Quality Control Inspectors –An ignored thin line between Quality & Safety

Ever noticed how Incompetence, Overlook, Misinterpretation, Overconfidence & Attitude could invite catastrophic failure??

Today, in industry the demand placed on QC inspectors is most of the time is unreasonable. They are expected to be expert in all the facets of the fabrication & installation of an item to be inspected. Under the name of cost optimization every single organization is in search of talented multi discipline inspectors and this mission motivating quality control to lose its credibility.         

Inspectors are often tasked with verification of all the stages of an installation (from Material Receipt to various kind of testing) that might include piping, packaged units, stationary & rotating equipment's. Inspectors are required to evaluate whether all the processes involved in the final product are conforming to design, code, standards and regulatory requirements. They will do all this by following the route between codes / standards / regulations to get to what the requirements are. And that’s what front line managers don’t like this route & considers inspectors nothing but a nuisance in their path.

But this is the route enables top notch Inspectors save the construction industry millions in future from repairs and early shutdowns. They will save your money in construction, will extend the life of your equipment's in long run, prevent environmental spills, in short they will safeguard your Asset & Environment.

But remember one thing “the quality of a product cannot be enhanced by inspection, it is predetermined. It is predetermined by the materials selected, design & the manufacturing processes used”

However quality can be compromised by Incompetence, Overlook, Misinterpretation and Errors. It can be compromised by inappropriate procedures and faulty manufacturing techniques & equipment's.

Since long we had been taught that Quality & Safety goes hand in hand, both are 2 sides of 1 coin & that’s very true, isn’t it?  But is it reality on ground?

During fabrication / construction phase I had seen many of us emphases on Safety, Tool Box Talk, Drills, TRA, JSA & so on, but did you saw any one of them is passionate about Quality?

Did you saw the Inspector who discovered serious anomalies receives enough gratitude for his findings?

Most probably, none? These are the same peoples who will find every trick to overruled the QC inspectors finding those who are reciting “safety” all the day.

As per books “Safety” is the condition of being protected from harm. Safety can also refer as the control of recognizes hazards in order to achieve an acceptable level of risk.

Then what does Quality mean?

Conformance to the requirements set by Codes, Standards & Regulations. Working in close proximity of tolerances by focusing on either the upper or the lower side.

And the Tolerances, Margin & Rules are established by the Codes through the years of research & development for the safety of Human kind & Nurture the environment. 

But how many of us in manufacturing / construction industry are zealous about this noble cause of codes (ASME, ASTM, ANSI, ISO)? 

There are not that many of us out there, but the ones that are exceptional, deserves all the rewards that one can throw upon them.

What if the drawing is approved but engineer misses some important aspect at engineering phase? What if the thickness found at indentation is below allowable in a pressure vessel?

What if the procedure is approved but found some incorrect Bolt torque values?

What if the type of Gasket mention in engineering dwg. not suitable for intended service?

Don’t you believe it must be fixed even though it was got approved?      

But front line managers focus only on economical data about their operations & shaved off safety margins in the name of Schedule | Targets | Delay and small deviations from procedural rules are get tolerated and from here the calamity start taking birth. 

The true cause of most of the disaster is more often the result of dozens of tiny contributing factors like misinterpretation, overlook, over confidence, some decisions that favored speed over safety & many more….

Preventing disasters requires a special kind of daily vigilance, passion that needs to be actively taught and constantly reinforced whether it is Safety or Quality.