TECHNICAL QUALIFICATION
Introduction
The following information is intended for companies that wish to register as suppliers of
material and equipments to Petrobras and aims to clarify the technical requirements and the
documentation required to demonstrate their technical qualification, which constitutes a part of
the supplier registration process.
Selectively, Petrobras initially classifies materials in two large groups:
•
materials that require the technical qualification (RQT - acronym for the Portuguese
wording of Technical Qualification Requirement) of their manufacturers. Those
materials whose performance in the Petrobras industrial process can
threaten operational continuity, compromise the safety of personnel,
facilities and environment, and those products that, included in the
industrial process as raw material, can jeopardize the quality of the final
Company product.
•
materials that do not require technical qualification (NRQT).
Both RQT and NRQT materials are further grouped by material families. A material family
defines a group of materials with similar characteristics, to which the qualified suppliers are
associated.
For each RQT material family, specific requirements of quality are established, considering
important aspects of its application at Petrobras, such as criticality, standardization and others.
During the registration process and for its maintenance, the manufacturer shall comply with
the specific requirements of the technical qualifications associated to the material family(ies)
that it intends to supply.
Requirements
For its qualification and registration for a RQT material family, the manufacturer shall comply
with one or more of the following technical qualification requirements:
a. Technical Assistance
Applicable to the materials whose operation requires:
• personnel training
• replacement of spare parts
• follow-up during the material’s useful life
• assisted pre-operation for adjustments (commissioning)
• periodic maintenance
In these cases, the technical assistance system offered by the manufacturer is introduced to
the user of the material, which then evaluates its adequacy.
b. Quality System Certification
This requirement is included for most RQT material families and establishes that the
manufacturer s facilities shall have an organizational structure that complies with the
requirements of the standard ISO 9001:2000 or ISO 9001:2008 - Quality Management
Systems, issued by the International Organization for Standardization, generally known and
broadly used in purchase and sale contracts to assure that the manufacturing process of the
acquired material has an appropriate quality control.
Compliance with the above mentioned standard is certified by means of certificates issued by
Official Accreditation and Certification Agencies. Countless countries have National
Accreditation Agencies that endorse Certification Agencies and Institutions for the evaluation
and certification of supplier quality systems, that is, they certify that a manufacturer‘s
organization complies with an ISO-9000 standard.
Examples of various National Accreditation and Certification Agencies: INMETRO1 (Brazil),
UKAS2 (United Kingdom), RAB3 (USA), COFRAC4 (France), TGA5 (Germany), SINCERT6 (Italy),
NA7 (Norway), RvA8 (Neatherland) e JAB9 (Japan).
Petrobras accepts certificates issued by Official Certification Entities, recognized by National
Accreditation Agencies, in compliance with this requirement. However, at Petrobras’s
discretion, this does not exclude the need for an eventual evaluation by a team of Petrobras
technicians, before or after registration, prior to a specific purchase, as part of the evaluation
of non-conformities presented in the field by a supplied material or similar situations.
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2
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7
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Instituto Nacional de Metrologia, Normalização e Qualidade Industrial
United Kingdom Accreditation Service
Registrar Accreditation Board
Comité Français d'Accréditation
Trägergemeinschaft für Akkeditierung GmbH
Sistema Nazionale per l'Accreditamento degli Organismi di Certificazione
Norwegian Accreditation
Raad voor Accreditatie
The Japan Accreditation Board for Conformity Assessment
c. Background
This requirement applies to most RQT materials.
In addition to complying with quality control standards, the manufacturer shall demonstrate
that its product design conception and manufacturing resources are also appropriate. Petrobras
establishes different ways to confirm this adequacy, according to the complexity of the
manufacturing process and the criticality of the material to the Company. The different
requirements concerning this concept, which includes the present "Background" and other
items that follow in this booklet, may be required individually or cumulatively for a certain
material family, according to Petrobras’s discretion.
In this specific case, the manufacturer shall present a list of the main supplies of the material,
necessarily including its technical characteristics, as well as date, application and customer,
indicating necessarily a customer contact (name and telephone), in order to demonstrate the
tradition of the product in the market. Endorsement or reference letters from customers (i.e.
final users) indicating the good performance of the products shall also be included.
