Contracts equipment issues

Expertise—A client may seek to issue a toll contract if it chooses to produce a new product of unfamiliar chemistiy or formulation type. A toller may already have knowledge, equipment, and personnel uniquely suited for a given process that cannot be readily duplicated. A toller with expertise in that particular type of chemistiy or formulation could speed production and assist them in building a higher level of in-house expertise through close interaction. This may enhance the level of process safety and personnel safety should the client ever bring the process in-house. 

Both parties need to identify responsibilities for choosing the right equipment for the process, preparing equipment for the process, and decontaminating equipment. Consider whether chemical and process hazards have been addressed in the selection, preparation, and decontamination of equipment. Examine the need to contractually address containment and disposal of residual process fluids and decontamination materials. If food products or pharmaceuticals are involved, cleaning methods may also be an issue to address in the contract. 

Customer supplied products that are issued for incorporation into supplies don t often require maintenance however, items for use in conjunction with the contract may be retained for such a duration that maintenance is necessary. If the products require any maintenance you should be provided with a maintenance specification and the appropriate equipment to do the job. Maintenance may include both preventive and corrective maintenance but you should clarify with your customer which it is. You may have the means for preventive maintenance, such as lubrication and calibration, but not for repairs. Always establish your obligations in the contract regarding customer supplied product, because you could take on commitments for which you are not contractually covered if something should go wrong. You need to establish who will supply the spares and re-certify the equipment following repair. 

Operating manuals give the detailed, step by step, instructions for operation of the process and equipment. They would normally be prepared by the operating company personnel, but may also be issued by a contractor as part of the contract package for a less experienced client. The operating manuals would be used for operator instruction and training, and for the preparation of the formal plant operating instructions. 

Many of the technical requirements of the Standard are covered in Chapters 4 to 7. The analytical requirements, including choosing a method and method validation, are covered in Chapter 4. The other measurement requirements, such as calibration, traceability and equipment qualification, are dealt with in Chapter 5. Some of the general issues not covered elsewhere are mentioned in the following sections. It has already been mentioned that staff should be trained and proven to be competent to carry out the testing. This applies to permanent and contracted staff. The laboratory should have a job description for all members of staff. There are more stringent requirements on staff who are also able to provide customers with opinions or interpretation of the results. 

Although the Army anticipates procuring equipment, systems, and tools that are unique to closure operations, closure planning documents made available to the committee addressed this issue in a cursory way (U.S. Army, 2000c). Section 3.3 of the decommissioning plan simply states a requirement for vendor contracts and engineering guidance. WDC said, however, that it has a very extensive and sophisticated company procurement manual (O Shea, 2000). Because of the importance of materiel procurement, the Army should insist on full disclosure of the contractor process, and all interested parties must understand and... 

Subcontractors on the jobsite should be responsible for start-up as well as installation of equipment. Equipment manufacturers typically have personnel available to ensure appropriate start-up procedures are followed. If several trades are involved in the installation of a particular piece of equipment, then one trade should be assigned, by contract, as having coordinating responsibility for that piece of equipment. This will minimize finger pointing when equipment does not start or operate properly. This can be a sensitive issue and a construction manager can set the tone for cooperation in this area. 

Gost of equipment is not an issue since many contract laboratories do exist and can afford to supply this service to many customers. With the current trend toward out-sourcing testing, such an approach is economical. 

There may be a lack of in-house expertise resulting in the need to contract out the work or the need to develop an in-house capability. Alternatively, there may be a lack of in-house facilities or equipment to handle the candidate drug. These issues need to be resolved quickly or else time penalties could be incurred. Other areas of risk include the sources of excipients and packaging components. Some excipients or packaging components may only be available from one supplier, with the risk that the supplier could go out of business. 

The generating plant was ordered under the same contract as that at Tunnel Quarry. There were a number of special conditions to the contract which are interesting to recall, bearing in mind that the contractor was only being asked to supply their standard product. Only British workmen were to be allowed to work on the manufacture and installation of the plant, and only British or Empire materials were to be used. No duplicates of any drawings were to be produced, and all annotations describing the function of the various parts were to be erased, even on drawings issued to sub-contractors. Final assembly of the complete equipment was to be undertaken in a comer of the factory securely screened off from the rest of the works. 

Employers must develop a screening process to ensure that they hire only contractors who can accomplish desired jobs without compromising process and employee safety. In the past, contractors w ere a weak link in the safety process. As outsourcing increased with the workforce reduction, contracting became a very crucial issue. Contract personnel must be thoroughly familiar with the site safety policy and should be trained in the key safety aspects of the process unit equipment and chemicals used by the unit. Site personnel are... 

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