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IFCA renews its ISO 9001 quality certification


The new label is an extension of the scope of this label to IFCA's Advanced Computing service

 September 28, 2021

Since 2008, the Instituto de Física de Cantabria (IFCA), a joint centre of the Universidad de Cantabria (UC) and the CSIC, has renewed its commitment to quality, year after year, certifying, under the ISO 9001:2015 standard, several of its scientific-technical services.

On this occasion, and after passing a process of audits with AENOR (Spanish Association for Standardisation and Certification), IFCA has renewed its ISO 9001 certificate, incorporating, in this case, the Advanced Computing service (Access and management service for computational computing infrastructures). This is yet another seal to be added to the certificates already obtained in dimensional verification of parts, precision machining, electrical characterisation of semiconductors and technological surveillance in areas of instrumentation and detection techniques in High Energy Physics, Cosmology and Radioactive Environments (nuclear, space and medicine), and industrial applications. 

Thanks to this renovation, the IFCA Quality Unit's aim to promote, disseminate and implement "quality culture" in the institute is fulfilled, following policy, indicators and general quality objectives of UC and CSIC (guidelines established in the Quality Management Plan of CSIC State Agency). 

Advanced Computing service of IFCA is in the process of implementing the ISO/IEC 27001 standard nearly

In addition, IFCA's Advanced Computing service is in the process of implementing the ISO/IEC 27001 standard, in order to improve information security management (minimising risks and preserving the confidentiality, integrity and availability of information) and to obtain a greater impact in calls for computing projects at national, european and international level in which the institute participates. 

19 years of work in computing

The IFCA's Advanced Computing Service started its activity in 2002 thanks to the demands of different simulation and data processing support projects in large international collaborations such as CMS in the LHC project or ESA in Planck. The service is managed by the Scientific and Technical Service (SCTI) Santander Supercomputing (SSC) of the UC, the ICTS Altamira (node of the Spanish Supercomputing Network, RES), and a storage and computing infrastructure in the Cloud, which support a large number of national and european initiatives such as IBERGRID, EGI.eu or the European Open Science Cloud (EOSC). All these services they offer form a complete chain that supports data management, the development of new simulation techniques using new technologies, and the study of their scalability in the HPC context for supercomputers, grid and cloud systems and clusters.

The first one, the Metrology Laboratory

The institute began its certification activities under ISO standards in 2008, where it obtained the ISO 9001:2008 Quality Management System certification for its Metrology laboratory, oriented, among other purposes, towards a policy of R+D+I and knowledge transfer to Cantabrian SMEs, through the provision of highly qualified technical services and Technology Transfer projects. A few years later, in 2017, the quality system was adapted to ISO 9001:2015 standard. Since its creation, this Meteorology laboratory has also participated in the development of experiments such as the LHC (Large Hadron Collider) at CERN (European Centre for Particle Physics).

Quality laboratories and services

Awarded by AENOR, obtaining the ISO 9001 certificate shows that IFCA's Quality Management System is correctly implemented and continues to be maintained in accordance with the standard, managing the development of its activities with quality in a process of continuous improvement, and with the aim of guaranteeing laboratories and services of excellence to make them available to society. 


  • Joint Centre with the combined effort of Spanish National Research Council (CSIC) and University of Cantabria (UC)

    Instituto de Física de Cantabria
    Edificio Juan Jordá
    Avenida de los Castros, s/n
    E-39005 Santander
    Cantabria, Spain

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