ISO QUALITY SYSTEM-CONCLUSION TEXAS PETROCHEMICAL PLANT GETS CERTIFICATION

John F. Graham
Ethyl Corp.
Pasadena, Tex.

It will soon be necessary for U.S. operators to show evidence of meeting European quality standards in order to be competitive for business within the European Economic Community.

The maintenance organization at Ethyl Corp.'s Houston plant has taken such steps with ISO 9000 certification. (Editor's note: Additional discussion of ISO standards and their implementation, particularly in oil industry upstream plants, appears in the May 6 issue, p. 92.)

ISO 9000 is a series of quality management and assurance standards published by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO). Established in 1987, ISO 9000 through 9004 provide an effective method for auditing and registering quality systems in a large variety of operations in many countries of the world.

Ethyl Corp. is now ISO 9002-certified for its Houston and Feluy, Belgium, aluminum alkyls manufacturing plants. The manufacture of alkyls includes production operations and support services.

The certification of the aluminum alkyls manufacture is the ISO 9000 pilot project for Ethyl. After a general background discussion of the ISO 9000 quality systems, the efforts of the Houston plant's maintenance organization in obtaining ISO 9002 certification will be discussed as an example.

QUALITY PROCESS DEVELOPMENT

In 1985, Ethyl's chemicals group established the Ethyl Quality Improvement Process (EQIP). The process is similar to many statistical improvement processes throughout the petrochemical industry. Since 1985, the Houston plant has made substantial improvements in the consistency and quality of products for both internal and external customers, and in the efficiency of the total business function.

When the Houston plant's maintenance organization became involved in EQIP, no one was sure how these statistical processes and quality control procedures would relate to maintenance functions. Regardless, everyone was trained in the quality process, and charting was implemented on a number of items, most of which were suggested by wage-roll employees.

As the confusion cleared, some of these items were deemed irrelevant and dropped from the program, while others were added. Eventually it became obvious that there were many maintenance items that could be charted and controlled by statistical methods.

The operators, craftsmen, lab analysts and other employees who make the products and keep the units running are now making presentations during customer audits of Ethyl facilities, participating in internal audits of other Ethyl plants, and visiting customer sites to see how the products are used. They also participate in supplier audits to review quality procedures. All of these activities have improved Ethyl's supplier/producer/customer partnerships.

In 1989, while searching for new levels of growth in quality improvement, Ethyl became interested in ISO 9000 certification. After further investigation, the impact that ISO 9000 certification could have on Ethyl's present European markets became apparent. Ethyl now views ISO 9000 certification of its products as another important step in quality improvement and a definite factor in its future U.S. and world marketing positions.

ISO 9000 QUALITY STANDARDS

The trend of increasing customer expectations for products and services has resulted in the establishment of standards dedicated strictly to quality in many countries.

While this assured that a company adhering to these standards would be involved in a quality program, it did not solve the problems of companies in different countries trying to equate different aspects of their countries' individual standards. These concerns contributed to the development of the ISO 9000 quality standards by ISO.

The publication of the ISO quality system standard series (ISO 9000 through 9004) in 1987 provided a method for auditing and registering quality systems in many countries of the world. Most industrialized countries have now adopted the ISO 9000 series as national standards.

In fact, Parts 1, 2, and 3 of the British Standard Institution's standard BS5750 were used as a basis for part of the ISO 9001, 9002, and 9003 standards. The designation ANSI/ASOC 090-094 is the U.S. edition of standards ISO 9000 through 9004.

The ISO 9000 set of standards is not limited to any class or type of product or company. It is common sense outlined in an organized manner that usually fits closely to the way a company already does business.

Ethyl found that many of the requirements for the standards were already in place. The documentation of procedures and corrective actions merely needed to be extended throughout all the aluminum alkyls business unit.

ISO 9000 does not require intercompany uniform consistency. There is plenty of flexibility within the standard. It recognizes that the quality system of an organization is influenced by the objectives of the organization and by the product or services it provides. With this in mind, it also recognizes that the quality systems vary from one organization to another.

ISO 9000 is a universal method for documenting the way a company does business and serves as proof that it is being done that way. It is a systematic approach to quality improvement, with procedures and proof of completion of corrective actions.

It does not dictate how a business is run or how departments should be organized. A common misconception is that ISO 9000 pertains to how the quality improvement portion of a business is run. Actually, it pertains to how a business is run in a quality improvement manner.

