Value of Membership
Case Study #4 — Valve Manufacturers Audit Pool

Case Study #1 | Case Study #2 | Case Study #3 | Case Study #4 | Case Study #5

Meeting Process Safety Mandates In an Era of Cost Reduction

Chemical and petrochemical plants use thousands of valves to direct process flow in their manufacturing equipment. The quality and functionality of valves have a direct relationship to safety, integrity and profitability of the facilities. The quality of control valves is usually monitored as part of the control system. However, the quality of most other commodity or mechanical valves is directly related to quality control by the manufacturer.

Because there are hundreds of commodity valve manufacturers worldwide, and most users have a wide vendor base, auditing is a major concern and need for chemical and petrochemical producers.

Process Safety and Valves

Process safety management regulations (for example, as promulgated by Occupational Safety and Health Administration CFR 1910.119 in the United States) require that plants demonstrate a mechanical integrity program for process safety critical equipment and systems. There must be a guaranteed level of quality so that inadequate components do not find their way into installations, leading to release, injury, or loss of life.

Consequently, companies cannot shrink from their obligation to audit their valve suppliers to assure adequate quality in purchased components.

Auditing of manufacturers used to be performed by quality assurance groups within the producers' technical organizations. However, downsizing, consolidations and cost reductions in the past 5 –10 years have largely eliminated these resources. As frequency auditing has diminished, the risk of valve failures has correspondingly increased. This is in violation of regulations which require an audit trail for components critical to process safety.

MTI's Approach — A Business Plan for Creation of a Valve Audit Pool

MTI stepped in. Although the consortium cannot audit valve manufacturers, for legal reasons, it could fund development of a solution to the problem of escalating process safety requirements vs. reduced funding to support them.

MTI had an independent expert create a business model for development of a shared valve manufacturerís audit pool for the process industry.

The pool would be independently run, and allow members to share their individual audits within a common database. It would result in each member performing significantly fewer audits, thus reducing their costs. And it would lead to increased plant safety, integrity and profitability.

Top of page