Best Practice 13 April 2022
SABP-L-011
Guidelines for Assessing a Valve Manufacturer
Document Responsibility: Valves Standards Committee
Previous Revision: 15 July 2019 Next Revision: 4 April 2032
Contact: (HARBMR0B) Page 1 of 14
© Saudi Arabian Oil Company, 2022
Saudi Aramco: Company General Use
Document Responsibility: Valves Standards Committee SABP-L-011
Issue Date: 13 April 2022
Next Revision: 13 April 2032 Guidelines for Assessing a Valve Manufacturer
Contents
Summary Of Changes ................................................................................................... 3
1 Scope ...................................................................................................................... 4
2 Conflicts And Deviations ......................................................................................... 4
3 References .............................................................................................................. 4
4 Terminology ............................................................................................................ 5
5 General ................................................................................................................... 6
6 Technical Screening ................................................................................................ 6
7 Physical Assessment .............................................................................................. 7
8 Periodic Desk Review ............................................................................................. 9
9 Supporting Local Manufacturers ............................................................................. 9
Document History ........................................................................................................ 13
Appendices ................................................................................................................. 14
© Saudi Arabian Oil Company, 2022 Page 2 of 14
Saudi Aramco: Company General Use
Document Responsibility: Valves Standards Committee SABP-L-011
Issue Date: 13 April 2022
Next Revision: 13 April 2032 Guidelines for Assessing a Valve Manufacturer
Summary of Changes
Paragraph Number
Change Type Technical Change(s)
Previous Revision Current Revision
15 July 2019 13 Apr 2022
Title Title Modification Updated document title.
Updated section title. Updated section to
1 1 Modification
a concise scope.
Updated to align with company standard
1.4 2 Modification
wording
Update several documents titles. Added
CSD-ICP-5.1.1-001, SAEP-85, 04-
SAMSS-055, 175-045600 and API
SPEC Q1. Removed cancelled 04-
2 3 Modification
SAMSS-049, 04-SAMSS-052 and 04-
SAMSS-054. Removed API RP 591 and
SAES-H-002 which are already included
in 04-SAMSS-035.
- 4 New Added terminology section
Updated general section, per current
3 5 Modification
practices.
Modified desk review plant pre-survey to
6.1 6 Modification technical screening, per current
practices.
Updated vendor facility review and
6.2 & 7 7 Modification reporting to physical assessment, per
current practices.
Added new section for periodic desk
- 8 New
review, per current practices.
Added new section for supporting local
- 9 New
manufacturers, per current practices.
Updated all appendices and moved
each to the supplements section on
Appendices Appendices Modification
standards webpage to provide ease of
access to the native file formats.
© Saudi Arabian Oil Company, 2022 Page 3 of 14
Saudi Aramco: Company General Use
Document Responsibility: Valves Standards Committee SABP-L-011
Issue Date: 13 April 2022
Next Revision: 13 April 2032 Guidelines for Assessing a Valve Manufacturer
1 Scope
This Best Practice provides guidelines for assessing the capabilities and
suitability of a valve manufacturer. This document is classified as an internal
document.
2 Conflicts and Deviations
If there is a conflict between this Best Practice and any Mandatory Saudi Aramco
Engineering Requirements (MSAERs), the mandatory document shall take the
precedence. Other conflicts shall be addressed in writing to the EK&RD
Coordinator.
3 References
All referenced specifications, standards, codes, drawings, and similar material
are considered part of this Best Practice to the extent specified applying latest
revisions unless stated otherwise.
3.1 Saudi Aramco References
Saudi Aramco Internal Procedure
CSD-ICP-5.1.1-001 Vendor Technical Approval Process
Saudi Aramco Engineering Procedure
SAEP-85 Suppliers Evaluation and Approval
Saudi Aramco Engineering Standards
SAES-L-108 Selection of Valves
Saudi Aramco Materials System Specifications
04-SAMSS-001 Gate Valves, Supplementary Requirements to IOGP S-611
04-SAMSS-002 Steel Globe Valves - Flanged and Butt-welding Ends
04-SAMSS-003 Additional Requirements for Low Temperature Valves
04-SAMSS-005 Check Valves: Flanged, Lug, and Butt-welding
04-SAMSS-035 General Requirements for Valves
04-SAMSS-041 Expanding Plug Valve
© Saudi Arabian Oil Company, 2022 Page 4 of 14
Saudi Aramco: Company General Use
Document Responsibility: Valves Standards Committee SABP-L-011
Issue Date: 13 April 2022
Next Revision: 13 April 2032 Guidelines for Assessing a Valve Manufacturer
04-SAMSS-042 4-Way Diverter Valve
04-SAMSS-047 Butterfly Valves — API 609 Category B
04-SAMSS-048 Valve Inspection and Testing Requirements
04-SAMSS-050 Gate Valves, Through conduit Type, API SPEC 6D
04-SAMSS-051 Ball Valves, Supplementary Requirements to
IOGP S-562
04-SAMSS-053 Steel Lubricated Plug Valves - Flanged and Welding End
04-SAMSS-055 Valves and Chokes, API SPEC 6A
Saudi Aramco Inspection and Testing Requirements Forms
175-043000 Valve Materials Certification Requirements
175-043600 Valves: Metallic; Includes Gate, Globe, Angle, Check,
Needle, Ball, Plug, Piston, And Butterfly
175-043601 Valve: Low Severity
175-045600 Valves and Chokes, API SPEC 6A
3.2 Industry Codes and Standards
American Petroleum Institute
API SPEC Q1 Specification for Quality Management System
Requirements for Manufacturing Organizations for the
Petroleum and Natural Gas Industry
International Organization for Standardization
ISO 9001 Quality Management System—Requirements
4 Terminology
Terms or abbreviations within this document are defined below
4.1 Acronyms
9COM: Materials that require QM Control, Inspection and plant approval.
