Quality Assurance (QA) is one of the most critical tasks you need to conduct after you have placed an order for equipment. If you want to receive the high quality equipment you paid for, it cannot be skipped.
My design and project engineering experience has taught me over the years that you only get what you pay for if you fight for it and don’t accept poor quality equipment, no matter your overall timeframe.
Documentation is important
QA begins even before you place the order. You should be asking your supplier for the following 4 documents, at minimum:
- Quality Plans
- ITP (Inspection Test Plans)
- MDR Index (Manufacturing Data Records Index)
- Welding qualifications and procedures
Even if you haven’t heard of the above items before, and their contents are meaningless to you, it is still worthwhile asking to see a copy of their templates. This will give you a really good indication of the level of professionalism applied and the quality systems the supplier has in place. If they are lacking, then alarm bells should start ringing.
ISO 9001 Certification
ISO 9001 certification is another quality systems indicator, and shows that they have appropriate documentation in place (i.e. system structures). However, in my view, it doesn’t matter how much paperwork is produced, ISO Certification is no true indicator of the final product’s quality and a certificate should not mean that you can now sit back and relax.
Many smaller operators may not be certified to ISO 9001 but follow it through their QA systems. The certification process takes a long time and has significant costs. Also, it’s not mandatory. So don’t fret if a smaller guy is not accredited, as long as they have the important quality systems in place and those systems are visible to you.
Inspection Test Plans
ITPs are a really important document and are great at showing the actual processes and checks the manufacturer has in place for each piece of equipment.
You should see ITPs for each particular piece of equipment or task, like a tank manufacture for instance.
The ITP would show the steps needed to build the tank. The following steps would be typical for each tank:
- Document Review / Purchase order
- Materials Receipts and Certificates
- Welding procedures and specs
- Fabrication
- Inspection and Testing
- Surface Treatment
- Release and Packaging
These steps should then be broken down into further sub-tasks relating to specific actions for each step.
Hold Points
These ITPs also show you where you should or could conduct your own inspection and place hold points to stop progress at specific milestones. It’s much better to do progressive inspections along the way than right and the end, when it can feel like it’s too late if there’s a problem.
Don’t settle for Less
While it’s not critical that you know everything about an ITP or QA, your supplier should. Ensure you demand the above documents for every equipment supplier and don’t settle for less. Your equipment is your brewery and your lifeblood
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