Another warning about sub-sub-sub suppliers for 316L pressure parts 4

[vesselguy]

Hi All,

This is getting to be tired warning as this subject has been mentioned many times in the last 10 years, but it is worthy to mention again due to Globalization. Main lessons are: 1. Know where the raw stock material comes from and enforce your supplier to the list of manufacturers on the AML., and 2. Don't trust your supplier and pay for your own inspectors to spot check (and question) every batch of material that is used on your job. This is same thing happening in our food supply as we don't know where the heck the basic ingredients are coming from.

In our company, we just received an industry material alert bulletin this morning about a project BP Oil is doing. I have attached the file for your reading. If anyone knows more on this, please chim in and clarify as necessary.


Subject; Faulty elbows ex Zibo Wel fit, China

1.0 Background
For the Valhall Re-Development, BP is trying to source topsides pipe and fittings from reputable, western suppliers. However in today’s market this is not always possible and we have found that many suppliers are using far east, and in particular, Chinese suppliers for materials. In particular, we are finding considerable quantities of 316L stainless steel coming from these areas. The attached report gives details of defective elbows supplied to the project that originated in China.

 

[eyec]

link does not seem to work

Steven C
Senior Member
ThirdPartyInspections.com

 

[vesselguy]

eyec,

I don't know what's wrong with the file I loaded up. I'd try loading it again, but in case it does not work then here's rest of the text without the photos.

2.0 Fittings supply.
The 6 off 36” Sch 40 316L stainless steel elbows were purchased by Heerema,
Zwijndrecht from SFF in Stavanger, Norway and were destined to be part of the flare
system (see Figure 1). SFF had, in turn, bought from another stockist, Arcus, in Holland who had purchased from the original manufacturer, Zebo Wel Fit in China. ISO 9001 and PED certificates for Zebo are included in Appendix A together with the original certificates for the elbows and plate supplier.
It would appear that SFF did not carry out a visual inspection of the elbows prior to
release. We are also waiting to hear if Arcus have undertaken any audits or independent testing of Zebo to include them on their suppliers list.

3.0 History
Contrary to project requirements, SFF had supplied the above elbows without getting
approval from BP. However, the vigilance of the BP inspector found them in the
Heerema stores and sought out their certification. This aroused the first suspicions as the 3.1 certificate did not show that the weld seams had been X-rayed. Upon request we received the attached X-ray report which clearly indicated that extensive repairs had been made.
On removing the protective plastic wrapping it became clear that many of the weld
defects were still present and had not been repaired (see Figure 2). In addition there was extensive undercut and what appeared to be extra sections welded into each end of the elbows (Figures 3, 4 & 5). At this stage the elbows were rejected and the supplier notified. However as an additional check, one elbow was subject to X-ray and the results were appalling. In addition to all the problems observed on the welds including lack of fusion, the base material was found to contain cracking.


4.0 Actions
As a result of the above, we have taken a number of actions to try and eliminate or at least further manage the supply from less reliable sources. These include,
a. Reminding our fabricators and vendors of their responsibilities which are clearly stated in the design documentation this requires specific project approval of said vendors.
b. Recommending they or their suppliers carry out a 100% visual inspection prior to
release of any non Western supplied material.
c. Implementing an extensive PMI programme to ensure correct materials have been
supplied – at the same time visually inspecting items as PMI is done. (It is recognized that the poor quality welding is not related to PMI but considering other issues around at present, it was deemed to add value and would also through up anymore items supplied from China or similar).

 

[unclesyd]

Supply is becoming more of a game of hide and seek. The suppliers hide behind delivery schedules and you have to seek out any information. Any material information you get today has to be suspect since there is no penalty for subterfuge and if you complain they will admit no guilt and pawn it off on the next customer.

If you are affected by this type problem here is a company near me that does s fine job of supplying what is requested. Their business is increasing due to such problems.

http://www.formweldfitting.com/1.html

 

[eyec]

vesselguy - thanks for posting the text.

fittings and fasteners are the most common items found with suspect/bogus paperwork for them.

it never ceases to amaze me that first article/lot items are not inspected early on.

suppliers have become lax in inspection when buying from sub-vendors; even when acceptance criteria is spelled out in most contracts.

Steven C
Senior Member
ThirdPartyInspections.com

 

[roca]

here is the file (i hope)

 

[eyec]

it worked that time, thanks

Steven C
Senior Member
ThirdPartyInspections.com

 

[cmsvessel]

It is really bad. I could not imagine that it can pass visual inpsection. Wait a minute, they come with certs from inspection companies. BV and Moody are western companies, whom we can trust. Somebody said we need to pay for our own inspector. Right!

 

[eyec]

Moody is the ISO Registrar, BV also audited the quality side of the processes for the material.
From the report:

It would appear that SFF did not carry out a visual inspection of the elbows prior to release.

Neither Moody nor BV were tasked to perform inprocess or pre-shipment inspection or review of NDE records.

the vigilance of the BP inspector found them

Having a Quality Program on paper and producing a quality product are not one in the same. I have audited ISO vendors and found their programs acceptable to the letter of the program, but then gone into the shop to verify that the program is actually being followed to find instances where practices are not being followed.

In the case of this report, had SFF or BP used their own or a third-party inspector early on, things would not have progressed to the point of identifying these problems at such a late date in the project.

Steven C
Senior Member
ThirdPartyInspections.com

 

[robsalv]

Someone buy that BP inspector a beer!

We're in the process of tasking our alliance material supplier to have an AML which they approve, enforce and audit. We used to be part of a multinational, but are now on our own and our AML is fast getting out of date... we're definitely susceptible to this issue.

It's amazing that the items got issued from the original manufacturer... what were they thinking?! If those defects were at least not picked up by the pipe fitters, the consequences don't bear thinking about.

Zebo Wel, you just made my list.


Thanks Vesselguy for the heads up amd Roca for the file.


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