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Top Three Benefits of API Spec Q1 Certification - The ISO 9001 Group

Top Three Benefits of API Spec Q1 Certification

Posted by Oscar Combs in Blog 22 Sep 2016

Why API Spec Q1 Certification?

Why would an organization want to achieve API Spec Q1 certification?  This article explain 3 really good reasons.  API Spec Q1 Certification, is a quality management system specification, published by the American Petroleum Institute (API), specifically written for organizations that  manufacture products for the petroleum and natural gas industry, also known as the oil and gas industry.  If your organization manufactures parts for the oil and gas industry, implementing an API Spec Q1 quality management system may be just right for you. The ninth edition of API Spec Q1, was published in June-2013 and represented a major change for the industry. The revision to the standard came after the Deepwater Horizon blow out, which occurred on April 20, 2010.  The specification was introduced to help the industry improve risk assessment and management of their processes employed to produce its products.

 

1. API Spec Q1 Certification Increases Revenues

Achieving API Spec Q1 certification, will help your company increase its revenues by becoming more marketable.  Many companies now require organizations to be API Spec Q1 certified, to even bid on a project.  You don’t want to miss out on opportunities, simply because you didn’t qualify to participate in the process.

 

Stand out from your competitors.  What better way to outshine the competition, than having something that they don’t have.  Achieving API Spec Q1 certification, is an investment, which pays off when a Purchasing Department is trying to make a decision on which company they will select to machine their parts.  Would they select a company that’s API Spec Q1 certified or a company that is not?  Chances are, they are going to select the company that’s certified.

 

Attract bigger customers.  Want to increase revenues?  Target companies with deeper pockets.  Getting API Spec Q1 certified, will open up doors for your organization to do business, with organizations that can really take your revenues to the next level.

 

Improved customer satisfaction.  It’s always less expensive to maintain an existing customer, than acquiring a new customer.  Customer satisfaction is the best way to retain existing customers.  If customers receive consistent, high quality products from your organization, they will come back.  Many organizations, will actually pay more, because they know they will not have to send parts back for rework, which is costly to both parties, in both money and time.

 

Provide a foundation for future growth.  Many companies are not able to grow, due to not having a sound foundation to support their growth.  They may be able to land a big contract, but because they could not deliver, the customer will never do business with them again. Even worse, they will tell at least 10 more colleagues about their bad experience.  Implementing an API Spec Q1 quality management system, requires critical processes and procedures to be designed, which will help your organization lay down a strong foundation for growth.

 

2. API Spec Q1 Certification Increases Profitability

Reduce rework and scrap.  There is nothing more costly than having to rework parts or scrap material.  This is literally throwing money out the door and your profits with it.  Most rework and scrap are a direct result of lack of processes.  An API Spec Q1 quality management system, will help your organization ensure that process inputs and outputs are captured, communicated, understood, implemented and verified before items move to the next step in the process.

 

Increase on-time delivery.  What is the effect of rework?  Poor on-time deliveries to customers and backlog.  Being consistently late on deliveries, is a sure way to lose customers.  A job that was supposed to take 10 hours to run, now takes 20 hours to run, due to the machinist using an outdated design specification or the wrong material was used.  API Spec Q1 helps organizations reduce rework, by ensuring that requirements are clearly defined, communicated and understood before work starts.

 

3. API Spec Q1 Certification Increases Efficiency

Carrying out activities in the proper sequence is important.  Have you ever heard of people putting the cart before the horse?  Many times organizations do this.  For example, a company may start a job, without having the approved specification from a customer or even a purchase order.  Many of these transactions happen in organizations on a daily basis and cause havoc on a company’s efficiency.  There is nothing more frustrating to employees, than having to do something again, simply because requirements were not communicated to them properly and clearly in the beginning.  An API Spec Q1 quality management system, requires organizations to define the proper sequence of processes and how they interact with each other.  Once the proper process sequence is established, your organization will notice a tremendous improvement in how smooth things run.

 

Reduce risks.  One of the major changes introduced in API Spec Q1:Ninth edition, was risk management.  There are risks within all organizations.  Many risks are just lurking around, waiting for the right opportunity to attack.  Many times organizations are too busy, to even recognize their existence, until something catastrophic occurs.  Many times, the risk is staring them in the face.  After the catastrophic event, many people within the organization will say, “I knew that was going to happen.”  API Spec Q1 requires organizations to proactively assess, identify and manage risks before they have a negative effect on the organization or other interested parties.

 

Continual focus on improvement.  Improvements to your business shouldn’t simply occur due to a response to negative events. Organizations should proactively and continually look for ways to improve processes, procedures and therefore quality to its customers.  API Spec Q1, requires organizations to strive for continual improvement.  The key word here, is strive for it.  Not wait for something bad to happen and then improve, but strategically working to improve.

 

Author

Oscar Combs to Keynote ASQ Houston's September Professional Development Dinner

 

Oscar Combs is the Founder and Senior Consultant of The ISO 9001 Group, a management consulting firm based in Houston, Texas. Oscar has over 20 years of experience working for several of the largest corporations in North America. Oscar has worked throughout North America, South America, The Middle East and Africa helping companies manage risk and improve their business operations. Oscar holds an MBA from the University of Houston and maintains various industry memberships. He also sits on various industry boards and committees.  The ISO 9001 Group | 832-326-9796 | info@iso9001group.com

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