UEN concretos restates MECO quality and trust
Meco received ISO17025: 2017 accreditation
The countless hours that the staff of the UEN Concretos Quality Control Laboratory invested in the ISO17025: 2017 Accreditation , reflects Meco’s commitment , technical perspective and passion.
In 2018, the laboratory began the process to obtain the ISO 17025: 2005 accreditation as a reflection to the commitment to quality receiving a positive result on February 2019. Later, the Costa Rican Accreditation Entity (ECA) renewed the standard to its ISO 17025: 2017 version; and it was when we began the process of identifying new requirements for their due compliance.
At the end of 2020, this team successfully concluded the external evaluation processes that allowed it to receive, in January 2021, the approval to transition to the ISO 17025 standard in its 2017 version, from the Costa Rican Accreditation Entity (ECA) , by reviewing the application of laboratory policies and compliance with quality objectives.
Through accreditation, laboratory processes are standardized in a Quality Management System that originates from the MECO Integrated Management System, which works as a guide for technicians to apply concrete quality control tests with internal procedures developed, taking as a reference international’ standards. In addition, it allows customers to understand the quality that Meco applies to their concrete.
The UEN of concretes has three production facilities located in San Rafael de Alajuela, Calle Blancos, San José and recently, Barranca, Puntarenas. The San Rafael Plant laboratory has 7 accredited concrete quality control tests, based on of own procedures built in accordance with international technical standards ASTM and their correspondence with INTECO in Costa Rica.
Accredited tests include fresh concrete sampling, site and plant concrete sampling, concrete slump measurement, concrete temperature, concrete casting and curing, compression of concrete cylinders, use of neoprene pads for cylinder compression and bending of concrete beams.
“Meco’s Concrete Unit Management is committed to strengthening its Quality Control Laboratory to satisfy the needs of our internal and external clients, providing them with reliable and punctual test results. We appreciate the involvement of all the laboratory collaborators and through our values of responsibility, ethics, operational and technical excellence ”, said Francisco Araya, Concrete Manager.
Due to the COVID19 pandemic, the evaluation of these trials was developed virtually, an unprecedented event that increased the level of rigor in the process.