shop inspection

Reducing risk from industrial supply purchases.

BUSINESS CHALLENGE

In most industrial sectors (such as chemical, automotive, metallurgical, or oil & gas), large construction projects involve the purchase of a vast number of items supplied by many different manufacturers.

Quality and safety are key for these projects. So it is of vital importance to check the quality of every single item, no matter how small. These items range from raw material to finished products. As some indication of the diversity of items concerned, they can include pipes and tubes, equipment ranging from valves and faucets to boilers and motors, engines for anything from lifting equipment to elevators, electrical and electronic devices.

Any purchase carries embedded risk. If a part is faulty, but the fault is not detected, the risk of something going wrong becomes embedded within the new asset.

SOLUTION

What is Shop Inspection?

Shop Inspection involves inspecting items at their place of manufacture before delivery. This is the most convenient and cost-effective way to determine whether a product, service, process, piece of equipment or installation complies with expressed needs, customer expectations, applicable regulations or other specific requirements.

Shop inspection can include design review, review of material certificates, visual inspection, various Non Destructive Testing (NDT), attendance, supervision or performance of mechanical or functional tests.

What are the key benefits?

  • Avoid risks linked to quality and safety problems with supplies;
  • The reassurance of an independent assessment;
  • Confidence to use supplied items thanks to detailed reports and certificates;
  • Cost-effective way to verify Quality Assurance/Quality Control organization of suppliers;
  • Skilled personnel with relevant experience and qualifications at your service.

WHY CHOOSE BUREAU VERITAS?

Recognition - Founded in 1828, Bureau Veritas is the worldwide leader specialized in QHSE&SA services. Certified to ISO 9001 for all of its activities throughout the world, the company has earned a large number of accreditations and notifications, including European ones.

Knowledge and expertise - Our qualified local teams are familiar with inspecting all kinds of supplies: materials and components, pressure equipment, mechanical equipment and machinery, electrical equipment.

Network - With more than 39,000 employees in 900 offices and laboratories covering 140 countries, Bureau Veritas is able to act quickly on its clients' behalf anywhere in the world.

Online reporting service - Our exclusive password secured extranet, BVNet enables clients to monitor progress of their shop inspections worldwide. BVNet facilitates follow-up, speeds reporting, and can be customized to specific client needs.

OUR APPROACH

Bureau Veritas provides shop inspection services as a third party (Third Party Inspection, or TPI) worldwide.

TPI can be statutory (like European Directives or ASME) and carried out within the corresponding regulatory frame.

Where equipment is destined for use within Europe, Bureau Veritas can act as a notified body, performing conformity assessment on products often subject to a long list of directives and regulations.

Shop inspection services are also offered for equipment that does not have to meet mandatory requirements. Conformity can be assessed in line with any specified standards. These may be national/international standards such as the American, ASME, APl codes or any other national codes such as those applicable to Australia, New Zealand, India, etc.

TPI can also be voluntary, and carried out completely independent of the parties involved (for example, in the case of ISO/IEC 17020, formerly EN45004). Scope is specified by the client, and the inspection services are then carried out at the manufacturer's workshop.

Bureau Veritas inspectors are experienced and qualified. Their individual qualifications have been earned both within Bureau Veritas (levels and fields of competence) and externally. We select inspectors to match the needs of a specific inspection.

FAQ

What can Bureau Veritas do that my Quality Department people could not, to inspect our purchases?

If your quality inspectors are based in one place, or a limited number of places, the cost would be prohibitive. You would need to send them to every country where pieces of equipment for your project are made. If you choose to inspect materials and equipment parts on arrival, there are many significant risks: late assessment (if equipment is defective, there will be delays for new supply); lack of costly measuring equipment normally available at the manufacturer's workshop; inability to check items which have become hidden when the piece of equipment is assembled.