Assuring Pressure Part Manufacturing & Repair Quality: Has ticking the box become more important than the end product? Part I

Quality Achieved vs. Quality Perceived The quality of the thousands of factory and field welds present in pressure part modules is critical for assuring reliable operation over the life of the plant. But how are these welds performed and checked? Much relies on the quality system of the fabricator, and for many years some companies have been paying only lip service to quality while avoiding the associated costs. It is very easy to tick a box. Let’s take a step back. Companies can be perceived as good, bad, or somewhere in between by potential clients. Rightly or wrongly, quality systems are generally seen as a way for a company to show that it is on the good end of the scale.

 In the 1990s there was a rush to become accredited with formalized quality systems such as ISO 9001. Many companies felt this was a quick way to officially become “good”.  Successful companies already had quality “built-in”, these systems gave newcomers or underperformers the chance to level up.  Unfortunately, the goal for some companies was only to obtain “status”, a certificate to display, rather than an actual means in using it to become a better company. Ticking the box had begun.

Some definitions of "quality" 

Quality can be difficult to define. A dictionary definition: "The standard of something as measured against other things of a similar kind; the degree of excellence of something"

It is not necessarily the same as the quality standard definition:

1. the characteristics of a product or service that bear on its ability to satisfy stated or implied needs;
2. a product or service free of deficiencies.

Consider also:

• Fitness for use;
• Conformance to requirements

Most quality systems involve the production of a lot of documentary “proof”, and this is expensive in terms of manpower, time and materials.  When a considerable fraction of the total construction cost on a project can be directly related to quality control, minimizing cost becomes a key consideration.  If a paper trail can be provided that shows the requirements of the system were fulfilled, then surely everyone is happy? Quality achieved.

This is part I in a III-part series. Part II will be published March 1st 2019.

For more information about quality control contact Mr Mark Taylor (EMEA) mark.taylor@tetra-eng.com or Mr Peter Jackson (North/Central/South America) peter.jackson@tetra-eng.com