It is important for procedures and accuracy levels to remain consistent throughout the entire cargo movement; bearing in mind that load and discharge facilities are frequently in different countries.
One of the more difficult aspects of the job of ‘Operations Supervision’ is that of managing disputes between clients. Typically, these disputes fall into areas that are commercial in nature and not addressed by any of the internationally recognized standards that we work to. In these situations, it is important for us not to fall into the trap of trying to become the arbitrator to the dispute. Commercial disputes must be resolved by the commercial parties. It is important to keep in mind that standards rarely address issues that are commercial in nature; in fact, the American Petroleum Institute [API] has a policy that it will not include anything in a standard that might impinge on its members (the oil companies) commercial rights.
1.1 Independent Inspection
Simply defined, independent inspection is, ‘the independent verification of quantity and/or quality
of a commercially traded product.’ This independent inspection helps to ensure:
1.2 Independence
• Contract compliance and improve the speed and efficiency of transactions • The safety and reliability of plant and equipment • The respect of delivery and production schedules Inspections are carried out using the three fundamental principles of:
A question that is often asked is,
‘how do we maintain independence while still being a commercial entity in our own right and getting paid for our services?’ The primary way in which we achieve this is by strict adherence to the agreed upon measurement standards, as specified in the sales contract or other commercial document controlling the transfer of goods. Most of the industries that we provide services to have produced technical procedures, usually called standards or norms, which guide our measurement and inspection activities. Most standards writing bodies are national in nature, however, the use of these standards frequently extends across borders and some, such as ASTM [American Society for Testing and Materials] are almost international in nature, although only ISO [International Organization for Standards] is truly international.
• Independence
• Impartiality
1.3 The Role of the Inspector
• Quality
The scope of work provided by independent inspection companies is determined by contractual agreement which typically takes the form of a nomination order. This scope of work usually includes some, or all, of the following:
This can only be achieved by the use of trained, competent and conscientious inspectors and technicians whose primary interest is the integrity of the cargo from point of shipment to the point of delivery. The activities of independent inspection services have always been determined by the needs of the industries that use their services.
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