Audits of American Petroleum Institute
It has been confirmed again in the pipe mill that pipe roller men are able to work as per American standards. Recently, the representatives of American Petroleum Institute carried out an inspection audit of quality management system here in accordance with the requirements of API spec Q1 (8th rev.)/ ISO 9001:2008/ISO/TS 29001-2007 and production of seamless pipes in accordance with the requirements of API Spec 5L (44th rev.) and Spec 5CT (9th rev.) with expansion of scope of licenses 5L-0634 (up to the highest grade Х65Q/PSL2) and 5CT-1300 (up to the highest grade N80Q/PSL1).
Three days of hard work were not in vain. The auditors examined practically all processes, starting from designing and development of product, incoming inspection for materials and production of pipes themselves to the process of cooperation with customers. Working environment was inspected during running control and measuring in the course of the audit. The attention was paid to preservation of compliance of products in the process of production, condition of warehouses and places where products are stored. The procedures of quality management, record keeping, expertise, training and responsibility of the personnel, infrastructure, facilities and maintenance were also inspected — in short, the entire system.
The following departments and services of the plant were inspected: Pipe Rolling Mill Shop, Sales Department, Research center, Technical dpt, Training center, Personnel dpt, Dpt of development and assessment of personnel, Material-Technical Supply dpt, Raw Material Supply dpt, Equipment Purchasing dpt, Quality Assurance dpt, Technical Control dpt, Central Laboratory, Laboratory of nondestructive testing, Chief Metrologist dpt, Marketing dpt and Organization of Maintenance and Technical Diagnostics dpt.
Manufacture of line pipes as per АРI 5L specification was developed at BSW in 2008, one year after start-up of the pipe mill, and OCTG pipes as per АPI 5CT specification — in 2010. Conformity certificates to produce them were obtained at the same time. Conformity certificates of American Petroleum Institute are confirmed yearly during inspection audits. It is very important for pipe sales as per these standards, the ultimate customers of which include oil producing companies. Their requirements to products are very strict because these pipes are operated in oil wells with higher level of corrosiveness and high temperature interval. That is why they must be of high strength, ductility, resistant to failure.
As for this audit, as deputy head of Quality Assurance dpt. Y.V.Dvornik noted, its results are positive.
— The auditors submitted a proposal to American Petroleum Institute on confirmation of conformity certificates, provided that only one revealed non-conformity will be eliminated within the period of sixty days and on expansion of scope of licenses 5L-0634 (up to the highest grade Х65Q/PSL2) and 5CT-1300 (up to the highest grade N80Q/PSL2), — said Yuliya Viktorovna. The auditors made special mention of how the works are arranged in Organization of Maintenance and Technical Diagnostics dpt, Sales dpt and Equipment Purchasing dpt.