NPS: Nominal Pipe Size
© Saudi Arabian Oil Company, 2022 Page 5 of 14
Saudi Aramco: Company General Use
Document Responsibility: Valves Standards Committee SABP-L-011
Issue Date: 13 April 2022
Next Revision: 13 April 2032 Guidelines for Assessing a Valve Manufacturer
PO: Purchase Order
SAMSS: Saudi Aramco Materials System Specification
5 General
The capability and suitability of a valve manufacturer is established by assessing
the proposed manufacturing facility, design and engineering activities, and
products.
The assessment is performed at 9com level and consists of both technical and
quality evaluations.
Most valve manufacturing facilities have onsite design and engineering.
When a manufacturing facility obtains design and engineering from a related
offsite facility (i.e., part of the same company), the technical and quality assessors
extend the assessment to also evaluate the capability and suitability of the design
and engineering activities performed in the related offsite location at 9com level
and the control of activities between both facilities.
When a manufacturing facility has a manufacturing license agreement with a
Technical Partner, the capability and suitability of the Technical Partner requires
an additional technical and quality assessment at 9com level.
Assessment requests which include either offsite design and engineering or a
Technical Partner require careful planning (i.e., assessment sequence, approval
linkages) prior to processing the workflow request.
Technical evaluations are conducted by the appointed approved technical
assessors in Consulting Services Department.
Quality assessments are performed by a certified quality auditor under the
responsibility of Saudi Aramco Inspection Department.
CSD-ICP-5.1.1-001 and SAEP-85 provide requirements for processing
assessment requests.
6 Technical Screening
This type of assessment was previously known as a preliminary evaluation or a
Desk Review Plant Pre-Survey technical assessment.
Technical screening is the first step in the assessment process. Technical
screening is performed to determine if the valve manufacturer has potential to
meet Saudi Aramco requirements and whether it is worthwhile for Saudi Aramco
© Saudi Arabian Oil Company, 2022 Page 6 of 14
Saudi Aramco: Company General Use
Document Responsibility: Valves Standards Committee SABP-L-011
Issue Date: 13 April 2022
Next Revision: 13 April 2032 Guidelines for Assessing a Valve Manufacturer
to allocate the resources necessary to undertake a full assessment including a
physical plant visit. The main steps are as follows:
a) The valve manufacturer prepares a structured technical package.
b) The technical package is reviewed by a Consulting Services Department
Technical Assessor.
c) After evaluating the available information, the Technical Assessor
completes the “Manufacturer Technical Screening Checklist” with one of
the following conclusions:
- return the request due to inadequate/incorrect information.
- reject the manufacturer through desk review.
- process the request and conduct a full assessment.
The “Manufacturer Technical Screening Checklist” is a general checklist.
Appendix A provides specific guidance for technical screening a valve
manufacturer. To simplify reporting, Appendix A has been structured to match
the basic structure of the general “Manufacturer Technical Screening Checklist”.
7 Physical Assessment
This type of assessment is used for new manufacturing plants and add material
requests. It is also used for other types of request, such as remove limitation,
when deemed necessary by the Technical Assessor, Standards Committee
Chairman of Valves and Group Leader.
The Technical Assessor visits the facility to verify the information in Section 5,
complete any missing information related to the manufacturer’s capabilities, and
to observe and evaluate the suitability of design, engineering and manufacturing
activities.
