Selection subcontractors

The standard requires the supplier to evaluate and select subcontractors on the basis of their ability to meet subcontract requirements, including the quality system and any specific quality assurance requirements. 

The standard does not require that you purchase only from approved subcontractors . It does require that you maintain records of acceptable subcontractors but does not prohibit you from selecting subcontractors that do not fully meet your purchasing requirements. There will be some subcontractors that fully meet your requirements and... 

Prepare procedures for evaluating tenders and selecting subcontractors. 

Dr. Ron Roberts of the Ames NDE Center at Iowa State University is the selected subcontractor on ultrasonics for this program. An engineering review of our new system was conducted at Panametrics on 3/20/90 in conjunction with Iowa State and GTE... 

When selecting contractors, operators should obtain and evaluate information regarding a contractor s safety and environmental management policies and practices, and performance thereunder, and the contractor s procedures for selecting subcontractors. API RP 76 is a useful reference for selecting contractors. 

To reduce the frequency and severity of construction accidents, firms select subcontractors careftilly, and implement safety programmes that include orientation and training, written safety plans and management. Constmction sites adopt the following preventive measures (HaUoweU 2010) ... 

Are subcontractors selected on the basis of their ability to meet subcontract requirements ... 

Notwithstanding the guidance given below under Evaluation and selection of subcontractors, this requirement does not relieve you of the responsibility for ensuring the quality of subcontracted parts, materials, and services. Therefore, it would be unwise to place orders on a customer-specified subcontractor without first going through your evaluation and selection process. You can obviously take some short cuts but don t make assumptions. The customer will not be sympathetic when you are late on delivery or your price escalates. If you find a subcontractor that can meet all your product/service requirements at a lower price you can submit details to your customer for approval. 

You need to develop documented procedures that define your subcontractor evaluation and selection process and in certain cases this may result in several closely-related procedures for use when certain conditions apply. Do not try to force every purchase through the same selection process. Having purchasing policies that require three quotations for every purchase regardless of past performance of the current subcontractor is placing price before quality. Provide flexibility so that the policies and procedures complexity match the risks anticipated. Going out to tender for a few standard nuts and bolts would seem unwise. Likewise, placing an order for lm of equipment based solely on the results of a third party ISO 9000 certification would also seem unwise. 

Preliminary subcontractor assessment To select credible subcontractors V V V... 

The purpose of the preliminary subcontractor assessment is to select credible subcontractors and not necessarily to select a subcontractor for a specific purchase. There are millions of subcontractors in the world, some of which would be happy to relieve you of your wealth given half a chance, and others that take pride in their service to customers and are a pleasure to have as partners. You need a process for gathering intelligence on potential subcontractors and for eliminating unsuitable subcontractors so that the buyers do not need to go through the whole process from scratch with each purchase. The first step is to establish the type of products and services you require to support your... 

Caution is advised on the name you give to this list of subcontractors. All have been assessed but all may not have been visited or used. Some organizations refer to it as an Approved Subcontractors List (ASL) or Approved Vendor List (AVL), but if you include unacceptable subcontractors you cannot call it an Approved Vendor List. If it is in paper form, two lists may be preferable. Some organizations use colored paper to distinguish between approved and unapproved subcontractors. If the data is stored electronically, the fields can be protected to prevent selection of unacceptable subcontractors. 

Pre-qualification is a process for selecting contractors for known future work. The design will have proceeded to a stage where an outline specification of the essential parameters has been developed. You know roughly what you want but not in detail. Pre-qualification is undertaken to select those subcontractors that can demonstrate they have the capability to meet your specific requirements on quality, quantity, price, and... 

A list of potential bidders can be generated from the Assessed Subcontractors List by searching for subcontractors that match given input criteria specific to the particular procurement. However, the evidence you gathered to place subcontractors on your Assessed Subcontractors List may now be obsolete. Their capability may have changed and therefore you need a sorting process for specific purchases. If candidates are selected that have not been assessed, an assessment should be carried out before proceeding any further. 

In some cases your choice may be limited to a single source since no other subcontractor may market what you need. On other occasions you may be spoilt for choice. With some proprietary products you are able to select particular options so as to tailor the product or service to your requirements. It remains a proprietary product, as the subcontractor has not changed anything just for you. The majority of products and services you will purchase from subcontractors, however, is likely to be from catalogs. The designer may have already selected the item and quoted the part number in the specification. Quite often you are buying from a distributor rather than the manufacturer and so need to ensure that both the manufacturer and the distributor will meet your requirements. 

The quality plan would be a logical place for such controls to be defined but clause 4.2.3 does not specifically refer to subcontractor controls. Any intention that they be defined in the quality plan is hidden in 4.2.3.1(b) where it requires you to give timely consideration to the identification and acquisition of any controls etc. Some companies produce a Quality Assurance Requirement Specification to supplement ISO 9001 and also produce a Subcontractor Surveillance Plan. In most other cases the controls may be defined on the reverse side of the purchase order as standard conditions coded and selected for individual purchases. 

Drawings, process requirements, inspection instructions, and other relevant technical data, including requirements for approval or qualification of product, procedures, process equipment, and personnel. These requirements also apply to selection and control of subcontractors. Subcontractors include toll manufacturers and contract laboratories. 

Supplier Audits are more beneficial if they are conducted as part of the supplier selection and procurement process so that any actions arising can be progressed within a project s implementation. More than one Supplier Audit may be appropriate or necessary for a system where multiple subsystem suppliers or subcontractors are used. The Validation Plan will document which suppliers require and do not require auditing and when these audits should take place. Table 5.2 indicates when Supplier Audits are required. 

It is not uncommon for a company to design a medical device prototype and then have it built by a company specializing in electronic manufacture. Where this happens, as in our case, a number of suitable companies should be considered for the project, and those shortlisted should be audited for capability. Selection would depend on the quality system in place, previous experience in medical device manufacture, control of subcontractors, level of testing supplied, and the amoimt of in-house technical support available. It is advisable to ensure that a legal agreement, Quality Plan, and User Requirements Specification (URS) are employed to secure production standards for the device. 

Sole source both equipment purchases and subcontractor selection. 

The Project Manager must work with the Contract Engineer to qualify and select capable bidders. If the project is in an existing plant site, the selection process must be done in close cooperation with the plant personnel since they must approve all contractors working in their plant. In the case of small projects, especially if the execution approach calls for multiple subcontractors, the volume of work will not be large enough to attract national contractors and the choice will be among small or medium-sized, local contractors. 

On major projects, the selected EPC contractor handles the procurement function purchasing, expediting, inspection, receiving, and accounts payable. All the equipment and some of the critical bulk materials are purchased by the contractor. Bulk materials are generally supplied by the construction subcontractors as part of their scope of work. 

Three high potential conceptual designs were selected for further development. The selection process included design evaluations by the subcontractors. 

These requirements also apply to selection and control of subcontractors. Subcontractors include toll manufacturers and contract laboratories. 

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