Colombian solids waste company obtains certification ISO 9000:2000
Biogragrícola del Llano S.A. is a solid waste company in Villavicencio, a small city located in the orentintal plains of Colombia, with a population of 380000 habitants.
The company has unveiled an integral model of management, developed to satisfy the requirements of its community. The collaborators and directors of this model promised in 2001 to develop a Quality Management System which allows a new business style, based on continues improvements (such as Management tools).
Through these means, this new and dynamic organization which makes up Bioagrícola del Llano S.A. managed to obtain ISO certification (ISO 9001:2000). This permitted its organisers to create a new vision for the company. This vision is directed towards improving productivity, reducing dead time, developing a company enlargement and amplifying the company service.
The company has looked for ways to meet the requirements of its customers. Consequently, the company knows the exact requirement its customers expect of the waste disposal service. They also know what information the users expect in term of environmental education. The community has learned about the different processes of the solid waste treatment through educational meetings.
Environmental education has provided the means by which users have become conscience in relation to the management of solid waste. This is done by teaching users to recycle particularly in condominiums, education centers (and other companies), undertaking educational tours of the sanitary landfill and the park which is being built over it. As a result of the educational tours a new trend in the culture of people attitude towards environmental responsability is being created.
In adition to user education, Bioagricola del Llano has successfully developed internal processes which make up part of the integral model of solid waste management. Using several methods such as worm digestion and compost production, they reduce the amount of organic waste which arrives to the sanitary landfill.
In order to comply with the companies vision to amplify its services (particularly with respect to road sweeping and cleanlyness of public areas), they established a greater number of road sweepers which consequently increased road sweeping coverage from 64% to 98% (as is shown in the diagram).
Moreover Bioagrícola del Llano developed ways of optimizing road sweeping and waste collection times by following these routes. As a result, the company managed to reduce the time used for road sweeping and waste collection.
All these achievements have been obtained by the promise which workers have made. Villavicencio has become cleaner in response to the effort made by all the workers. Each worker knows he makes up a part of a greater team that provides a high quality service.
Seven years after the constitution of Bioagrícola del Llano, the 77000 users are the main witnesses of the change in the way services have been performed. Since the very first day the company made a promise to undertake everything to meet the time schedule and to improve the technique of final waste disposal until it exhibited one of the best sanitary landfills in the country, which eventually will turn into an ecological park in benefit to the community.
ICONTEC - Colombia