Resumo

ESPINOSA LLORENS, Ma. del Carmen; LOPEZ TORRES, Matilde; SAUCEDO, Bárbara Luna  e  LEON HERNANDEZ, Yadiana. Technical competence in analytical testing laboratories. Experiences of the DECA scientific-technical services management unit. Rev. CENIC Cienc. Quím. [online]. 2020, vol.51, n.2, pp. 317-338.  Epub 16-Jul-2020. ISSN 2221-2442.

A laboratory must produce analytical data of sufficient precision and reliability within an acceptable time frame and at an allowable cost. For laboratories accredited by the 17025 standard, this objective becomes even more important, being the participation in Proficiency Testing (PT), as external quality control, the superior way of demonstrating their technical competence. DECA (formerly the Department of Studies on Environmental Pollution, today the Scientific-Technical Services Management Unit DECA), belonging to the National Center for Scientific Research in Cuba, with a long tradition of work in the field of the environment (including the characterization of water, wastewater and solid waste), achieved its first accreditation by the National Accreditation Body of the Republic of Cuba (ONARC, acronym in Spanish) in 2001 and has maintained a regular participation in PT. The objective of this work is to demonstrate the technical competence of the Unit of Management of Scientific-Technical Services (UG SCT-DECA, acronym in Spanish) in the analytical services it provides, through the results it has obtained from its continued participation in PT. Taking into account the PTs (national and international) in the period 2008-2019, different indicators were used to measure their performance, as well as graphic tools that allowed to visualize the behavior over time. The evidence demonstrates the technical competence maintained by DECA´s analytical services, strengthening the quality and reliability of the results it brings to its clients, which has allowed the faithfulness of a considerable number of them.

Palavras-chave : Proficiency testing; technical competence; analytical lab; reliability; NC-ISO/IEC 17025; faithfulness.