It should be especially noted that it is not the purpose of ISO 9000 to standardize quality systems implemented by organizations, but rather to ensure that quality systems already implemented meet a minimum standard.

The specific standards and the functions they cover are:

• ISO 8402: Quality--vocabulary

• ISO 9001: Quality systems--model for quality assurance in design/development, production, installation, and servicing

• ISO 9002: Quality systems--model for quality assurance in production and installation

• ISO 9003: Quality systems--model for quality assurance in final inspection and test

• ISO 9004: Quality management and quality system elements--guidelines.

SPURRED BY EEC

The European Economic Community (EEC) amended the Treaty of Rome by adopting the Single European Act. 1 This act specified the goal of completing the Common Market by Dec. 31, 1992.

With the approval of the Single European Act and the ISO 9000 quality standard, it became obvious that companies must show evidence of meeting the quality standard to be competitive for business within the EEC after 1992. Because Ethyl has aluminum alkyls plants in Feluy and Houston which sell products in Europe, it was appropriate to obtain ISO 9000 certification.

ISO 9000 is quickly gaining the interest of U.S. exporters wishing to do business in Europe after 1992. At present, some Asian countries, such as Japan, do not appear to be making any hasty moves toward ISO 9000 certification. Given its present world position in quality achievement, Japan probably can afford to take its time.

CERTIFICATION PROCEDURE

Accreditation bodies have been established in various countries (see OGJ, May 6, p. 92) in conjunction with both standards institutions and national governments. These accreditation bodies oversee certification companies that are permitted to audit and award certification to companies such as Ethyl. The number of certification companies is rapidly growing as the acceptance of ISO 9000 increases.

Ethyl chose AIB Vincotte of Brussels as its certification partner. Vincotte has been in business since 1872 as a consulting, auditing, and testing company. It has several years of extensive experience auditing and certifying companies in ISO 9000 systems. Once a company has selected a certification company, a decision must be made as to the type of certification appropriate for its product or service.

One may certify an entire company, a business segment, a location, or a department. Ethyl chose to start with a business segment. Now that the aluminum alkyls pilot certification is complete, the intention is to expand into other process areas.

ISO 9000 provides a general road map to quality certification. ISO 9001 is the most stringent certification. ISO 9003 is the least stringent, and ISO 9004 is a general reference for managing the quality process. Ethyl is certified under ISO 9002, which is directed toward manufacturing operations.

The ISO 9000 series identifies the quality loop, to ensure that all functions of the business segment are operated within the scope of ISO 9000. According to the standard, this begins with sales/marketing, raw materials procurement, and process planning, and continues through process control, warehousing, shipping, distribution, and sales servicing.

After a company has selected its certification partner and product or business segment, the certification company will discuss with the company its present business practices and quality processes. This is an orientation for both parties. The certification company will also make it clear that it is not a consultant for developing the company's program, but an auditor to evaluate its systems.

The ISO documents must be interpreted in order to decide what is needed to meet the requirements. There is plenty of room for flexibility. The auditor will advise the company of requirements that are not being met.

When the candidate company decides it is ready, the certification company may come in for a preaudit if requested. This optional visit is mainly a verbal audit, with no objective evidence required. After completing the preaudit, the Houston plant alkyls unit and the support groups, including maintenance, reached the following conclusions:

• Further documentation of procedures was needed.

• More attention to cross-functional activities with other departments was needed.

• Full documentation of corrective action was needed.

The certification audit was held in January 1991. At that time, documentation and proof (objective evidence) was required for all programs, procedures, and corrective actions.

After an audit, the candidate company will either be refused certification, granted certification, or more likely, granted a conditional award of certification, with corrective actions required. Depending on the results of the audit when the certification is awarded, a full reaudit will be scheduled 36 months later, with several interim audits occurring prior to this.

The entire sector certified under ISO 9000 is not necessarily audited every time the auditors visit the company. The certification company will usually audit new sections and survey the corrective actions required as a result of the previous visit.

ISO 9000 IMPLEMENTATION

To avoid confusion, Ethyl decided a good initial approach in its Houston plant would be to make an accurate assessment of the present methods and quality processes. Ethyl verified that all members of the maintenance organization were trained in the EQIP techniques.

EQIP applications include such things as monitoring vibration on rotating equipment; monitoring dynamic rod runout, suction and discharge pressures, and valve temperatures on large reciprocation compressors; monitoring instrument calibration frequencies for optimization; and categorically tracking pump seal failures, reactor valve failures, piping pluggage, etc.

