COLOMBIA
Standardization and Conformity Assessment
Fabio Tobón
1
Foreword
The present paper presented to the Third Executive Forum on National Export Strategies
reviews the situation of the Colombian system and policies regarding standardization and
conformity assessment and its effect on the export sector.
The paper outlines the scope and context of the standardization and conformity assessment in
the country and the relation with the Colombian export strategy of the actual government of
the country. For a better knowledge of Colombia, some basic figures are included in Annex 1.
In today’s open economy the two recognized pillars of internationalization and
competitiveness are standardization and certification of products and companies in order to
help them survive in the fierce competition of the globalized world.
With the openness of the world economy, global trade has increased faster in the last ten years
than the GNP of most of the industrialized countries. The World Trade Organization (WTO)
has been a major factor in the increase of global trade and international standards and
conformity assessment are playing a larger role in the world, as we know it today.
Although the WTO has not yet defined what are international standards and which are the
recognized international standards organizations, ISO the International Organization for
Standardization, is one of the most active players. One of the problems of ISO, as well as of
other standard organizations, is the lack of participation by developing countries (DCs) in
standards writing. Colombia, being a DC, is not an exception and it has to struggle for more
active participation and an international recognition of its standardization and conformity
assessment schemes.
2
The SQAM system in Colombia
Colombia has a well established Standardization, Quality, Accreditation and Metrology system
(SQAM). The system has become of primary importance for the country’s productive sector
(manufacture and service) in recent years since Colombia opened its borders to the
international competition as a result of the globalized economy and as a result of the signature
of the WTO agreement in 1994.
The SQAM system was very helpful for the country when there was a closed-borders
economy, since standards and the conformity assessment scheme were aimed at protecting the
national industry against foreign competition. Both standards and certification were two
powerful trade barriers that were used widely by the national industry. There were, however,
many abuses against the final consumer, with a decline in quality and an increase in prices that
was not sustainable.
When Colombia joined the WTO, one of the first tasks of the government was to revise the
SQAM system and to open the economy to foreign competition. Although many people
argued that the country was not prepared for the fierce competition of a globalized world, due
mainly to the lack of proper infrastructure, today we have to face it as a reality and try to adjust
our system and give exporters and local companies the best tools to compete in the country
and to export their products and services.
2.1
Background and history. Governmental decrees
The first decree on quality in Colombia goes back to 1929 when a need for a metrology system
was established. There were more decrees issued in the following years related to quality but
the very first decree on the SQAM system was decree 2746 of 1984. Today the SQAM system
is regulated by decree 2269 of 1993 and the resolutions 140 and 8728 of the Superintendencia
de Industria y Comercio (SIC). There are several decrees and regulations that deal with the
quality control of products and services to be marketed in order to protect Colombian
consumers.
It is safe to say that there are too many decrees and sometimes this situation presents
difficulties to the local industry and to importers. There is also the possibility that one decree
from a governmental department conflicts with another decree or regulation from another
department. It is impossible to say whether all the dispersed legislation on standards and
quality are aligned with international regulations and directives from the WTO. For that reason
the present government took the decision to establish one quality law to encompass all the
disperse legislation in one law. The main aim of the new law will be to help organize the
standardization and quality assessment system to protect the final consumer and to help the
industry and the service sector of Colombia to be more competitive in the world trade arena.
2.2
The new SQAM law
As stated, the Colombian legislative body is studying, for the first time, a law that embodies all
the different decrees and regulations and that creates a more credible system which will follow
international directives in this field. The law will benefit all sectors of the economy, i.e.
producers and consumers, and will clarify some concepts that are misunderstood at the
moment.
For exporters this law is beneficial since its requirements on standardization and conformity
assessment are in accordance with the directives of the WTO. The different components of
the law and the government agencies involved have to monitor activities for fair and
transparent competition with foreign companies that are importing goods, but at the same
time they have to implement programmes to improve the competitiveness of Colombia’s
productive sector in order to maintain and increase work possibilities for the population.
2.3
How the SQAM system fits into the Colombian development and export plan
The standards and conformity assessment system is of a primary importance to accomplish the
goals set out in the Colombian development plan. The development plan entitled “Change to
Build Peace” contains a chapter on the importance of increasing exports as an engine to
increase development. The main strategies to achieve this growth in exports are assistance to
companies to increase their competitiveness and productivity through financing, quality
assurance, technological innovation and a vigorous policy on export promotion.
Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are a central part of the plan aimed at increasing
the diversification and volume of the country’s exports. The government has worked to
increase productivity and modernize the SMEs as a way to initiate them in international trade.
One of the main strategies is to help the SME implement a quality system and to certify it
according to the ISO 9000 standard.
2.4
SQAM structure and “organizational chart”
Annex 2 shows the structure of the new SQAM system in Colombia.
The new Colombian system will have a central governing body in the Ministry of Economic
Development that will coordinate all the efforts and policies regarding Standardization and
Conformity Assessment. ICONTEC will be confirmed as the National Standards Body (NSB)
and sector standards units will be established. The Superintendencia de Industria y Comercio
(SIC) will be the national accreditation body and there will also be a national institution in
charge of Metrology. The system will be based on a tripod of institutions that will have to
coordinate their efforts to help Colombian enterprises in their competitiveness.
The main part of the SQAM law refers to the organization of the different aspects of
conformity assessment and establishes one sole source for developing standards in the country
with a broad participation of the different sectors of the economy. The relationship between
standards and technical regulations is thus established. Participation of governmental
departments in the development of standards is urged to create a real liaison and harmony
between world accepted standards and the mandatory regulations.
The law largely follows the directives of the WTO in order to help our productive sector and
export industries to compete on the same conditions the foreign companies in the country.
3
Standardization in Colombia
Colombia’s standardization system is both well-established and recognized. The National
Standards Body (NSB) maintains broad participation in the international standards world. It is
very active in ISO, a member since 1967, and has recently become a member of IEC (the
International Electrotechnical Commission). It is also an active participant in the Codex
Alimentarius Commission and in the International Telecommunication Union (ITU).
3.1
The national Standards Body ICONTEC
Industrial entrepreneurs founded ICONTEC as a private non-for profit organization in 1963
with the aim of providing a strong organization to develop Colombian technical standards.
ICONTEC has developed into a reputable and efficient organization, serving Colombian
interests within and outside the country. The organization has now five offices in the main
cities of Colombia with 150 employees. ICONTEC has published 5,000 standards and its
annual budget is around US$5.5 million.
ICONTEC is a product certification body. It also certifies quality and environmental systems
and personnel. Training is a major service as well as calibration of metrology instruments.
ICONTEC has an active international presence, especially in neighbouring countries and today
it has an office in Ecuador and one in Peru to provide certification and training services and to
help Colombian companies working in those countries.
3.2
The Colombian system and the export sector
Colombia joined the World Trade Organization in 1995 as a full member and adopted the
WTO directives regarding standards and conformity assessment to avoid unnecessary barriers
to trade and to have an open market system. ICONTEC, as the NSB, signed the Code of good
practice in standardization (Annex 3 to the TBT Agreement).
The TBT agreement calls for an open and transparent standardization system giving the same
conditions to national and foreign companies. The Colombian standards are based mainly on
international standards and when it is not possible to adopt an international standard,
ICONTEC lists the difference between the Colombian and the international standard. This
standardization policy offers the Colombian companies a good chance to compete in other
countries.
The open standardization system has helped Colombian companies to compete and to increase
the volume of exports, especially of those minor industrial goods. ICONTEC provides
another service for exporters: information on standards in other countries. It also can compare
the national standards against those of other countries so the exporter will know how products
fit their requirements.
3.3
Technical Regulations (TRs)
It has become a common practice for the government to adopt Colombian standards as
mandatory, replacing to a certain extent, the Technical Regulations. This practice has created
some problems. Sometimes there has not been a clear concept of which standards should be
made mandatory, and they have become effective barriers to trade.
In the new law, the mandatory standards will disappear and a new concept of TRs will be
adopted, following the WTO directives regarding “national interest, health, safety and the
environment” as the sole concepts to approve valid and internationally accepted TRs.
Protection of foreign trade will be one of the main objectives of the new law and
governmental institutions will have to base their TRs in International Standards to avoid
unnecessary barriers to trade.
The new law also requires that the different governmental departments that produce TRs,
actively participate in the process of studying and writing Colombian standards. One of the
advantages of the new law will be that the government will be eager and ready to participate in
the standardization process and will request those standards needed to elaborate their TRs.
