Lifecycle Playbooks
Stage 04 · Approved vendor list creation / vendor audit
Vendor Qualification & Approval
Qualification is evidence assembly: certifications, type tests, quality system, manufacturing capability and documentation discipline. This playbook lists what to demand and how to verify it before a vendor reaches your AVL.
For: Quality and procurement teams qualifying a new valve source
You are here if
- A project needs a second source and the AVL has nobody for the class
- The incumbent's lead time or pricing forces a qualification sprint
- An audit is due and nobody has assembled the vendor's evidence pack
Where this stage goes wrong
- Certificates accepted at face value without scope checks (a certificate for one class does not cover another)
- No witnessed test before first order - the first FAT becomes the qualification
- Documentation capability untested until the first dossier arrives late and wrong
The Playbook
- 1Define the qualification scopeValve types, size/class ranges, materials and standards the vendor is being qualified FOR - qualification is scoped, not general.
- 2Collect the evidence packQMS certification, product certifications and licences, type-test reports (fire-safe, fugitive emissions, cryogenic as applicable) and sample MTC/dossier.
- 3Audit or assess the worksManufacturing route, testing capability, calibration and material traceability - on site or via a structured remote assessment.
- 4Run a witnessed trial inspectionA first-article or trial order with witnessed FAT proves the quality system does what the certificates claim.
- 5Approve with a defined scopeEnter the AVL with explicit type/class/material boundaries and a re-qualification interval.
Stage deliverables
Vendor evidence packQualification audit reportScoped AVL entry
Tools for this stage
Reviewed by Process Engineering, Vajra Industrial SolutionsDiscipline: Valve Service SpecificationLast reviewed: 20 June 2026
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