A typical plant assessment consists of the following steps:
a) opening meeting with explanation of the scope and agenda
b) a short presentation by the valve manufacturer describing details and
activities of products and services provided. Examples include:
© Saudi Arabian Oil Company, 2022 Page 7 of 14
Saudi Aramco: Company General Use
Document Responsibility: Valves Standards Committee SABP-L-011
Issue Date: 13 April 2022
Next Revision: 13 April 2032 Guidelines for Assessing a Valve Manufacturer
- Company and facility history; and if applicable details on any
offsite design and engineering location and any Technical
Partner
- Description of facility, layout, and on-site capabilities
- Type of design or fabrication methodology
- Sub-suppliers and sub-contractor activities
- Resources (manpower and equipment)
c) walk through each department and the main areas of the facility (e.g.,
research and development, engineering and design, material
processing, outdoor storage/yard, receiving inspection, quarantine,
stores, machinery, fabrication, non-destructive testing and examination,
handling, assembly, testing, drying, preservation, blasting, painting,
marking, preparation for shipment, indoor storage, warehouse, quality
assurance, quality control) to observe activities and evaluate capabilities
for each 9com under assessment.
d) photographing (in accordance with SAEP-85) the size and layout of the
overall facility, the main areas and the production activities ongoing
during the visit for the commodities under assessment.
Note:
Obtain agreement from the manufacturer during the opening meeting. In some
cases, there may be valid reasons for a valve manufacturer not permitting
photography of certain areas (e.g., restricted area for sensitive industry sectors).
In such cases request a concise explanation from the manufacturer and include
in the assessment report.
e) Interviews/meetings with personnel from different disciplines and review
of credentials and experience.
f) Closing meeting to present the assessment findings. The assessor does
not provide a conclusion to the manufacturer (See SAEP-85).
The check-list provided in Appendix B can be referenced during the visit.
The Technical Assessor adds findings to the acknowledgement form and
provides a copy to the plant management representative for signature.
© Saudi Arabian Oil Company, 2022 Page 8 of 14
Saudi Aramco: Company General Use
Document Responsibility: Valves Standards Committee SABP-L-011
Issue Date: 13 April 2022
Next Revision: 13 April 2032 Guidelines for Assessing a Valve Manufacturer
The Technical Assessor completes an assessment report using the template in
Appendix C and presents their findings and assessment recommendations to the
Consulting Services Department valve engineering team for discussion.
The Technical Assessor completes a Vendor Review Committee package per
SAEP-85.
Note:
Virtual/remote assessment may substitute the physical assessment when
adding materials for already existing plants, where a physical visit is not
required in line with Consulting Services Department internal guidelines.
8 Periodic Desk Review
This type of review is performed periodically to check that the manufacturing
facility maintains the technical capabilities and an effective quality management
system.
The review is performed through a review of documents such as certificates,
supply history, records, and any reported performance issues (e.g., engineering
deficiency reports).
Limitations are reviewed to check they remain adequate.
When a manufacturing facility obtains design and engineering from a related
offsite location or has a Technical Partner, the Technical Assessor checks the
related offsite design and engineering location and Technical Partner maintains
the required technical capabilities and expertise.
The Technical Assessor completes a periodic desk review report using the
template in Appendix D.
When the recommendation is no change to the material status, the Technical
Assessor uploads the report and processes the request.
Recommendations to change the material status or limitation text requires
additional steps, see SAEP-85.
9 Supporting Local Manufacturers
9.1 This section has been included to support local development and help local
manufacturing facilities establish and grow throughout the kingdom.
9.2 Vendor to demonstrate:
a) meeting all the requirements in 04-SAMSS-035.
© Saudi Arabian Oil Company, 2022 Page 9 of 14
Saudi Aramco: Company General Use
Document Responsibility: Valves Standards Committee SABP-L-011
Issue Date: 13 April 2022
Next Revision: 13 April 2032 Guidelines for Assessing a Valve Manufacturer
b) all major functions and process activities during the assessment,
including design and engineering controls and capabilities, equipment,
cranes, tools, staff competency, etc.
c) onsite assembly and testing for sample valves for each 9com in the
presence of Saudi Aramco assessors.
9.3 Local manufacturing facilities can be assessed at 9com level and approved using
limitations when one or more of the following arises:
a) lack their own qualified and proven product designs.
b) no/limited experience in manufacturing specific commodity.
c) limited/lack of production activities during the assessment.
9.4 Limitation general guidelines:
a) Technical partner (design and engineering) for 04-SAMSS-035 Model B
Document the approved technical partner details (name, address, etc.).
Note:
The approved Technical Partner bridges one of the main gaps by providing
qualified and proven product designs, engineering expertise and
manufacturing know-how and support.
b) Approved manufacturing scope (size, rating, etc.)
Document the recommended approval scope. Phased incremental
approval is recommended starting with 9coms of low complexity and
smaller sizes.