4
Conformity Assessment
4.1
National Accreditation Authority (SIC)
The Superintendencia de Industria y Comercio (SIC), a governmental institution that belongs
to the Ministry of Economic Development, is in charge of the accreditation of the different
actors of the Conformity Assessment system, i.e. certification and inspection bodies and
testing labs.
The SIC follows international recognized guides to carry out its conformity assessment
activities mainly those ISO/IEC guides. Today there are some 52 test accredited laboratories,
27 metrology laboratories and six certification bodies. The Colombian governmental
institutions are required to use only those certification bodies and laboratories duly accredited
by SIC. This is the main reason why accreditation has developed but SIC has to make efforts
to belong to international accreditation institutions to give the system more credibility
worldwide.
4.2
Certification and Laboratories Network
Product certification is one of the tools Colombian producers use to improve the image and
the acceptance of their products on the national market. ICONTEC has performed product
certification for more than 25 years and its “quality mark” is well recognized in the country.
Agreements have been signed with Ecuador and Venezuela to accept the product certification
in order to expedite trade with those countries. The Andean Community (Venezuela,
Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Bolivia) has signed a product certification recognition agreement
to avoid barriers to trade.
System certification against the widely-recognized ISO 9000 standard began in 1991 but it
grew slowly during the initial years. The government and the industrial and service sector have
found that this certification is a good tool to help exports and campaigns have been launched
to boost its acceptance. Today there are more than 1000 ISO 9000 certified companies in
Colombia and the number is growing fast.
One of the main barriers to world trade is the lack of recognition of the testing results and
certification by countries. Colombia has been working to increase its Metrology and Testing
Laboratories to cover the full range of possible export products. The laboratories have to be
accredited by SIC following the internationally accepted ISO/IEC 17025 guide.
The Andean Community is working toward the recognition and the creation of a regional
laboratory network. This will be a very positive step in intra-regional trade. The list of
accredited certification bodies and laboratories in the country is included for reference in
annex 3.
5
Metrology
Colombia has one of the best metrology laboratories in Latin America. With the help and
contribution of the German government through the German National Metrology Laboratory
PTB (Physikalisch-Technische Bunsdesanstalt), the country has been engaged in a 20-year
cooperation programme that has upgraded the metrology system. The national laboratory was
built in 1998 with the advice and the guidance of the PTB as an 8000 m2 construction complex
that contains some 15 groups of laboratories. Annex 4 shows the list of the different
laboratories at the national centre.
PTB and NIST accredit the different secondary laboratories in the country that serve industry.
In this way a network of metrology laboratories has been created of particular importance to
the export industry.
6
The National Enquiry Point for WTO
The National Enquiry Point (NEP) is a subsidiary of the Ministry of Economic Development.
The task of this NEP is of great importance for the productive sector and for export-driven
companies. The NEP is just starting its operations and a lot of improvement is needed to be a
real support for industry and the service sector, and to convey adequate information to the
export sector.
One of the main tasks is that of the notification to other countries of technical regulations, 60
days prior to the approval in order to avoid barriers to trade with Colombia.
7
Critical SQAM networking issues
What follows is a series of issues that are critical for the development of Colombian exports
related to standardization and conformity assessment.
7.1
Lack of credibility of some organizations
Perhaps one of the most important issues in the conformity assessment world is the lack of
credibility of some organizations in developing countries. There is almost a consensus that
methods and procedures are not as valid as those from an industrialize country.
The accreditation body of Colombia, SIC, not being a member of the International
Accreditation Forum (IAF), is no exception. As a result, Colombian certification bodies have
to look for accreditation outside the country to ensure the validity of their certification is not
questioned. There is also aggressive competition from foreign companies that come into the
country as “internationally recognized companies”.
SIC should joint both IAF and International Laboratory Accreditation Cooperation (ILAC) to
gain respectability at a world level. Here the problem is often to get the necessary funds to
joint the international organizations.
Another problem that faces the exporter is a lack of definition of the different tasks for
governmental institutions, leading to internal disputes between government officials that
become a real threat and a burden to export-oriented companies. A lack of coordination
among governmental activities does not help the exporters.
7.2
Standards vs. Technical Governmental Regulations
The Ministry of Economic Development has initiated an important effort to collect all the
Technical Regulations (TRs) in the country. This is a difficult task, however, and the
probability is that there are some TRs that have not been collected. There is also a view in
certain offices of the government that they should write the TRs according to their expertise
and not base them on international standards.
