• The National Institute for Standardization, an agency created by the Chilean Economic Development Agency (Corfo, in Spanish) to promote the use of standards in Chile, has certified Universidad de Santiago’s laboratory for Materials and Metallurgical Engineering Services for 4 years. This certification enables the laboratory to provide services for large companies both in Chile and abroad, particularly in the field of mining industry.
• Dr. Alfredo Artigas, director of the laboratory, said that this is a great opportunity, because it confirms the quality of the services provided and “it also strengthens our position in the market, increasing our capacities to compete as equals with any other institution.”

Recently, the laboratory for Materials and Metallurgical Engineering Services (Simet, in Spanish) of the Faculty of Engineering was certified by the National Institute for Standardization (INN, in Spanish) for 4 years, the maximum accreditation period given by this agency. The certification that will be valid until 2018 is under the ISO 17.025 standard that regulates testing and calibration laboratories, in this case, in the areas of metallurgy and materials science.

By the end of 2012, the laboratory restarted its accreditation process which was pending since 2006. For this purpose, it invested about 30 million Chilean pesos. After the assessment carried out by the INN at the end of 2013, Simet was accredited in summer 2014.

Assistance

Simet’s goal is to provide comprehensive technical assistance in the area of materials testing and analysis for mining industry, metallurgical industry and smelting plants, among others. At Simet, they mainly carry out metal tensile and hardness testing though its great potential lies in failure analysis for mining industry and mining industry suppliers, when their products fail. All this work is addressed through a comprehensive approach of quality control for all the processes involved which has distinguished Simet in a global and demanding market.

Regarding the accreditation, Simet’s director, Dr. Alfredo Artigas said that it is a great opportunity, because it confirms the quality of the services provided and “it also strengthens our position in the market, increasing our capacities to compete as equals with any other institution, both in Chile and abroad.”

Besides, Dr. Artigas stressed the importance of this certification, “as there are 2 or 3 laboratories that are certified in the type of testing that we carry out; therefore it will open doors for us to reach large companies, like the public transport company Metro, for example. You cannot take part in their tender processes if you are not accredited.”

In Dr. Artigas’s opinion, the most difficult part of this process was to persuade the team to participate, because it involves a significant change in the procedures, from the point of view of non-compliance with standards; equipment calibration; implementation of corrective actions in case of system failures, and strict requirements controlled by the INN. “Keeping the equipment calibrated is expensive, because it should be done once a year and the results have to be compared with the ones of laboratories in other countries. Handling all this is complicated,” he said.

About Simet

In 1998, tensile and fatigue testing machines were acquired through a Fondef project, and the laboratory started to operate. With this new equipment, the laboratory designed and signed a project together with the Society for Technological Development of Universidad de Santiago (SDT, in Spanish), an agency that provides technical and technological assistance and consulting services on professional training to manage these assistance services.

Today, the laboratory has a portfolio of about 200 customers, among which there are some alumni, thanks to the University’s help in job placing in the private sector, both in large and small companies. This yielded a return of approximately a million dollars last year.

However, Simet dos not only provide services for the private sector: the laboratory also lends its facilities and equipment to seven laboratory courses of the different programs of the Department of Metallurgical Engineering, graduate students, students working on their dissertations, and research projects, among others, what is in agreement with the quality goals set by the laboratory that involve never to neglect the educational role of the University.


Translated by Marcela Contreras

• On February 28th, the University’s President submitted the statutory documents to Paula Beale, the Executive Secretary of the National Accreditation Commission. The dossier was delivered previous to the Institutional Self-Evaluation Report, which will be submitted by the end of this month, to subsequently have the visit of the external peer reviewers. President Zolezzi invited the University’s community to face this process with the maximum commitment and to stress our University’s strengths, both quantitatively and in terms of values.

On February 28th, President Juan Manuel Zolezzi arrived into the National Accreditation Commission (CNA, in Spanish) offices to submit to Paula Beale, its Executive Secretary, the documents included in the “institutional file” of our University.

Submitting the dossier is the starting point for the process through which our University seeks to renew the institutional accreditation, which is valid until October, for the maximum period of seven years.

“That is what I expect and many people at the University expect it too. We do not see any obstacles to proudly consider that possibility,” President Zolezzi said.

President Zolezzi invited the University’s community to participate in the process and to wait for the visit of the external peer reviewers that could be scheduled for the beginning of the second term. “No matter what the circumstances may be, the University’s community spirit should be the best and we would expect that the academics, the administrative staff and the students consider the University as a priority,” he said.

“We are entering the last stretch (of the process); there is no way back. We have been working for a while and the deadlines have been met,” he added. The goal is to focus the efforts “for the University to be the best institution possible.”

The institutional file contains a letter of introduction by the University’s President, the University’s Strategic Plan, the balances of assets and liabilities for the past three years and the organization chart, besides basic statutory definitions regarding the Institution’s statute, the way of appointing the University’s President, the University’s constitution and several productivity indicators regarding the number of students and academics and the proportion between them.

The purpose of all this quantitative information is to offer a picture of the different dimensions of Universidad de Santiago. The next step is the submission of the Self-Evaluation Report, on March 28th, so that the CNA calls the external peer reviewers that will visit our University.

The time for the visit

Although 2013 was marked by the institutional work towards renewing the accreditation, this year there will be an election process at the University: something that could affect the peer reviewers’ visit.

“We think that elections days are not a good time for the visit of peer reviewers. And in case that we have a new President and new authorities, we think that a visit after those changes is not optimum either. Therefore, the best time would be July-August this year. We have pointed out this situation and I think that the CNA will take it into consideration, due to the changes in the University’s environment,” President Zolezzi said.

Strengths of our Institution

President Zolezzi explained that, even though it is still necessary to fix some details of the Self-Evaluation Report, there are important strengths that should be stressed, like the University’s social commitment, and in this regard, the defense of public education that defines Universidad de Santiago’s spirit through its institutional management. He also highlighted the University’s competitiveness in the field of research, particularly in innovation and patenting, and in the area of outreach and engagement, “in which, for example, our radio station has shared the University’s way of feeling with the community that listens to it,” he said.

President Zolezzi concluded by emphasizing the University’s performance regarding our undergraduate and graduate programs, considering that the students of our Institution graduate in a reasonable time and become part of the world of work a few months after graduating, getting paid accordingly. “This is an example of the design and the product that the University is developing, including all our support to students, not only from the technocratic point of view but also from the human one, what allows us to say that we will have positive data regarding this aspects.”

Translated by Marcela Contreras