A recent annual report indicates the continued success of the memorandum of understanding signed by Instituto Colombiano de Normas Técnicas y Certificacion (ICONTEC) and ASTM International 10 years ago.

ICONTEC is a non-profit organization that oversees the compliance of national and international standards.  It is an open organization with members from the Colombian government, private sector, academy and others who are interested in the compliance of standards in Colombia. 

ASTM International’s MOU program was initiated in 2001, and their first MOU was signed with ICONTEC.  Since then, ICONTEC has used hundreds of ASTM standards as the basis of Columbian national standards. In the past year alone, ICONTEC reports that they have consulted close to 300 ASTM standards in the preparation of Colombian national standards, and have adopted 34 ASTM standards as identical standards. The standards cover a wide range of industry sectors from ASTM’s 142 technical committees.

ICONTEC also reports that several international standards developed by ASTM Committee F24 on Amusement Rides and Devices have been used in support of Colombia’s upcoming legislation on amusement parks, and the Asociacion Colombiana de atracciones y Parques de Diversiones (ACOLAP) is planning to develop a handbook based on these standards.

The broad relevance and application of ASTM standards in Colombia initially led to the MOU between ASTM and ICONTEC. “Colombia has benefited from support and technology transfer from ASTM International through timely updated information and answers from ASTM committee experts to the inquiries from Colombian national committees. This has been a significant added value for the national standardization process,” says Germán Nava, director of standardization, ICONTEC.

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
ASTM PR Contact: Barbara Schindler, Phone: 610-832-9603; bschindl@astm.org

Release #8519