The different governmental Ministries and agencies that write TRs should be more involved in
the writing of Technical Standards to help the productive sector to be more active, especially in
the export market. In the Andean Community there is an urgent need to harmonize the TRs of
the different countries to avoid barriers to trade. The participation of our government in the
talks to create the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA) will be of huge importance for
Colombian industry since export efforts will depend largely on the negotiation of that trade
agreement. The Colombian government should negotiate standardization and conformity
assessment according to the directives of the WTO.
7.3
Weak quality culture within the country
One of the problems is that we lived in a ‘closed-door’ economy for many years. Successive
governments, due to lack of foreign currency and to protect the national industry, closed the
borders to imports. The idea was to protect jobs. One of the most powerful tools was the use
of national standards imposed to avoid competition from outside.
The Colombian consumer no longer had a real choice and there was no protection against
abuse of industry policies. On the other side, national industry grew with government
protection, free of foreign competition and guaranteed a captive market that did not have an
alternative. Colombian industry did not make any efforts to export its products. As a result we
had a productive sector which was not competitive, and no exporting culture.
Governments in the past have not invested enough money and resources into quality and
quality programmes to improve the Colombian export sector. Coffee and petroleum were in
the past two reliable sources of foreign income that disguised the need to broaden the export
base of the country, especially in industrial goods.
Colombia established a National Quality Award to reward companies that clearly distinguished
themselves as quality- and customer-oriented companies. The award lacked credibility for
many years until conditions were re-written about 1994 following the principles of the
Malcolm Baldrige and European awards. Today the Colombian Quality Award is helping to
establish and increase a much-needed quality culture within the country.
8
The export system in Colombia
Colombia has been facing one of its longest periods of economic recession since the end of
1997. The current President has based much of his economic policy on giving a big push to
exports, mainly of manufactured goods. Annex 4 shows the export results of previous years.
Although we have been primarily an exporter of raw materials and agricultural products,
manufactured goods are becoming more important for our export economy.
8.1
Product improvement and Competitiveness
One of the main means to improve the export opportunities of Colombian industry has been
to improve the acceptability of final products. One of the main tools has been the adoption of
internationally recognized standards. With this important tool, producers have the advantage
of producing goods for a world market, rather than selling only in the country.
One of the good things about producing with internationally recognized standards is that the
competitiveness of the Colombian industry and service sector has been increased. Today there
is a better recognition of this fact by companies and they are increasing their participation in
both the production of national standards and in international standardization organizations.
8.2
The ISO 9000 strategy for SMEs
One strategy that has been successful is the use of the quality assurance certification against the
ISO 9000 standard as a tool for competitiveness. The Ministry of External Commerce and the
Colombian agency PROEXPORT launched a “Quality Programme” in which they supported
and subsidized SMEs to implement a quality system in their companies and to obtain
certification. Soon after that programme started, another governmental agency called SENA
started a similar programme subsidizing up to 50% of the cost of implementing the system. A
third programme was also created by the Chambers of Commerce with help and funding from
the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB). Today ICONTEC has also started a subsidized
programme, funded by IDB, for 400 SMEs to implement the ISO 9000 standard.
Colombia is the country in Latin America where the ISO 9000 certification is growing fastest.
The quality system has given SMEs confidence to export, and opportunities have arisen due to
the fact that SMEs have been able to prove their reliability with foreign buyers. Annex 6 shows
statistics ISO 9000 certificated companies in Colombia.
A recent study made by an agency called FEDESARROLLO shows the effect of the
certification with ISO 9000 in the country. More than 90% of the companies that have
implemented ISO 9000 say that the cost/benefit of doing so was beneficial for them and more
than 64 % say that they increased their exports. Annex 7 shows the influence of certification in
the increase of productivity.
8.3
Information system for exporters
The Ministry of External Commerce has initiated a good information programme for
exporters and has created a virtual network with the organizations that deal with quality, export
regulations and tariff authorities.
The web site of the Ministry is: www.mincomex.gov.co. Another important site is
www.proexport.com.co. Both provide useful information for the Colombian exporters and
for companies that would like to explore the possibilities of exporting goods and services
abroad. There is information on marketing intelligence, tips on how to export and on
opportunities for exporters.