In the case of a new product, i.e. a product incorporating new or recent technology, provided
there exists demand within the Company, according to Petrobras discretion, the "Background"
can be replaced by the "Design and/or Prototype Approval", as detailed in item “d” below, and
other requirements, such as "Field Testing at Petrobras" (item “g”). The same may be applied
to new manufacturing companies in the market, if there is interest by Petrobras for their
qualification.
d. Design and/or Prototype Approval
This is required to confirm the adequacy of the design and of the manufacturing resources,
when these have large impact in the installation procedures, maintainability, operational
continuity, as well as the safety of the facilities and of the environment. It establishes that the
manufacturer's design shall be analyzed and accepted by the end users of the product at
Petrobras, and may include the execution of bench testing or type testing, witnessed by
Petrobras or a recognized 3rd. party, according to Petrobras’s discretion. These tests may be
performed at independent laboratories, at Petrobras facilities or at the manufacturer’s facility,
according to a procedure previously agreed between the manufacturer and Petrobras.
Examples: fire-safe valves and electric cables for ESP (electrical submerged pump).
This requirement is also applicable to products that have standardized interfaces, aiming at the
interchangeability between equipment, independent of its origin (manufacturer). For these
cases, the presentation of the interface design is required so that it may be analyzed and
approved by the end users.
Examples: wellhead (dry), well pumping units.
e. Mark of Conformity
This requirement is normally applied to certain materials due to legal restraints or technical
specifications. The Mark of Conformity is a protected mark, applied or issued under the rules of
a certification system, indicating that the relevant product, process and/or service is in
conformity with a specific standard or other normative document.
Examples: API10 stamp (for valves), ASME11 stamp (for pressure vessels)
The certification of electrical material for application in potentially explosive atmospheres
constitutes a conformity that deserves a specific approach due to its importance, legal aspects
and particularity. These materials shall comply with Act No. 176, of 17/Jul/2000, issued by
INMETRO (acronym for the Portuguese wording of Brazilian Institute for Metrology,
Standardization and Industrial Quality, a Government Institution), as well as to the standard
INMETRO NIEDINQP-096 - Specific Rules for Electrical Equipment in Potentially Explosive
Atmospheres.
Being a government agency, with legal powers in all Brazil, the above mentioned documents
imply in the obligation, throughout the entire Country, for the certification of electrical material
for use in potentially explosive atmospheres through Product Certification Organizations
(acronym for the Portuguese wording: OCP) accredited by INMETRO. They also establish the
conditions and particular cases for the importation of these types of materials, subjecting
them, in most cases, to the appreciation of an accredited OCP.
In the case of manufacturers registering for a material family that includes products of this
category, Petrobras requires the presentation, by the manufacturer, of at least one certificate
for the model or type manufactured, in order to confirm the proposing company’s capacity to
manufacture the products in compliance with the legal standards. Certificates of specific
models or, still, of modifications of models previously certified, shall be timely and obligatorily
presented by the manufacturer in the course of sale processes of those models to Petrobras.
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American Petroleum Institute
American Society for Mechanical Engineers
f. Qualification of Personnel
Required for products that, during their manufacturing, welding and/or nondestructive testing
(NDT) are critical factors for the quality, the manufacturer shall demonstrate that it maintains
procedures and that it has personnel (welding inspectors and non-destructive testing
inspectors) qualified by independent organizations, in compliance with the official system of its
country of origin.
In Brazil there are two nationally recognized organizations: ABENDE (acronym for the
Portuguese wording of Brazilian Association for Non-destructive Testing) and FBTS (acronym
for the Portuguese wording of Brazilian Foundation for Welding Technology).
In all cases, the qualification of welding inspectors and NDT inspectors shall comply,
respectively, with the EN-4501312 and ISO-9712 standards. Self-certification is not
accepted.
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European Community Directive
g. Field Testing at Petrobras
Required for materials that require the confirmation of their adequacy to specific conditions
existing at Petrobras facilities, sites or due to our specific operational procedures, which are
only achievable by operational and performance testing at Petrobras.
Examples: wet Christmas tree (WCT), flexible pipe for offshore use, drilling bits, gas lift valve.