Anuario Brasileiro do Cobre | Brazilian Copper Yearbook 2018

2018 Anuário Brasileiro do Cobre Brazilian Copper Yearbook 28 The importance of the electric conductors’ certification T o prevent this from happening, and to provide more safety to the consumer, the Brazilian Association for the Quality of Electric Wires, Cables and Similar – Qualifio was created. The entity exists since 1993 and works for the market standardization, to avoid provisioning of low quality products that offer risks to the consumers. During this year, Qualifio has elected a new president, Mr. Paulo Cesar Iacono Negrão, Commercial Director of Induscabos. He takes over the entity that has as the main goal to monitor and to promote the continuous improvement of quality of wires and cables sold in the Brazilian market. According to Paulo Cesar, in the course of 2018, 89 manufacturers have been evaluated. Only 20 got results according to the current regulations and 19 among these are QUALIFIO associates. To obtain this result, they analyzed 411 samples and concluded that 251 did not meet the standards, i.e., were non- conforming. “Qualifio has an important partnership with the National Institute of Metrology, Standardization and Industrial Quality – Inmetro that receives our reports of manufacturers with quality problems. Therefore, to find reliable products and to avoid safety and quality problems, the consumer must always ensure that the product was regulated by INMETRO. Besides that, it’s necessary to check if it has an identification label applied to the product, with the INMETRO symbol, its registration number, the Certification Agency logo and its identification number, emphasizes Paulo César. The president also raised awareness to another important element to be verified by the consumer: the availability of information on the manufacturer, like address, the General Taxpayers’ Registry (“CNPJ”) and a contact number. “If this data is not available, it can be an indicative that the product is not according to the current regulation of our sector, he says. In this interview, the new Qualifio president highlights other important factors related to the products’ quality. The importance of the consumer in this process - A demanding consumer is a fundamental piece in this market. It is a decisive factor in the process to improve products’ quality. In order to the consumer fully perform this role; it’s not enough to call the consumer awareness onto the importance of quality. He needs information on the products available in the market, even because we shall consider that the consumer is the weakest link in the consumer relations.  The role of QUALIFIO as a guide to consumers - When testing the products that are according to the current regulation, QUALIFIO has the objective of facilitate the consumer’s decision.A brand certified by Qualifio must be widely used. Thus, it will be possible to distinguish bona fide manufacturers from the ones that violate the current regulation. A proper example is our Stamp of QUALIFIO Associate.  The Stamp of QUALIFIO’s associate works - The Stamp certifies the good management and quality of the manufacturer products or services. We believe that it is an impulse to have an increasing number of companies in the market endeavoring to improve the quality of electric wires and cables. With this initiative, Qualifio looks after health, safety and heritage of everyone who uses electric energy.  Did you know that the use of non-certified electric wires and cables can put your property and even your own safety in danger? QUALIDADE QUALITY