Metodología para la Aplicación de los Principios de Buenas Prácticas de Laboratorio de la OCDE en un Laboratorio Químico Ambiental acreditado bajo la NTC-ISO 17025:2017

Abstract

Environmental chemical laboratories are aimed at characterizing the result of processes that generate some type of environmental contamination; whether atmospheric, water or soil, and to guarantee safe, reliable and traceable results, it seeks to develop all the processes of a laboratory under a quality management system The results issued in this type of laboratory are of great importance because they are generally used to render accounts before control entities that monitor the use and impact of the country's natural resources, therefore, the quality and reliability of the reported data must be the best. This work seeks to improve the management system implemented in a laboratory, by applying the principles of good laboratory practices of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development -OECD-, in order to contribute to the optimization and the correct functioning of the processes, increasing competitiveness within the sector where they provide their services and generating greater trust for customers. The application of the principles of good laboratory practices of the OECD will be articulated with the NTC-ISO 17025: 2017 standard and may be implemented in any environmental laboratory that is accredited. In Colombia there is no regulation that requires environmental chemical laboratories to implement the principles of good laboratory practices of the OECD, therefore, the articulation of the two sets of requirements has not been a desired field of research and it is not counted with a lot of information about it. The above allows exploring a field with few studies and generating valid tools for laboratories to improve their integrated management systems. The present investigation was carried out in three phases. In the first, a comparative matrix was built through which it was possible to identify the requirements of the OECD's principles of good laboratory practices that can be met through the provisions of the NTC ISO / IEC 17025: 2017 and those that require additional actions. In the second phase, the methodological proposal is established in which all the elements of the NTC ISO / IEC 17025: 2017 standard are incorporated and those that are must be included to comply with the requirements of Good Laboratory Practices. Finally, through a group of five experts, the tool built in the previous phase is validated, according to criteria of clarity, relevance and applicability. Providing accredited environmental chemical laboratories with a validated methodology will allow them to implement the OECD principles of good laboratory practice in a clear, safe and reliable way, without neglecting their management system, and will provide them with a differentiating element compared to other competitors. , not only at the national level but also within the group of countries that are part of the OECD.