9
Needs for improvement
The current government will finish its term in 2002. The new election campaign has started.
One of the main problems is that every new government would like to start its own
programmes but the export drive that has already been started must continue and any new
administration has to back the effort and help increase exports if we would like to compete in
the globalized economy.
The new law on quality that sets up the standardization and conformity assessment principles
has to be implemented, and coordination among the different actors will have to be
established.
The National Enquiry Point has to improve and provide satisfactory information for the
export sector of the economy. A special effort has to be made to bring together all the
Technical Regulations that are now in effect and those due to be published by the different
governmental institutions.
The government should create real incentives for export companies that increase their exports
by a given percentage and also for those that increase the labour used for exports.
10
Summary and conclusions
Colombia has started in the right direction. As a result of the policies of the present
government, exports are increasing at a satisfactory pace. Colombia is learning the lesson that
the only way to be competitive in today’s globalized economy is to compete internationally and
to generate foreign currency through exports.
The export drive initiated has to be maintained and helped by the policies and the objectives of
the next government. Exporting has to be maintained as a State policy and not simply as a
government policy that changes with the Presidency.
Standards and conformity assessment are considered important factors in the export efforts of
the Colombian productive sector. The new quality law has to be properly implemented and be
used as a way to increase the competitiveness of Colombian producers.
Governments in the years to come need to keep pushing industries towards embracing
certification to ISO 9000:2000 standards as a way to increase the productivity and the
competitiveness of the Colombian productive sector. There also has to be an stimulus to
companies to use Colombian National Standards based on International Standards as a way to
improve the worldwide acceptability of their products.
Public purchasing policies have to be revised to stimulate the use of Colombian Standards as
the basis for their bids and also require independent third-party certification for the acceptance
of their purchases.
There is a need for a quality campaign on a continuous basis in which both government and
the private sector join forces to expand the quality culture and especially to encourage
consumers to buy quality products and services. The local Chambers of Commerce and Trade
Associations must be used to disseminate this quality culture.
ANNEX 1
Colombia - Basic Figures
Colombian exports have primarily been agricultural products and raw materials. There has
been a recent push, however, to increase export of industrial goods, especially to the United
States and neighbouring countries of the Andean Community (Peru, Venezuela, Ecuador and
Bolivia). Some figures:
Population (2000)
39.5 million
GDP per capita
US $ 1.970
Exports as percent of GDP
19.5
Value of exports (1999)
US$ 12.5 million
Value of imports (1999)
US$ 11.3 million
Major export markets
United States
45%
Venezuela
12%
Ecuador
5%
Germany
4%
United Kingdom
3%
Other Countries
31%
Major export products
Petroleum
US$ 4,570 million
Coal
US$
861 million
Coffee
US$
970 million
Cut flowers
US$
581 million
Bananas
US$
480 million
Minor industrial goods
US$ 4,940 million
Number of exporting enterprises
12,000
Major trade support institutions
Ministry of External Commerce
Colombian Promotion Export Organization (PROEXPORT)
Colombian Exporters Association (ANALDEX)
ANNEX 2
NATIONAL QUALITY SYSTEM
QUALITY COUNCIL
STANDARDIZATION
SUB-SYSTEM
ICONTEC
National
Standards Body
Sectorial
Units
METROLOGY
SUB-SYTEM
ACCREDITATION
SUB-SYSTEM
Contact Point
Min.of Ec.
Development
SIC (Government)
Inspection
Services
Test and
Metr. Labs.
SIC (Government)
Certificat.
Bodies
Metrology
Labs.
Metrology
Labs.
ANNEX 3
LIST OF ACCREDITED CERTIFICATION BODIES
COLOMBIA
REFERENTIAL
CERTIFICATION BODY
NTC-ISO 9001/9002/9003
ICONTEC
NTC-ISO 14001
ICONTEC
NTC-ISO 9001/9002/9003
SGS COLOMBIA S.A.
ALINORMA 97; 13 DEL CODEES
ALIMENTARIUS, APENDICE II
SGS COLOMBIA S.A.
HACCP
SGS COLOMBIA S.A.
