Comisión Guatemalteca de Normas (COGUANOR), the national standards body of Guatemala under the Ministry of Economy, reports that they have adopted several ASTM International standards over the past year. COGUANOR signed a memorandum of understanding with ASTM International in 2005. 

COGUANOR coordinates the national standardization policy and activities in Guatemala in all fields (food, petroleum products, medicine, building materials, etc.).  An executive advisory committee made up of representatives from the Guatemalan Ministry of Health, Ministry of Economy, Ministry of Labor, Bar of Engineers and the Chambers of Agriculture, Industry and Commerce governs COGUANOR.

COGUANOR recently submitted their regular annual report to measure the use of ASTM standards and the benefits of the MOU program over the past year.  In it, they stated that five ASTM standards were adopted as equivalent Guatemala national standards and 10 standards were adopted as identical standards. In addition, COGUANOR consulted 16 ASTM standards in the preparation of national standards and used 90 standards as reference documents.  

The ASTM standards used cover various sectors, including cement and concrete, petroleum, roofing, plastics, ceramics, plastic pipes and steel, and are often used in the building construction industry of Guatemala.  COGUANOR is able to access the most up-to-date ASTM standards through an online subscription is offered to all MOU signatories.  

The Instituto del Cemento y del Concreto de Guatemala (ICCG) also hosts an ASTM Online Center, which provides instantaneous electronic access to published ASTM standards (historical and redline), research reports and Digital Library content.  ASTM has established several online centers in cooperation with separate national concrete trade associations in Latin America, including Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Panama and Mexico.  ASTM offers Spanish versions of several cement and concrete standards. 

Abel Francisco Cruz Calderón, deputy minister of investment and president of COGUANOR, says that having access to ASTM International’s collection of standards has facilitated the development of Guatemala national standards. “We consider the MOU with ASTM a valuable tool because ASTM is recognized internationally and some of its more than 12,000 standards have been used as the basis for policy development in Guatemala in the areas of building materials, hydrocarbons and plastics,” says Calderón.

Initiated in 2001, ASTM International's MOU program promotes communication between ASTM International and national standards bodies worldwide, fostering awareness of the standardization systems of all parties involved. The purpose of the program is to increase greater worldwide participation in the ASTM standards development process and facilitate the development of national standards that will aid health, safety, and environmental and economic conditions. More information on the MOU program can be found on the ASTM International Web site (www.astm.org/GLOBAL).

ASTM Staff Contact: Teresa Cendrowska, Phone: 610-832-9718; tcendrow@astm.org

Release #8714