As a global leader in the Oil Country Tubular Goods (OTCG) market, MSI Pipe Protection Technologies prioritizes high-quality standards in manufacturing processes. As the demand for crude oil globally is set to surpass pre-pandemic levels at an average of 99.7 million barrels, our precision piping products can’t fail. Keep reading to learn more about our quality assurance process, and the reason it’s so important to our production.
Maintaining ISO 9001 Certification
When working with oil and gas pipes, there are many implications if just one piece of equipment is faulty. With a failure at the connection site, safety and productivity are both compromised. This industry has financial and environmental risks associated with it and supplying faulty thread protector or drill pipe protectors can result in a halt on the project or an injury. The International Standards Organization (ISO) holds precision piping products manufacturers to certain standards to minimize these risks. With this in mind, let’s take a look at some of the aspects that precision piping companies look out for to ensure ISO 9001 compliance.
- Context of the Organization – How is your quality management system affected by internal and external issues? How do you respond to these issues? These two are the first questions a company will face when going through an ISO 9001 audit. They want to make sure that the company understands its impact on the world, the expectations of clients, and the scope of the quality management system. An auditor will also ask about the criteria, methods, and measurements a company uses for keeping up with product standards.
- Leadership – The people who keep the quality assurance checks in place are nearly as important as those who run quality assurance. An auditor will look for evidence that high-level management is committed to maintaining standards set by the ISO. They’ll ask pipe protector product manufacturers about the way that information about the QMS strategy is disseminated throughout the company. This also applies to customer satisfaction — are the leaders actively seeking ways to improve customer relations? An auditor wants to see proactivity on the part of leadership within an organization.
- Plans for the QMS – A quality management system needs to prepare for issues that it will face. These can come from the manufacturing plant, but also from customers who are unsatisfied. Auditors also want to know about the quality policy, which is the standard that all precision piping products are held to, and the documented quality objectives. Everything about the QMS plan should be recorded to prove its effectiveness and pre-emptive preparedness.
- Support for the Plan – Support should be shown through available resources, a quality assurance team, infrastructure, a dedicated environment, organizational knowledge, competence and awareness, and documented information. Without all these aspects, support is lacking and issues with product development and manufacturing will occur. A team should prepare to show the auditor exactly how quality is maintained with the QMS
- Operation – The auditor will ask how the company decides on resources and requirements for the operation. Customer communication about precision piping products, services, contracts, and order handling is a big part of the quality assurance process. The ISO checks every step of the operation to ensure its performing at the highest standard.
- Performance Evaluation – It’s important to define what needs to be evaluated, monitored, and measured before an auditor arrives. They’ll want to know what a company thinks about their own QMS. Auditors are also looking for upper management to be involved in any internal audits that occur. To be thorough, the company should have proof of its own findings on their QMS.
- Improvement – Once precision piping products manufacturers go through the ISO 9001 audit, they should look to improve what they already have. Come prepared to explain where you’ve misstepped with customers and quality assurance in the past, and give examples of how you’ve corrected your systems. This is an important last step that shows auditors the company is serious about being ISO certified.
MSI Pipe Protection Technologies has been ISO certified since 1997 and currently holds certificates for ISO 9001, ISO 14001, and ISO 45001.” Manufacturing to the highest standards is a part of who we are. We are leaders in the oil and gas industry because of our commitment to these quality assurance practices. Not only do we actively seek certification, we also believe in creating better products. With such a thorough checklist and commitment to innovation, it’s clear that the quality of our products can never be in question.
The Impact of Our High-Quality Products
Our precision piping products are produced to the highest standards available in the gas and oil industry. Every product’s design, build, and delivery is done with ISO standard practices in place. The fit, dimensions, impact, vibration levels, high and low temperature conditions, UV resistance, and strip and corrosion factors are checked on every product we manufacture. With ISO certified companies, you’ll be sure that you’re receiving high-quality products that won’t fail.
Pipe caps and plugs help prolong a pipeline’s life but eventually need to be replaced. Our products have a long life! When you invest in our pipe thread protector and other products, you don’t need to worry about replacing them soon after your purchase. Cheaper pipe end protector will fail and need replacement. MSI even provides recycling services to lower our environmental impact
Without these practices in place, there is a great risk for gas spills and chemical leaks where low-quality thread protectors would falter. This can cause a negative environmental impact and damage piping. While every drill pipe protector will get replaced, you don’t want a surprise leak because of low-quality manufacturing standards. This is why our manufacturing standards are so high.
Design and manufacturing systems are not the only highly regulated aspects of MSI. Our customer service practices are constantly being improved upon to give our clients the best communication possible. With manufacturing errors lowered due to the ISO principles, you’ll see lower costs upfront. You also won’t need to constantly replace or refund items that are poorly made. If you do need support for a product or an account, our team is always available to speak.
Why Choose MSI Pipe Protection Technologies
There is a need for OTCG products around the world in oil rigs, and the demand is not decreasing. We are ready to provide pipe protection products for offshore and land oil rigs that need to be in service. Without safe protectors in place, the world will be without access to the oil it needs. This is why we are so thorough with quality checks and prioritize keeping our ISO 9001 certification.
We are a team committed to providing excellent custom designs, high-volume production, timely delivery, and unbeatable service. We build partnerships to last built on trust, experience, and reliability. All employees have access to improvement programs where they can contribute to and learn about quality assurance processes. With our ISO certifications and our commitment to providing high-quality products, your precision pipe products are always on time and effective.
