Although quality management systems have been around for over sixty years, some companies are more serious about quality management than others. This is evidenced by the continued high amount of recalls in various industries. In order to do more than just claim to have a quality management system, it is vital that a company works to empower each worker at every phase of the operation to have a part in making the system better and contribute to it's improvement.
 
Properly training and motivating the workforce becomes a self-fulfilling task. As workers continue to be included in the quality process and receive continued training, they begin to feel more motivated and empowered as an integral part of the operation. When they know their voices and contributions are heard, they then will take a more hands-on approach in making sure that the products and/or services are delivered at the highest quality.
 
Empowered and engaged workers lead to high morale.  This in turn continues to feed and grow throughout the entire company resulting in benefits for the company, the customer, as well as the workers themselves.
 
For more information on how Accupoint Software can manage your API Spec Q1,  API Spec Q2 or ISO 9001 quality system and help to empower your team, contact us today.

Accupoint Software  is excited to announce the release of our Version 5 platform.  The V5 platform has a multitude of exciting new features and functionality, including:

• Responsive User Interface (UI)
• Streamlined Menu Navigation (Desktop & Mobile)
• Expanded Module Functionality
• Improved Mobile Device Performance
• Expanded Reporting Options
• Access to Interactive Safety Training Video Library
• Access to Interactive SOP creation capabilities
• Improved Desktop Menu Layout
• Optimized for all major browsers (Chrome, Firefox, IE & Safari)
• Enhanced instance security protocols
• Streamlined Database structure
• HTML Report Functionality
  • Generate and save reports to HTML, MS Word or PDF
  • Customized Logo Display on Reports
• Refinements to modules, including:
  • Vendor Certifications
  • Associate Management
  • Curriculum Management
  • Incident Management
  • Service Quality Plan
  • Asset Management

If you have any questions or require additional information about the Version 5 release, please feel free to contact us.

An internal quality audit is folded into a company’s corrective and preventative practices. The audit takes a snap shot of the organization’s compliance procedures, and then analyzes that snapshot to identify potential problems. In the oil and gas industry, internal audits are an integral part of the quality management system. 

To that end we have outlined 5 key steps to ensure that your internal audit process is effective:

1. Scheduling. Audit dates, the person leading the audit and the processes or machinery to be audited on those dates. Any and all pertinent documentation should be included in these audits. Everyone involved needs to be clear on when the audit will occur, and what is being audited. This gives them time to prep all their documentation and resources correctly.
2. Plan. What is the plan for this audit? The scope and depth of the audit must be made available to all involved in the audit. Included in this plan should be the chronology of the actual audit. Again, preparing employees, staff and c-level for the audit process is as important as the audit itself.
3. Audit manager communication. The person that leads the audit has to communicate any changes that may occur in a timely fashion. This means that a schedule change has to take into consideration the department being audited and how much time they will need to respond to the change. Keeping the schedule on track is of the utmost importance, other departments and divisions are relying on their schedule too.
4. Generating accurate reports. Management, stakeholders and c-level staff are usually the first to receive the reports generated by the audit. Problems (noncompliance) are analyzed and discussed at this stage, along with solutions to bring the department back into compliance. All essential personnel need to get this information at the same time.
5. Action taken. The compliance manager will respond to noncompliance issues on an agreed date. The response must include an investigation into the problem, along with suggested remedies and a date for those remedies to be completed. The lead auditor should sign off on these proposals before work can begin.

Oil and gas concerns are usually multi-state and multi-location enterprises with hundreds, if not thousands of employees. The compliance audits for the oil and gas industries are exhaustive and complex. Effectively managing the audit function will ensure compliance to customer requirements, as well as related regulations and standards.   For more information on how Accupoint Software can help improve your internal audit process, please contact us.

A well-designed continual improvement program is the key to a company’s growth within the petroleum industry. In addition to providing the framework for attaining the highest quality of product and service, a continual improvement program helps petroleum companies target inefficiencies and reduce waste. The result is a company that has the resources to weather challenging market conditions and thrive in favorable markets. Below is a look at 10 elements of effective continual improvement programs.
  

