How does Quality Tubing build and grow its QMS? “Engaging our employees at all levels remains key,” says Melissa Jones, quality assurance and training manager. “The SharePoint QMS only creates structure, information, and rules of engagement. The challenge for any quality system is adoption at all levels.” To do this successfully, program champions, creative communication channels, and QMS enhancements keep Quality Tubing relevant, in touch, and in-the-room.
Program champions, known as continuous improvement liaisons (CIL), are key to pushing the responsibilities throughout the organization. The CIL program is a year-long training and certification program that includes all supervisors and key influencers from each department. The program includes classes that encourage a culture focused on safety and quality, bringing the QHSE programs and documentation requirements into every meeting—not just those led by quality or HSE. “We have extended the responsibility throughout the organizational structure, so there is always someone in the room saying this should be a corrective action, this should be a SOP revision, this should have QA, training, HSE, HR involvement—the essence of management of change (MOC),” explains Jones.
“We also strive to keep it fresh,” says Jones, who led the team to create a dynamic SharePoint QMS solution and CIL program, “by providing continual enhancements to the QMS throughout the year.” Additional user resources most recently provided include the following:
- An executive dashboard
- Dynamic cross-reference for internal and external documents
- Integrated HSE risk assessment and JHAs into the SOPs providing a single solution
- Improved NHO and SSE program and training tracking
- OQ enhancement to eliminate past-due certifications and recertifications
- QA action page showing due and aging activities
- Cross-reference to HR-related information
- Training calendars
- Enhanced approved vendor management
Of course, ensuring that employees actually use these resources is a challenge. SharePoint QMS metrics provided by Cardiolog Analytics demonstrate that the QMS has been successfully implemented—between 2016 and 2018 YTD tracking shows 198, 241, and 235 unique users, respectively, visiting the site each year. With less than 250 total Quality Tubing employees, this is a very healthy number.
“Accreditation of our quality system along with the ability to monogram our products to API 5ST is a feature more and more of our customers around the world desire when purchasing coiled tubing products,” says Dale Klink, vice president of strategic business initiatives. “With Quality Tubing's increased focus on continuous improvement and our recent introduction of several new products, it was essential that we document how robust our quality system is by being certified to industry-accepted standards. This effort was fully endorsed by the senior management of Quality Tubing, and we are grateful to all of the Quality Tubing team that expended countless hours and energy to achieve this outcome.”