Gone are the days when projects could be sourced from a local shop. Today an offshore rig may start with Chinese steel, have coatings applied in Thailand, be assembled in Dubai by an Indian team, and installed off the African shore. To excel in the market, suppliers must provide consistent global products. The advantages for customers are plentiful: One specification ensures smooth construction, lower maintenance costs, and a calculated global life expectancy.
It is critical that products are consistent, but guaranteeing this across thousands of miles and six continents are often easier said than done. So what are the challenges, and how can we address them?
Materials
It would be easy to develop products with components made only in your backyard, be it Houston or Sweden, but this makes little sense when producing in Malaysia. Pricing is always a concern, and shipping components thousands of miles is rarely economical. When a customer calls and needs a thousand gallons in Singapore tomorrow, can you move material in time?
Sourcing locally is an option, but will the suppliers be able to meet your specifications? Will minute variations in the material have a lasting impact on performance? We have found success with setting rigorous testing protocols for new suppliers, including full performance testing. This can take months for a single material, and to ensure supply must be an ongoing process.
And there is the challenge of local quality — ensuring consistency once you have approved a source. I once arrived in India to find a shipment of ethanol held in quality control, as the liquid was a bright blue and was promptly rejected. There are many analytical methods to employ, but when you have dozens of materials arriving daily, your inspection team can be quickly overwhelmed. These inspections are critical to consistency and must be performed.
Processing
There are also production challenges with consistency. Most new products are developed in a controlled lab environment but are rarely produced in the same. Factory conditions in Norway and Vietnam may require different processing times, cooling/heating equipment or adjustments to control exposure to moisture. Although many of these can be anticipated, it is difficult to plan for every eventuality. Pilot batches involving all stakeholders and regular communication between locations can help alleviate these issues.
There is also the human element. Experience can vary anywhere, but some regions tend toward higher turnover than others. It is important that technical information and instructions be communicated in language the staff will understand, which can pose challenges when translating complex concepts into a new language. In the U.S., we often take for granted that staff can read, but this is hardly universal. Many countries are lacking in education, and literacy rates are low. This can be an issue when written instructions are required.
Expectations
Understanding diverse cultures and managing expectations is critical. What is considered normal in one culture may prove frustrating to another.
Regions that historically have struggled with access to resources have often developed a “make do, can do” attitude, which can result in using whatever materials are on hand. Acceptance of variation in performance or noncritical properties — such as color — may be ingrained and can run counter to the expectations of a global customer for whom consistency is fundamental.
Addressing this requires setting an internal set of expectations that will meet customer requirements, but also effectively communicating with all members of a global team. These standards will help define requirements and provide ongoing consistency.
Solutions
How can we resolve these issues? The best answer is a strong quality program that identifies the critical steps and outputs, setting expectations but allowing for local flexibility to achieve those requirements. Regular communication and coordination between global teams can help identify inconsistencies and troubleshoot problems, but must be coupled with a rigorous audit program to ensure standards are being met.
For more information, visit www.carbo line.com, call (314) 239-4327 or email bhuesgen@carboline.com.