a 
maximum  moisture content of 20 % — 25 %. 
 
3.2 Weight  
 
The weight of a broom shall be 4 00 g ± 5 g when weighed using a properly calibrated weighing scale.  
 
3.3 Workmanship  
 
3.3.1 The binding material used for binding shall be a metallic strip, or sisal, or plastic , or better still, 
securely sewed raffia leaves.   
 
3.3.2 The binding material shall be free of sharp edges that can cause injury and if meta llic, shall be one 
that is rust -free. If metallic, the binding material shall be rust proof when tested by a metho d described in 
Annex B.  
 
3.4 Length  
 
When measured using a metre rule, the mean length of the broom strands shall be 8 00 ± 5 mm. There shall 
be 90 % of the midribs, meeting the 800 mm.  
 
 
3.5 Description  
 
The b rooms made from midribs of coconut leaves that a re shaven and are used for cleaning rough grounds 
and floors. These brooms are ideal for stiff sweeping jobs such as sweeping fallen leaves and cleaning 
between stones etc . 
 DKS 2467:  2013  
 
    © KEBS 201 8 — All rights reserved  2 
 
 
Figure 1 — Coconut midrib broom  
 
3.5.1  Appearance   
 
 Coconut midribs  shall have  a brown coloration  in appearance – ready to use, when examined visually.  
 
3.5.2  The single strands shall be appropriately shaven and shall not have any sharp edges that can cause 
injury during use.  
 
3.6 Labe lling and packaging  
 
3.6.1  Labe lling  
 
Brooms ma de from coconut leaves shall be legibly and indelibly marked  with the following information:  
 
i) name and address of manufacturer, or a registered trade mark, if any ; 
ii) length of the broom ; 
iii) weight of broom ; 
iv) country of o rigin. 
 
3.6.1  Packaging   
 
Brooms  shall be packaged in appropriate materials that shall protect the integrity of the brooms themselves 
during transportation and storage. The  brooms shall be packed in bundles of 5  or multiples of 5 . 
 
 DKS 2467:  2018 
 
© KEBS 201 8 — All rights reserved      3 4 Sampling and acceptance criteria  
 
4.1 Consignment   
 
Shall be the quantity of coconut brooms from the same source delivered or sampled at any one time.  
 
4.2 Any sample of coconut brooms randomly sampled from a consignment shall comply with the 
requirements of this Workshop Agreement  and shall be representat ive of the entire consignment.  Sampling 
shall be done in accordance with A nnex  B. 
 
 DKS 2467:  2013  
 
    © KEBS 201 8 — All rights reserved  4 Annex A  
(Clause 3 .1) 
(normative)  
 
Determination of m oisture content of brooms  
 
A.1 Scope  
 
This Kenya Standard  specifies the method for determining the moisture content of br ooms.  
 
A.2  Principles  
 
Determination, by weighing, of the loss in mass of the test piece of drying to constant mass. Calculation of 
the loss in mass as a percentage of the mass of the test piece after drying.  
 
A.3 Apparatus  
 
A.3.1  Balance , capable of wei ghing to an accuracy of 0.01 g (or 0.001 g for testing under Clause A.5). 
 
A.3.2  Equipment , capable of drying broom to absolutely dry condition.  
 
A.3.3   Flasks , with ground glass necks, and stoppers or other equipment, for ensuring the retention of  
moistur e in the test pieces.  
 
A.4 Preparation of test pieces  
 
A.4.1  Test pieces for determination of moisture content shall be prepared from material selected in 
accordance  with KS 982 -12, Methods of test for determination of physical and mechanical proprties of  wood 
Part 12: Sampling and general requirements and made preferably in the form of right prisms having a square 
cross -section of side 20 mm and length along the grain of 25 ± 5 mm. After preparation, the test pieces shall 
be conditioned in accordance with  4.6 of KS 982 -12 and stored under conditions which ensure that their 
moisture content remains unchanged.  
 
A.4.2  It is recommended that the moisture content be determined on the test pieces made for other tests 
or on samples cut from them. The form, dimen sions and method of taking sample from test pieces as well as 
well as the minimum number of test pieces for the determination of the mean moisture content of the test 
pieces are specified in KS 982 -12. 
 
A.5 Procedure  
 
A.5.1   Weigh the test piece to an accu racy of 0.5 % of its mass in the absolutely dry condition.  
 
A.5.2  Dry the test piece to constant mass at a temperature of 103  ºC ± 2 ºC. Constant mass is considered 
to be reached if the loss in mass between two successive weighings carried out at an inter val of 6 h is equal 
to or less than 0.5 % of the mass of the test piece.  
 
A.5.3  After cooling the test piece in a desiccator, weigh it rapidly enough to avoid an increase in moisture 
content by more than 0.1 %. The accuracy of weighing shall be at least 0. 5 % of the mass of the test piece.  
 
A.5.4  If it is necessary (special types of tests) to determine the moisture content to an accuracy of 0.1 %, 
dry the test pieces in flasks according to Clause A.2. Determine the masses of the flasks containing the test 
pieces to the nearest 0.005 g.  
 
A.6  Calculation and expression of results  
 
A.6.1 The moisture content, W, of each test piece, as a percentage by mass, shall be calculated to an 
accuracy  of 1 % from the formula . 
 DKS 2467:  2018 
 
© KEBS 201 8 — All rights reserved      5 
100
22 1XmmmW 
 
where,  
m
1 = is the mass, in grams, of the test piece before drying; and  
m
2 = is the mass, in grams, of the test piece after dying.  
 
A.6.2 If it is necessary to determine the moisture content to an accuracy of 0.1 per cent using flasks, the 
following formula shall be used  
 
100
0 12 1XmmmmW
 
 
 
where,  
mo = is the mass, in grams, of the flask;  
 
m1 = is mass, in grams, of the flask containing the test piece before drying; and  
 
m2 = is the mass, in grams, of  the flask containing the test piece after drying.  
 
A.6.3   Calculate the arithmetic mean of the results obtained for the individual test pieces and report this as 
the average value for the moisture content of the pieces.  
 
A.7 Test report  
 
The test report s hall include the following particulars:  
 
i)  a reference to this Kenya Standard ; 
 
ii)  details concern ing sampling of the test pieces;  
 
iii)  the test results, calculated as specified in  Clause  A.6, and their statistical values.  
 
 DKS 2467:  2013  
 
    © KEBS 201 8 — All rights reserved  6 Annex   B 
(Clause 4)  
(normative)  
 
Sampling plan and preparation of samples  
 
B.1 Scale of sampling  
 
B.1.1 The number of brooms to be selected from a consignment shall depend on the size of the 
consignment and shall be in accordance with Table A.1. 
 
Table B .1 — Scale  of sampling coc onut brooms  
 
 
Number of bales in the 
consignment   
Number of bales to be selected  
 
Up to 50   
3 
 
51 to 100   
4 
 
101 to 150   
5 
 
151 to 300   
7 
 
301 to 500   
10 
 
B.1.2 These brooms shall be selected at random.  
 
B.2 Preparation of samples  
 
B.2.1 From each of  the brooms selected as in Clause B.1, draw an individual sample of about 3 000 g for 
laboratory analysis.  
 
B.2.2 Each sample selected shall be properly packed and marked with the following information:  
 
i) supplier’s name;  
 
ii) date of sampling;  
 
iii) identification code.