Following the Deepwater Horizon explosion, the American Petroleum Institute (API) reviewed the incident and proposed a new set of standards designed to prevent such accidents and minimize potential repercussions in similar instances.
Introducing API Q2
The existing API Q1 standards were similar in nature to ISO: 9001, centered on working towards continuous process based improvements for each organization. The new standard that was proposed, API Q2, is focused on increased awareness and the ongoing mitigation of risk throughout the entire operation. Aside from organizational based processes, this standard also focuses on Supply Chain Management, Quality of Service and Maintenance and Management of Change.
By adopting a more holistic approach, similar to the Toyota model of Plan, Do, Check, Act, operators will be required to assess risks affecting employee safety, environmental aspects and quality of service. Through proactive identification of risks, organizations will be able to further recognize potential risks, effectively implement control measures, define and document processes, as well as educate employees.
Verify and Validate
The concept of verifications and validations is a central focus of API Q2. By effectively planning a project, reviewing the risks and introducing effective control measures, the Inputs and Outputs of a risk plan are comprehensively documented. Once these risks are defined, documents and measures to be implemented are compiled. These are the controls that will be utilized during a project and are termed “the verifications”.
During the execution of the project, the measures are reviewed continuously to determine their effectiveness and the project team members’ understanding of them. By defining Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) that will measure the process’s effectiveness, it is possible to review how the verifications are performing, as compared to past environments when they were not in place. Examples of these KPIs can be safety performance (Total Recordable Incident Rate, Lost Time Incident Rate), performance of Service Related Products (SRP) and contractual requirements (on-time delivery, on-time project milestone completion). This ongoing KPI review is known as Validation.
Supply Chain and Your Service Quality Plan (SQP)
In addition to measuring their own performance, it is expected that operators will continuously review their key suppliers and implement a set of Supply Chain Controls. By effectively sourcing, classifying, qualifying and evaluating suppliers, operators have a responsibility to mitigate risks stemming from contractors. Ongoing vendor audits and inspections play a key role in ensuring that services are performed effectively, supplied materials are of the highest quality and fit for purpose and that agreed-upon processes are documented and followed.
Prior to beginning a project, API Q2 requires the development of a Service Quality Plan (SQP). This plan details all aspect of a service to be executed, outlines controls for all involved parties, identifies required SRPs and details the competencies required for personnel involved. In addition, the SQP must include aspects of quality assurance for the startup, execution and shutdown of a project. Once agreed on, this SQP is subject to the Management of Change process for any proposed changes.
By implementing these controls, the API hopes to prevent future events such as Deepwater Horizon or, at a minimum, to minimize their impact. Intelex has been providing organizations with integrated EHSQ management solutions for over 20 years.
Intelex as a Partner in Compliance
Intelex offers over over 65 applications designed to both proactively plan for events, such as Risk Awareness, Document Control and Audit Management as well as react to occurrences such as Incident Management and Nonconformance Tracking. By tracking both the planning and execution of activities in the Intelex Management System, organizations will be able to implement verifications, identify KPIs and validate the performance of the verifications introduced to manage project effectiveness. KPIs can be tracked with configurable graphical dashboards and scorecards, allowing organizations to implement KPIs for each project and proactively manage them in real-time.
To learn more about this topic and proactively move towards API Q2 compliance, join our webinar, Fast Tracking API Q2 Compliance, on Tuesday, November 12 at 2:00pm EST.
