Section 15 — Inspection

QA/QC Procedures for Commodity Purchases

IPE Engineering Practice IPE-EP-15-5-1

Document number: IPE-EP-15-5-1 · Section: 15 — Inspection

SCOPE

• This Practice defines the requirements for establishing and maintaining a quality assurance/quality control program for the procurement and receipt of commodity items.
• The commodity items for which this procedure shall be applicable include pipe, tube, fittings, valves, gaskets, fasteners, and welding consumables.
• A revision bar indicates all changes made to this Revision.

2.0 REFERENCES

The latest edition of the following standards and publications are referred to herein.

STANDARDS AND PUBLICATIONS

IPE Engineering Practices

EP 5–2–1

EP 5–2–2

EP 5–2–4

EP 5–3–1

EP 5–3–3

EP 5–3–6

EP 5–3–4

EP 5–3–5

EP 5–3–7

EP 5–3–8

EP 5–3–9

EP 5–3–10

EP 5–3–11

EP 5–3–12

EP 5–3–14

EP 5–3–16

EP 5–3–21

EP 5–3–23

EP 5–3–24

EP 10–2–3

EP 15–1–1

EP 15–1–4

EP 15–1–5

EP 15–5–2

EP 15–5–3

EP 15–5–4

Selection of Piping Components and Materials Flanges, Gaskets and Bolting

Supplemental Requirements for Pipe and Piping Components Valve Design and Selection Criteria

Gate Valves

Compact and Extended Body Steel Gate and Globe Valves Cast Iron and Ductile Iron Gate Valves, Flanged Ends Globe Valves

Bellows Seal Valves Check Valves

Plug Valves Ball Valves

Butterfly Valves for Hydrocarbon Services Butterfly Valves for Utility Service Pressure Relief Valves

Three–Way Valves for Tandem PRV Installations Supplemental Requirements for Valves

Valve Packing

Valve Inspection and Testing Material Hardness Requirements

Shop Inspection and Testing of New Plant Equipment Positive Materials Identification (PMI)

Color Coding For Material Identification QA/QC Procedures for Piping and Tubing QA/QC Procedures for Fittings

QA/QC Procedures for Valves

STANDARDS AND PULBICATIONS (Cont.)

DEFINITIONS

• Audit – A documented investigation to verify the capability of a Manufacturer to meet quality requirements.
• Commodity – Any item of standard design and/or mass manufacture which is purchased in quantity and maintained in stock for routine or specialized Plant use.
• Receiving Q/A Authority – The person or department designated by the Owner responsible for assuring quality of incoming commodity material.
• Manufacturer – The recipient of a direct or indirect purchase order for materials and/or equipment. In this context, a direct order is one issued to a Manufacturer by a Contractor or the Owner. An indirect order is one issued to a Manufacturer by a Vendor (recipient of a direct order) for materials, fabricated components, or subassemblies.
• Purchase Order – The contractual document given to the Manufacturer to authorize a purchase.
• Procurement – The person or persons appointed by management as responsible for purchasing and materials management in the plants and for maintaining the Approved Bidders List.
• Quality Assurance – All those planned and systematic actions necessary to ensure quality, i.e. to provide adequate confidence that a product or service will be fit to meet all requirements.
• Quality Conformance – Conformance to specified quality requirements.
• Quality Control – Performance of thorough inspections that measure the effectiveness of the quality assurance program.
• Quality Program – Documented policies and procedures that establish the means by which quality is to be attained.
• Quality Specification – A document that details the physical, chemical, and mechanical properties required for a specific commodity item to function safely and reliably.
• Receiving Inspection – A receiving inspection shall be that inspection necessary to ensure that the dimensions, physical integrity, chemical composition, and mechanical properties of representative samples of commodity items are in conformance with those detailed by the applicable quality specifications. A receiving inspection shall require performance of specified examinations and tests of an inspection lot of the commodity, and review of documentation and reports that accompany the item(s).

• Supplier – An organization that resells and/or distributes finished commodity items produced by a Manufacturer. Suppliers shall not enhance or alter commodity items (e.g., remanufacture or rework valves).
• Vendor – Recipient of a direct purchase order.

GENERAL

• Quality Assurance
• Quality assurance of commodity items is accomplished by clear and concise specification of quality requirements and by procurement of commodity items from only those Manufacturers/Suppliers that have demonstrated the ability to meet specified quality requirements.
• The Quality Program described by this Practice further requires that all quality documentation be distributed in a consistent and reliable fashion.
• Quality Control
• The purpose of receiving quality control is not intended to be a means by which defective items are eliminated from use but to establish a satisfactory confidence level that Manufacturer/Supplier quality assurance and quality control programs are functional.
• Receiving quality control does not relieve the Manufacturer or Supplier of responsibility for inspection and compliance with applicable quality specifications.

MANUFACTURER/SUPPLIER APPROVAL

• Manufacturer/Supplier Audit
• The ability of Manufacturers and Suppliers of commodity items to meet quality requirements shall be determined by an Owner’s quality audit meeting the following requirements:
• Quality audit of Manufacturers shall as a minimum include a review of written quality assurance procedure manuals, review of compliance with these procedures, and a review of manufacturing equipment, systems, and facilities used for the production of commodity items.
• Quality audit of Suppliers shall include a review of written procedures for the receipt, storage, and control of stock purchased from Manufacturers, and review of the Supplier’s system for ensuring that orders are filled only with items produced by approved Manufacturers.
• For commodities that must meet API standards, documentation that the Manufacturer has a current and approved API Q1 quality program may be accepted in lieu of a vendor audit.
• Manufacturers and Suppliers who do not meet the Owner’s quality requirements will be provided with a list of deficiencies and will be asked to reapply for quality audit when all deficiencies have been corrected.
• Approved Vendor Listing
• A master approval listing of Manufacturers and Suppliers meeting the Owner’s quality requirements shall be maintained.