1. Link continual improvement programs to your company’s mission or goals. Employees need to understand why a continual improvement program is being implemented. By linking the program to your company’s mission, you will be more likely to garner support and participation at all employee levels.  
2. Communicate goals and program benefits to employees. Identifying and relaying goals for improvement is critical to a program’s success. Goals should be specific, attainable and actionable to produce ideal results. If incentives will be offered to employees for exceeding performance goals, these incentives should be specified before a program’s inception.  
3. Stress the participation of managers and supervisors. Involvement of upper management is necessary to lead and engage front line employees. Managers should model desired behaviors and highlight the specific ways that continual improvement programs will value specific employees within a company. Managers and supervisors must make sure that employees remain on track and focused on performance goals.  
4. Regularly monitor program performance. Evaluating the effectiveness of a continual improvement program is impossible without regular performance monitoring and results tracking. Real-time, accurate program results are vital to the ability to a program’s success because companies can target under-performing areas of their organization.  
5. Develop strategies to reduce waste. In the petroleum industry, strategies for waste reduction serve a dual purpose. They target supply chain inefficiencies and reduce the environmental effects of petroleum operations. Non-value added processes should be minimized and recycling should be considered when appropriate.  
6. Focus on the prevention of common problems. In the petroleum industry, front-line supervisors are often unable to effectively manage employees or procedures because they spend much of their time reacting to problems and tackling exception reports. A continual improvement program focuses on the prevention of injury, waste, and supply chain bottlenecks.  
7. Identify key inefficiencies. An effective program identifies and targets opportunities for improvement. This process can target sluggish activities at refineries, subpar sales performance, ineffective marketing, and bottlenecks in supply chain activity. Quality control and testing procedures should be evaluated for effectiveness and amended to enhance accuracy and efficiency.  
8. Enhance employee training programs. A training program should be thorough and engaging for all employees. Safety and compliance should be key program focal points, and employees should be encouraged to develop new skills. Finally, employees should receive continuing education and ongoing training.  
9. Link employee bonuses to performance improvements. Tying rewards or bonuses to performance improvement is a great way to keep employees engaged and interested in program outcomes. Periodic internal audits are an effective means of assessing program results.  
10. Develop a long-term mindset. The most effective continual improvement programs are future-oriented in their approach. They stress preservation of the environment, conservation of resources, continued education, and long-term company growth. Finally, long-term solutions are valued more than short-term strategies. 

Seeking the Guidance of an Expert in Continual Improvement  

Not all continual improvement programs are created equal. The best way for you to design a sound continual improvement program is to enlist the expertise of an industry expert. Accupoint Software has been facilitating continual quality programs for companies in the petroleum industry for nearly a decade. Please contact us to learn how we can help you launch an effective continual improvement program. We look forward to hearing from you!

It has come to our attention that some organizations struggle with the concept of effective design review.  Although the details of implementation are different from one organization to the next, successful design review programs are developed from the same basic foundation.  The design review function is an important step in the successful launch of any new product or feature. To that end, today’s blog will focus on defining the Design Review process.
 
The process of design review represents a milestone in product development, where completed designs or revisions are evaluated against requirements to ensure we meet expectations before committing to production. Design review helps us provide the level of product control and regulatory compliance that ensures performance and safety, essential for oil and gas production.
 
As a general rule the design review process is divided into 4 distinct stages:

1. Design Specification

This stage should identify the criteria of the design project. Information developed here should be used as a reference document when conducting design reviews to assess the finished product project against the initial design criteria.  This stage identifies the criteria of the design project.

1. Design Review

This stage is intended to record and maintain the information discussed and actions assigned from design reviews. The design review should be measured against the product specification and any existing design concepts. It should also encompass individual observations, suggestions & recommendations and is used as a measure of the design outputs.

1. Design Verification

This stage should confirm that all detailed drawings and calculations have been reviewed and verified prior to releasing to production. The verification stage will be the final stage of the design process prior to validating the end product.

1. Design Validation

This stage will record the results of the validation process. The validation process is the final stage of the design / engineering project and can be conducted by means of workshop tests, function tests, field tests, etc.
 
 
For more information on how Accupoint can help manage your design review and verification process, contact us toll-free at 800.563.6250 or visit us on the web at www.accupointsotware.com.