Comparison of the quality of accredited and non-accredited analytical laboratories in Sula Valley

Abstract

The quality of analytical laboratories is an indispensable requirement that is defined as the place where chemical analyses are carried out to fulfill a process that needs accuracy, precision, order and organization (Burnett, Accreditation of the clinical laboratory, 1998). The principal aim of this investigation is to compare the quality of the laboratories of the Master´s degree in Industrial Chemistry of the UNAH Campus in Valle de Sula in regards to the analytical laboratories accredited by Valle de Sula (located outside of campus). In order to realize this comparisons, chiefs, supervisors and managers were interviewed. The information recollected also indicated that these acredited laboratories rely on organisms of accreditation that guarantee the quality of its services; however the university´s laboratories do not fulfill the requirements of guarantee, control and organization in because their equipment is limited and in poor condition. There are no planned activities that guarantee quality and these can be submitted to evaluations by accreditation organism. At the same time, we conducted an observation guide that provided us with detailed information on each of them. This study provides valuable information on the limitations that exist in the university´s laboratories, since as the time advances, these have deteriorated and the equipment they have become obsolete.

Revista Portal de la Ciencia, No.11, diciembre 2016, 54-69