Tuesday, January 22, 2013

TPI Independent Services can help you minimize your financial risks

By Arron Mogan


In this article we will explain the definition of third party inspection (TPI), the importance of independence, and provide brief information on the other types of inspection organizations.

What are the third party inspection organizations and what services can they provide?

In accordance with the quality criteria provided by the ISO 17020, you will find three varieties of inspection organizations. The first is TPI and it is only liable for providing inspection services. Compared with the other certification types, TPI bodies must not be involved in procurement, fabrication, supply, design, and installation.

The ISO 17020 also makes it necessary for all parties to acquire access to third party inspection institutions and their services. This requirement is what makes the existence of TPI agencies essential for the functionality of many companies working in trading, buying and selling.

This means that a third party inspection organization offers their services to custom authorities, sellers, buyers, engineering firms, and any other businesses that are involved in the exchange of goods or services that must adhere to quality or safety codes and regulations.

Principles of confidentiality, impartiality, integrity, and independence have a substantial role within the operation of a TPI organization.

It is necessary for the TPI organization to carry out their procedures in a way which is impartial.

On the bases of these requirements, when an arrangement is made by a purchaser or vendor, their goods need to be inspected and checked independently.

If a dispute arises among the buyer and seller, then neither party should expect the TPI organization to make a judgment based on their individual interests.

In some cases, buyers and sellers have made the argument that their position as the client should force the contracted inspector to act under their authority and interest.

Even so, because of the TPI standard that demands independence, this argument is incorrect. If implemented, this practice would drastically harm the integrity of the third party inspection organization. Consequently, no company could trust the inspection services given.

The second kind of inspection organizations are not the independent firms. There are the small units in the large scale firms. The firm main business is engineering, purchasing and manufacturing. The inspection unit works under top management of the firm and makes all required inspection activities that need to be done for the firm own projects. The example can be a quality control section of EPC contractor. The inspection unit in this EPC contractor will do all inspection activities which need to be done on the project purchase orders.

The third type refers to the quality control department of the engineering company that provides quality control services to the purchasing department as well as to other similar companies.

However, it happens very infrequently, the inspection bodies either are in the first category or in second one. We do not have lots of inspection bodies in the third type.

The most frequently asked question relating to the third party inspection is: Why is it regarded as third party and who are the 1st and 2nd parties?

Well, the seller, vendor, or manufacturer is considered the first party. The end user, buyer, or engineering company is referred to as the second party.

The third party will provide their inspection services independent of either party.

This means that the first and second parties will also perform inspections, but the third party is called in to eliminate a conflict of interest.

It should be noted that any person employed by a seller, vendor, or engineering company cannot officially be considered an inspector. They are only quality control personnel.

The official title of inspector exclusively belongs to those who work for an accredited third party inspection organization, or owner inspectors that are hired by the owner directly.




About the Author:



No comments:

Post a Comment