• Manufacturer and Supplier approvals may be suspended or revoked at any time by the Owner based upon objective evidence that the Manufacturer or Supplier has failed to maintain quality conformance.
• Responsibility
• Quality audits of Manufacturers and Suppliers of commodity items shall be made through the Procurement Department. All audit requests shall be performed at the request of individual plant procurement departments. Quality audits will not be performed through any other requesting channel.
• The Procurement Department shall be responsible for preparation, maintenance, and distribution of Approved Vendor Listings.

5.4 Distribution

The Approved Vendor Listing shall be made available for use by all plant locations as requested.

QUALITY SPECIFICATION

• Quality Requirements

The quality requirements for all commodity items shall be ascertained prior to procurement and these requirements shall be documented by the preparation of a quality specification. This specification shall include:

• The common or generic name of the item(s), and item model number (if applicable).
• The standard size(s), specific dimensions (diameter, wall thickness, etc.), or pressure rating(s) of the item(s).
• The applicable ASTM, API, ASME, EP, or other specification that defines the material of the item(s). When the item consists of component parts, the various components shall have the material type individually specified when more than one material type could be provided.
• The applicable ASTM, API, ASME, EP, or other specification that governs the method of manufacture of the item(s) or components of the item(s).
• Required Certified Test Reports that may include but not limited to chemical analysis, physical or mechanical tests, pressure tests, and/or leak tests.
• Responsibility

Preparation of the quality specification shall be the responsibility of the department requisitioning the commodity item.

• Distribution
• In the event electronic management of purchasing documentation is utilized, the system shall be capable of distributing the information as described in this Practice.
• Copies of the quality specification shall be available for review by the Procurement Department and the originator.
• When a EP is referenced as a part of the quality specification, a copy of that EP shall be included as an attachment to the quality specification that is forwarded to procurement.

PROCUREMENT

• Purchase Orders
• Commodity items shall be purchased only from Manufacturers and/or Suppliers who appear on the Owner’s Approved Vendor listings for the specific commodity item to be purchased.
• The purchase order for commodity items shall include a copy of the quality specification and a listing of approved Manufacturers for the applicable commodity item as an attachment.
• The purchase order shall state that conformance with all attachments is a condition of sale.
• It is essential that telephone orders for commodity items be immediately followed by a written communication of the applicable quality specification and approved Manufacturers listing for that specific commodity.
• Responsibility

Preparation of purchase orders for commodity items shall be the responsibility of the Procurement organization or those to whom Procurement or Business Unit Management have delegated purchasing authority.

• Distribution
• One copy of the purchase order with attachments shall be forwarded to the Vendor.
• Copies of the purchase order, material requisition, quality specification, and approved Manufacturer’s listing shall be available for review when requested by the originator of the material requisition and Receiving Q/A authority.

RECEIVING INSPECTION

• Commodity Receipt
• Upon receipt and before use, each lot of commodity items shall undergo thorough inspection and shall be segregated from stock until such inspection has been performed.
• Upon receipt, packing lists and other shipping documents shall be reviewed by receiving to identify the purchase order with which the shipment is associated. The purchase order and quality specification will be retrieved and appropriate inspections shall be performed.
• Sample Requirements

A thorough inspection shall be made of a representative sample of each Manufacturer, heat number, batch or run for each shipment of commodity items in accordance with the requirements in the applicable EP.

• Sample Inspection
• When receiving inspection reveals a nonconformance in the specified random sample of commodity items from a given Supplier or Manufacturer, the Owner shall either:
• Reject and return to the Manufacturer/Supplier the entire lot or quantity of commodity items, or
• Perform a 100% inspection of the lot and return nonconforming items to the Supplier/Manufacturer.

• At the option of the Owner, the sample size may be doubled for all other lots or future lots of materials from this Supplier/ Manufacturer until no deficiencies are detected in two consecutive lots or shipments.
• Commodity Inspection
• Detailed instructions and procedures for performing a thorough inspection of specific commodity items are provided in EP 15–5–2 through EP 15–5–7. These instructions and procedures represent the minimum requirements for a thorough inspection.
• Inspections shall be documented using the Commodity Receiving Inspection Checklist provided in the Practice appropriate for the item being inspected or other suitable method provided the same items covered in the checklist are included.
• Responsibility
• Receiving inspection may be performed by the receiving department personnel, or other competent individuals designated by the Owner.
• The Receiving Q/A Authority shall be responsible for ensuring that a thorough inspection of commodity items is performed.

NONCONFORMANCE

• Notification

Procurement shall be notified of recurring non–conformances detected during receiving inspection and shall coordinate corrective actions with the Supplier/Manufacturer.

• Disposition
• The Procurement Department shall evaluate the seriousness of recurring nonconformance and may choose to immediately notify all other plants of the deficiency.
• Procurement may choose to remove the Manufacturer from approval listings pending determination of the root cause for the deficiency or non–conformance, and correction of same.
• Procurement shall maintain a quality non–conformance tally for each approved Manufacturer/Supplier. Manufacturers/suppliers with excessive non–conformance rates for a given type of commodity item in comparison to other Manufacturers/Suppliers shall be subject to re–audit.

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