Over 200 Pareto and run charts are being maintained by the maintenance organization. Over 90% of these charts are kept by the craftsmen and are used as a working tool to improve their effectiveness. Various craftsmen participate in customer audits by presenting the charts they monitor. Craftsmen are also utilized on internal audits of other Ethyl plants.

Ethyl then set out to review and update, as necessary, all existing programs and activities that could possibly affect quality. This included reviewing job method procedures, equipment files, E&I loop drawings, employee job descriptions, operating procedures, critical instrumentation programs, etc.

ISO 9000 does require certain processes to be in place, and each process has three key elements: establish, document, and maintain. In essence, there are certain processes which must be in place (establish), with documented procedures on how they are performed (document), and documented proof that they are being performed (maintain).

Each process must provide for corrective action when necessary. Corrective action must be communicated to management. There must be a method of auditing the process internally and a method of updating all procedures and documentation on a regular basis. Internal audit results must be communicated to management.

ESTABLISH

In order to "establish" a quality program, some of the items that Ethyl feels necessary are:

• A quality policy and specific quality objectives

• Responsibility and authority (job descriptions)

• Organization charts

• Resources and personnel

• Written procedures with certified approval and revision authorizations

• Safety program

• Training standards

• Predictive/preventive maintenance program

• Critical (safety)/quality instrument/inspection/ calibration program

• Safety valve inspection program

• Welding procedures/welder certification program

• Internal audit system.

DOCUMENT

In order to "document," the ISO 9000 format requires a quality manual and documented procedures. There are no other fixed format requirements.

The quality manual is the "big picture" of a business and its quality improvement process. It must tie together the entire ISO 9000 certification, define the interfaces between departments, and act as a reference for improvement; Between the quality manual and the procedures, Ethyl found it beneficial to establish quality guides for each department. Thus, the Houston plant maintenance and field services quality guide was organized.

In this guide, the responsibility section briefly explains the hierarchy or responsibility for the maintenance organization, including an organizational chart. The summary of activities is a brief overview of the activities carried out by the maintenance organization. It explains the purpose of the activities, who is involved, and the associated documentation.

In addition, all major documentation for each of the programs and activities is individually listed in the documentation index (records of check sheets, procedures, procedure books, flow charts, etc.). The index lists the name and function of each document, where and how long it is kept, and the date it was last reviewed.

The actual procedure format contains the following: the issue date, signature of authority, procedure identification number, objective of the procedure, responsibility for implementation, the procedure itself, and revision information. The quality manual, quality guides, and procedures use a standardized page format which contains the title of the document, page number, issue date, revision date, and approval signature in the title block.

MAINTAIN

In order to "maintain," there must exist an established, documented corrective action plan which is both departmental and interdepartmental. It has to investigate the causes of assigned problems or the causes of inconsistent quality. It must cover the initiation of preventive actions and the evaluation of the effectiveness of the actions taken.

There must also exist an internal audit system which systematically reviews the functions for correct procedural documentation, corrective actions, and all proof documentation. Internal audits should identify and document perceived weaknesses and act as a management review tool.

There needs to be an audit team selection process, an established audit frequency, audit procedures, the field of activity, an audit report, and a follow-up plan.

QUALITY INVESTMENT

Ethyl has discovered that most of the companies it associates with have a substantial quality improvement process. Ethyl had felt that its maintenance organization was in good shape before ever hearing of ISO 9000, but was, as others, working hard to find ways to continually improve quality.

The chemicals group, therefore, investigated the benefits of ISO 9000. The results revealed that ISO 9000 certification would not be easy, but it would be extremely beneficial to product quality, and would perhaps assist in obtaining future business. Because ISO 9000 covers every aspect of Ethyl's business, it reduces the chances of a quality failure.

ISO 9000 forces a company to do more planning and less reacting. In essence, it requires a substantial upfront investment. But with regular care it will minimize future headaches.

Ethyl does not consider the issue of whether to pursue ISO 9000 a choice. It is an advancement in quality improvement necessary for the company to maintain its position in the market and to expand it in the future.

REFERENCE

1. Taylor, Kathryn, "The European CPI," Chemical Processing, Mid-February 1986, pp. 51-53, 56.

Copyright 1991 Oil & Gas Journal. All Rights Reserved.