NTC-ISO 9001/9002/9003
B.V.Q.I COLOMBIA LTDA
NTC-ISO 14001
CONSEJO
COLOMBIANO DE
SEGURIDAD
BS 8800
CONSEJO
COLOMBIANO DE
SEGURIDAD
NTC-ISO 14001
B.V.Q.I COLOMBIA LTDA
LIST OF ACCREDITED LABORATORIES
COLOMBIA
LABORATORY
ADDRESS
CITY
3M Laboratorio para filtros y mascarillas
Avenida el Dorado No 78A-93
Santa Fe de
Bogotá
Acerías Paz Del Río Análisis Químico y Físico
Carrera 8 No 13-31 Piso 7
Santa Fe de
Bogotá
Aguas de Cartagena, S.A. E.S.P.
Loma de Marión, Barrio Paraguay
Cartagena
Asocreto Laboratorio de Concreto
Carrera 28 No 89-43
Santa Fe de
Bogotá
Batallón de Mantenimiento del Ejercito
Calle 19 Sur No 6-40
Santa Fe de
Bogotá
C.I.T.E.C. Universidad de Los Andes
Carrera 65 B No. 17A-11
Bogotá, D.C.
Ceinnova
Calle 33A No 14-51
Santa Fe de
Bogotá
Centro de Ensayos e Investigación de ARSEG, S.A.
Carrera 37 A No 7-20
Santa Fe de
Bogotá
CIMOC Universidad de los Andes Ensayos materiales
Carrera 65B No 17A -11
Santa Fe de
Bogotá
CIMOC Universidad de los Andes Ensayos suelos
Carrera 65B No 17A -11
Santa Fe de
Bogotá
Colombiana de Extrusión, S.A.
Parque Industrial Km 3 Vía Palenque Café
Madrid
Bucaramanga
Comercializadora Franig Ltda.
Carrera 36 No 70-40
Santa Fe de
Bogotá
Concrelab
Calle 60A No.70-36
Santa Fe de
Bogotá
Contecon Urbar, S.A.
Carrera 67 No. 78-52
Bogotá, D.C.
Control Calidad ensayos fisicoquímicos
Calle 37 No 25-14
Bucaramanga
Control Calidad ensayos microbiológicos
Calle 37 No 25-14
Bucaramanga
EEPMM Laboratorio de agues
Calle 66C No 34-93
Medellín,
Antioquia
EEPPM laboratorio ensayos área mecánica
Calle 30 No 65-315
Medellín
EEPPM área química
Calle 30 No 65-315
Medellín
EEPPM Laboratorio Area Eléctrica.
Calle 30 No 65-315
Medellín,
Antioquia
Eka Chemical¨s Limitada
Cra 23 No 12-81Autopista Caliu Yumbo
Santiago de
Cali
Empresa de Energia de Bogotá Laboratorio de Alta
Tensión.
Avenida el Dorado No 55-41
Santa Fe de
Bogotá
Fundación para la protección del ambiente FAS medio
ambiente.
Transversal 46 No 106B - 98
Santa Fe de
Bogotá
I C P Laboratorio de Corrosión
El limonal Km 14 Autopista Bucaramanga Piedecuesta,
Piedecuesta
Santander
Icollantas S.A.
Autopista Sur Vía Silvania Km 14 Zona
Industrial Muña
Chusacá,
Cundinamarca
Carrera 7 No. 22-01
Cali
ICP Laboratorio de Aguas y Suelos
El limonal Km 14 Autopista Bucaramanga
Piedecuesta
Bucaramanga
ICP Laboratorio de Caracterización de Materiales
El limonal Km 14 Autopista Bucaramanga
Piedecuesta
Bucaramanga
ICP Laboratorio de Caracterización y Evaluación de
Crudos
El limonal Km 14 Autopista Bucaramanga
Piedecuesta
Bucaramanga
ICP Laboratorio de Cromatografía de Gases
El limonal Km 14 Autopista Bucaramanga
Piedecuesta
Bucaramanga
ICP Laboratorio de Difracción de Rayos X
El limonal Km 14 Autopista Bucaramanga
Piedecuesta
Bucaramanga
ICP laboratorio de fenómenos interfaciales
El limonal Km 14 Autopista Bucaramanga
Piedecuesta
Bucaramanga
ICP Laboratorio de Geoquímica
El limonal Km 14 Autopista Bucaramanga
Piedecuesta
Bucaramanga
ICP Laboratorio de PVT
El limonal Km 14 Autopista Bucaramanga
Piedecuesta
Bucaramanga
ICP Laboratorio de PVT
