Build Trust Through ISO/TS 29001

Petroleum, petrochemicals and natural gas, which we will address as Oil and gas, are one of the driving forces of the modern economic development in the world at the moment. The products derived from oil and gas constitutes the “blood flow” of main economic activities for every economy worldwide. A study of the World Bank shows that oil and natural gas is responsible for 3.6 % of the world’s GDP and according to International Energy Agency it constitutes the main supply of energy for 31.4% of the humanity and over 50 % if natural gas is included. Moreover, almost 100 % of the transportation industry, which is 1/6 of world’s GPD, is possible due to oil and gas products. Other aspects where oil and gas are crucial include various chemicals, jet fuel, paraffin for lighting and heating, lubricating, oils, waxes, fuels for ships and factories, bitumen for roads and roofing and many more. Basically, these products are a part of our everyday life.

 A very important industry, hence a very BIG industry infrastructure, it is considered a globe spanning spider web of pipelines and shipping routes, counting for over 1.9 million kilometers of transmission pipes around it. All these pipelines serve to provide energy, which is a requirement for a high quality of life as measured by UN’s Human Development Index. As a consequence, in order for people to have a high quality of life, these industries need to be effectively and efficiently managed and maintained.

Organizations involved in exploration, production, pipelines and transportation and refining of oil and natural gas; organizations involved in the design, manufacture, installation, service and repair of equipment used in the processes mentioned above; and organizations providing technical, operational and support service to these industries, are able to build trust and show their commitment to the quality of their products, reduction of waste and prevention of incidents. In these industries trust is a hard feature to gain, especially after infamous disasters of oil spills, like the ones in Gulf of Mexico (2010), where after an explosion on board of the BP-contracted oil rig approximately 210 million gallons of oil spilled, or the Fergana Valley oil well in Uzbekistan which blew out in 1992 spilling 88 million gallons of oil. The mentioned cases are only a small portion of the environmental and health damage that these spills caused, thus leading to a plummet in profits for the companies involved, such as BP had a 22 % fall in its profits after the Gulf of Mexico Spill which costed approximately $42.7 billion, as reported by International Business Times. Moreover, its stock price remained lower for a considerable period of time as it was before the spill. 

Being a safety-critical industry, there are a lot of technical standards that were developed within the industry. However, the technological part can only run smoothly based on effectively built operations and processes. To tackle this issue, the American Petroleum Institute (API) in cooperation with ISO technical committee ISO/TC 67 developed the standard - ISO/TS 29001:2010, Petroleum, petrochemical and natural gas industries – Sector-specific quality management systems – Requirements for product and service supply organizations. The International Standards Organization states the goal of this Technical Specification as the development of a quality management system that provides defect prevention, reduction of variation and waste, and continual improvement.

To keep a healthy economy, environment and organization, these incidents should be reduced or if possible eliminated. This can be achieved through an effective petroleum industry specific quality management system backed up by an ISO/TS 29001 certification. Certified persons can contribute in this direction by ensuring an effective and efficient implementation of a quality management system in oil companies, preventing oil and gas incidents through documented procedures and traceability policies, helping your organization commit to quality to both clients and stakeholders and many other ways.

PECB International is a certification body for persons on a wide range of professional standards. Among other standard certifications, it offers certification against ISO/TS 29001. ISO Standards and Professional Trainings offered by PECB:

• Certified ISO/TS 29001 Lead Auditor (5 days)
• Certified ISO/TS 29001 Lead Implementer (5 days)
• Certified ISO/TS 29001 Foundation (2 days)
• ISO/TS ISO/TS 29001 Introduction (1 day)

Arta Hashimi is the Transport, Telecommunication and Energy (TTE) Course Development Manager at PECB International. She is in charge of developing and maintaining courses related to Transport, Telecommunication and Energy. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact: training@pecb.com. 

For further information, please visit PECB ISO/TS 29001 Training Courses.