The NAMA Support Project enables technicians from different domestic refrigerator producers and regions in Colombia to receive state-of-the-art training on servicing and maintenance of domestic refrigerators using R-600a as refrigerant.
In the context of the “Colombian NAMA for the Domestic Refrigeration Sector”, the Ozone Technical Unit (UTO) of the Colombian Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development (MinAmbiente) and GIZ organised a five-day workshop taught by the internationally renowned expert, Rolf Hühren.
The workshop, which took place in Bogotá from the 2nd to the 6th of December of 2019, allowed 17 technicians from the three Colombian domestic refrigerator producers – namely CHALLENGER, HACEB and MABE, as well as two evaluators and two trainers of the national training institute (SENA) – to acquire theoretical and practical knowhow on handling R-600a equipment safely.
By using a train-the-trainer methodology, the training modules included sessions on international norms and standards, as well as theoretical and practical sessions on topics such as brazing and pressing, refrigerant venting procedures, repairs to electrical components and pressure testing with nitrogen.
The methodology of the training modules encouraged the participants to exchange good-practice procedures, experiences and knowhow among each other, allowing each participant to enhance their understanding of the concepts learnt during the workshop.
Among other benefits that the technicians identified from attending the workshop include the enhancement of their career prospects, improvement of their daily work security and productivity and acquiring the required knowledge to develop company specific and nationwide training and certification modules.
The project will generate comprehensive transformational change in the sector by further increasing the reach of the workshop’s training content. A training guide on the safe use of R-600a in the domestic refrigeration sector is being developed in order to institutionalise the acquired knowledge – and the workshop’s training content will be replicated in six other Colombian major cities.