El limonal Km 14 Autopista Bucaramanga Bucaramanga
Piedecuesta
ICP Laboratorio de Resistencia de Materiales
El limonal Km 14 Autopista Bucaramanga
Piedecuesta
Bucaramanga
ICP, Laboratorio de Espectroscopia
Km 7. Vía Bucaramanga - Piedecuesta
Piedecuesta
Incolbestos
Calle 22 No 123-97
Santa Fe de
Bogotá
Instituto Colombiano del Petróleo -Análisis Especiales
El limonal Km 14 Autopista Bucaramanga
Piedecuesta
Bucaramanga
Instituto Colombiano del Petróleo- Laboratorio de
Biotecnología
El limonal Km 14 Autopista Bucaramanga
Piedecuesta
Bucaramanga
Instituto Colombiano del Petróleo -Tecnologías
Operacionales
El limonal Km 14 Autopista Bucaramanga
Piedecuesta
Bucaramanga
Instituto de Capacitación e Investigación del Plástico y
del Caucho - ICIPC
Carrera 49 No 5 Sur - 190
Medellín
ISA análisis químico
Calle 12 Sur No 18- 168
Medellín
Laboratorio de Alta Tensión Universidad del Valle
Ciudad Universitaria Melendez
Cali, Valle del
Cauca
Laboratorio de Alta Tensión Universidad del Valle
Ciudad Universitaria Melendez
Cali, Valle del
Cauca
Laboratorio de Civil EPM
Calle 30 No 65-315
Medellín,
Antioquia
Laboratorio de materiales de la Univ. Nal . De Colombia Cra 27 No 24-60 Bloque H Primer piso
Manizáles
PAVCO S.A. Laboratorio de PVC y Tubería de Gas.
Autopista el Sur No 77-15
Santa Fe de
Bogotá
Proquifar, Ltda.
Calle 26A No. 37-28
Bogotá, D.C.
SENA Laboratorio de Industria Gráfica, Tintas y Papel. Carrera 31 No. 14-20
Santa Fe de
Bogotá
Transequipos
Autopista el Norte No 101 - 95
Santa Fe de
Bogotá
Tubotec
Carrera 78C No 60A-30 Sur
Bosa,
Cundinamarca
U.Nacional Manizales laboratorio Química
Carrera 27 No 64-60 Tercer Nivel Bloque
H
Manizales
Universidad del Norte laboratorio resistencia de
materials
Kilómetro 5 Antigua Vía Puerto Colombia
Barranquilla
Barranquilla
Universidad EAFIT
Carrera 49 No. 7 Sur-50
Medellín
Universidad Nacional Santa Fé Bogotá Laboratorio
Metalurgía
Edificio de Postgrado de Materiales y
Procesos Universidad Nacional
Santa Fe de
Bogotá
(vacías)
(vacías)
(vacías)
ANNEX 4
NATIONAL METROLOGY LABORATORY
LIST OF THE LABORATORIES
Force – Torque
Mass and weight
Glass volumetry
Continuous electric current
Geographical measures and lengths
Thermometers
Meter transformers
Density
Electrical measurements
Legal metrology
Industrial measurements
Hygrometry
Time and frequency
Manometers
Large volumes
ANNEX 5
COLOMBIA IMPORTS AND EXPORTS
(Million of USD dollars)
Year
Exports
Imports
Balance of trade
1996
10587
12793
- 2206
1997
11522
14408
- 2886
1998
10852
13726
- 2874
1999
11576
9990
1586
2000
13040
10783
2257
ANNEX 6
ISO 9000 CERTIFICATES IN COLOMBIA
(Up to June 2001)
900
800
800
700
650
600
500
439
TOTAL
GROWTH
400
271
300
211
173
200
168
150
98
100
41
54
8 0
18 10
27
9
17
19911993
1994
1995
1996
0
1997
1998
1999
2000
Jun-01
ANNEX 7
Productivity (A) for enterprises with ISO 9000 and without ISO 9000
(Index 1981 = 100, average for 2419 enterprises)
1,800
1,600
1,400
1,200
1,000
800
600
400
200
0
84
86
88
90
A 2259 Enterprises without ISO 9000
Fuente : DANE y
cálculos
del autor
92
94
96
98
A 237 Enterprises with ISO 9000