Example:
Phase 1: up to NPS 12
Phase 2: NPS 14 to 24
Phase 3: NPS 26 to 36
Note:
Phased approval at 9com level provides local manufacturing facilities the
opportunity to build relevant manufacturing history and demonstrate their
© Saudi Arabian Oil Company, 2022 Page 10 of 14
Saudi Aramco: Company General Use
Document Responsibility: Valves Standards Committee SABP-L-011
Issue Date: 13 April 2022
Next Revision: 13 April 2032 Guidelines for Assessing a Valve Manufacturer
capabilities and ability to consistently manufacture valves over time in
accordance with requirements prior to applying for expanded approval.
Pressure class, materials and service can also be limited when deemed
necessary.
Example:
Pressure class may be limited based on the demonstrated valve
pressure class, test activities and equipment, and technician’s
competency.
c) Trial order
A trial order limitation is recommended when manufacturing facilities
have limited production activities in the facility during the assessment
and/or limited relevant production supply experience.
The trial order provides the assessors the opportunity to:
- observe the actual performance of the manufacturing facility
during the production of the trial order quantity.
- verify the manufacturing facility is suitable for the approved
manufacturing scope.
Cap the trial order quantity to manage the risk and impact to Saudi
Aramco in the event of problems. At the same time the quantity needs to
be enough to enable the manufacturing facility to demonstrate their initial
manufacturing process and its capabilities for the 9com.
The Table below provides recommended quantity for trial orders by basic
valve categories.
Basic Valve Category Quantity
Cast iron, Ductile iron, Bronze valves and API 609 Cat A 200
API 602 and 9coms which are limited to small bore valves
200
(i.e., up to NPS 4)
API 600, API 623, API 594 and equivalent 200
API 6D, API 599, and API 609 Cat B Valves and equivalent 100
API 6A Valves and chokes 50
© Saudi Arabian Oil Company, 2022 Page 11 of 14
Saudi Aramco: Company General Use
Document Responsibility: Valves Standards Committee SABP-L-011
Issue Date: 13 April 2022
Next Revision: 13 April 2032 Guidelines for Assessing a Valve Manufacturer
Notes:
When there are observations such as handling or capacity concerns, reduce the
number to an appropriate qty.
9.5 Removing Limitations
a) Trial Oder
When the assessors confirm the trial order has been completed
successfully, the trial order and quantity limitation can be removed
according to SAEP-85.
Note:
Successful completion of a trial order does not demonstrate a consistent
manufacturing process over time for supporting expanding approval (e.g.,
larger sizes, higher ratings).
b) Expanding the manufacturing scope
When the manufacturing facility has shown that they have consistently
manufactured valves over time within their present approval range in
accordance with requirements with good performance, the facility can
then be assessed for the next phase (e.g., next valve size increment
and/or higher-pressure classes).
Note:
When reviewing such requests, check the number of POs, the quantity of
valves supplied, the coincident size and rating for the valves supplied, and
the period in the current approval phase.
This is to ensure the activities and supply record are sufficient for
demonstrating a consistent and repeatable manufacturing process and to
ensure some of the valves which have been supplied have entered service
and are operating successfully in our facilities.
If the activities, quantity and range of valves manufactured and supplied is
considered inadequate for moving phase, inform material supply accordingly.
When approving the next size increment (e.g., moving from NPS ≤ 12 to
12 ≤ NPS ≤ 24) it is recommended to apply a trial order quantity equal to
half that shown in the above table. This is to account for the greater
complexity and the initial performance during the trial order can normally
be judged from a smaller quantity.
© Saudi Arabian Oil Company, 2022 Page 12 of 14
Saudi Aramco: Company General Use
Document Responsibility: Valves Standards Committee SABP-L-011
Issue Date: 13 April 2022
Next Revision: 13 April 2032 Guidelines for Assessing a Valve Manufacturer
Document History
13 April 2022 Major revision. Updated to current practices and templates.
15 July 2019 Editorial revision to remove cancelled SAES-L-102.
2 February 2013 New Saudi Aramco Best Practice.
© Saudi Arabian Oil Company, 2022 Page 13 of 14
Saudi Aramco: Company General Use
Document Responsibility: Valves Standards Committee SABP-L-011
Issue Date: 13 April 2022
Next Revision: 13 April 2032 Guidelines for Assessing a Valve Manufacturer
Appendices
Note:
Each Appendix is available in native file format in the “Supplements” section of Saudi Aramco
Engineering standards.
Appendix A Technical Checklist for Screening a Valve Manufacturer SABP-L-011 A
Appendix B Technical Checklist during a Physical Assessment SABP-L-011 B
Appendix C Technical Assessment Report SABP-L-011 C
Appendix D Periodic Desk Review Report SABP-L-011 D
© Saudi Arabian Oil Company, 2022 Page 14 of 14
Saudi Aramco: Company General Use