81: Purchasing Specification Issue
Definition/Typical Issues
Did the purchase specifications for raw materials/parts fail to include:
- A schedule for delivery of the materials
- Material packaging and shipping requirements
- Safety requirements
- Reliability requirements
- Quality requirements
- Liability clauses
- Payment schedules
Were changes made to purchase orders or procurement specifications without the proper reviews and approvals? Did the changes result in purchase of the wrong materials or parts? Did changes in contract language cause safety, reliability, quality, or legal problems?
Were incorrect materials substituted? Were material or part specifications substituted without authorization? Did the requirements fail to specify "no substitution"?
Note 1: This node applies to what was specified, not what was actually received. See Acceptance Criteria Issue (#83) for problems with what was actually received by the facility.
Examples
Example 1
- A contract to purchase logs from a supplier did not include late delivery penalties. As a result, the supplier was routinely a week or two behind schedule.
Example 2
- A pump was ordered for use in a hypochlorite liquid plant. Purchasing went out for bids on a Hastelloy (and did not specify Hastelloy C as required). A Hastelloy B pump was received, and it failed after only 40 days of service because of chemical attack.
Example 3
- A batch of product was ruined because of improper mixing of the components. Purchasing had switched suppliers to reduce costs. The feed material was now purchased at twice the concentration as before. The management of change system did not identify it as a change because the same material was purchased from both suppliers.
Example 4
- Glass lenses that were shipped to your facility arrived broken. Purchasing specifications did not include requirements for packaging of the lenses. As a result, the supplier sent them in some loose paper packing. However, that was insufficient to prevent breakage.
Typical Recommendations
- Develop purchase specifications with input from the technical contacts, procurement specialists, attorneys, and others in your company to ensure that all contractual requirements are addressed.
- Include procurement control procedures in the management of change program.
- Implement a management of change program.
- Train employees to use the management of change system.
- Ensure that field/warehouse personnel understand the management of change system's importance to them.
- Assess the impact of material substitutions on the quality of the product produced.
- Ensure that materials are properly labeled to prevent inadvertent substitution.
- Attempt to design the manufacturing and product so that only the correct item will fit.
- Develop specifications for critical repair parts and maintenance materials.
Cross-References
| Version 10 Element(s) | |
|---|---|
| Node ID | Node Name |
| 95 | Purchasing Specifications LTA |
| 96 | Control of Changes to Procurement Specifications LTA |
| Maritime Element(s) | |
|---|---|
| Node ID | Node Name |
| 113 | Purchasing Specifications Issue |
| 114 | Changes to Purchasing Specifications |