Many of the products we use daily, such as pumping units, sucker rods, and rod pumps, are governed by standards developed by the American Petroleum Institute (API). The product specifications in these standards help ensure compatibility of components across the industry and set a minimum required level of performance and quality for these products.
Additionally, the API Monogram Program licenses facilities that demonstrate their capability to manufacture these products. An initial audit and ongoing surveillance audits help ensure that each licensed facility is maintaining the capabilities and quality program necessary to manufacture these products according to API standards. Facilities that hold an API Monogram license are authorized by API to apply the API Monogram to products that meet the relevant API standard. However, I often encounter manufacturers that skip this step of marking their products with the Monogram.
Requiring the Monogram
My company has been adding a requirement to many of our contracts that our suppliers provide products that can be Monogrammed with the API Monogram. I use the phrase, "products that can be Monogrammed," because we also source specialty products from some of these manufacturers that fall outside the product's API standard. Maybe there is a special metallurgy or coating that is used; maybe the component has a unique geometry that is not described in the standard. These products of course cannot be Monogrammed, but we do require they come from a facility with a Monogram license.
We require the Monogram for several reasons. Number one is component traceability. Whenever a product is Monogrammed, the manufacturer must also apply its license number to the product. This ensures that we can identify not only the company that made a product, but the specific facility it came from (API licenses are site-specific). In the event a component fails and is deemed a manufacturing defect, we know exactly who to engage with to understand how that defect occurred and ensure the proper corrective actions are put in place to prevent it from happening again.
Another reason for requiring all products be Monogrammed or come from a facility with a Monogram license is that we ensure API is auditing that facility annually. Now, I will admit that many API auditors are not technical experts in the products being manufactured in a facility they are auditing. It is not practical to have specialized auditors for each product specification given the diversity of products and geographic locations of these facilities. We recognize that an API audit may not be as in-depth as an audit we perform ourselves, but not everyone has a Ph.D. metallurgist, certified welding inspector, and machining specialist in the office down the hall from them. An API auditor's greatest strength is in evaluating a manufacturer's quality program. It's not the best audit I can ask for, but it is someone setting foot in the facility and laying eyes on their processes on a regular basis.
The last point, and the least important one given the quality of vendors we work with, is that applying the Monogram gives the end user additional recourse in case a product fails due to a manufacturing defect and the manufacturer does not warranty the product as expected. API has a process where nonconforming product can be reported and investigated by API. Even if a product wasn't Monogrammed, but came from an API-licensed facility and was supposed to meet the requirements of an API standard, that same reporting process can be used. Not Monogramming a product does not give a company an excuse to ship bad product and avoid API oversight. Though this last resort course of action exists, I have never had reason to go this route with any of my suppliers.
When The Monogram Is Missing
Before we started adding these Monogram requirements, I saw many products where applying the Monogram was the standard; pumping units are a good example of this. I have rarely seen a pumping unit delivered without the API Monogram, except for the occasional gearbox that was manufactured with non-API gears. However, this is not the default for many other products I deal with. Some sucker rod manufacturers Monogram every rod that meets API 11B, others do not. Rod pump components stand out as hardly ever receiving a Monogram, even though the facility is licensed to apply it and promotes themselves as an API-licensed manufacturer. Some manufacturers have actively pushed back against the idea of the Monogram being the default.
Why is this the case? Why go to all the effort of applying for and maintaining an API license, but never apply the Monogram to your product? The manufacturing and quality requirements for a product are defined by the product specification and API Q1, not the Monogram Program. Forgoing the Monogram mark on a product covered by an API license does not remove any requirements called out in the relevant production specification and Q1, so it doesn't make it easier or cheaper to manufacture the product and deliver it to customers.
Handling Nonconformances
There is one additional requirement added by the Monogram Program requirements related to nonconforming product that escapes a facility. When an API licensee becomes aware of such an issue with nonconforming product, the Monogram program requires that API be notified:
A Licensee agrees to notify API in a timely manner if it has evidence or information which indicates that its products displaying the API Monogram do not comply with API’s requirements and agrees to take action immediately in order to bring the product into full compliance. If a Licensee’s products in the marketplace do not comply with API’s requirements, Licensee agrees to take whatever corrective action that is deemed necessary by API to protect the public or API in a timeframe specified by API.
Pretty straightforward, right? This requirement is not that different from the requirements in API Q1 for how nonconforming product, with or without the Monogram, must be handled when it is delivered to a customer.1 These requirements include documenting the nonconformity, determining its root cause, and taking actions necessary to correct it (e.g., rework, replacement, use as-is, etc.). The Q1 standard also has requirements for notification of customers:
The organization shall notify customers of product not conforming to DAC or contract requirements, that has been delivered. The organization shall maintain records of such notifications (see 4.5).2
In essence, the requirements for an API licensee regarding nonconforming product delivery are nearly identical for products with and without the Monogram. Manufacturers do not turn off their quality system and obligations under Q1 just because they are not applying the Monogram to a product.
What's The Big Deal?
But reporting nonconformities to API must bring a lot of headaches with it, right? Why should it? All manufacturers will have a nonconformity at some point; no organization operates flawlessly. An important part of a good quality system is identifying such issues and putting the proper corrective actions in place. I think that is all API is expecting of their licensees. Evidence of a licensee detecting, managing, and reporting their nonconformances is a sign of a manufacturer doing things the right way. This is not an inherently negative thing.
API has similar expectations related to nonconformances that are observed during an audit. API's Audit Response Instructions detail the components required to address an audit nonconformance: correction of the nonconformance, a root cause analysis, implementation of corrective actions, and evidence of completion of these items. In cases where nonconforming product was delivered to a customer, the evidence portion must include the notification sent to the affected customers. Why would anyone expect a product nonconformance to be dealt with any differently?
So, why are so many products manufactured by API licensees missing the mark? They aren't saving on manufacturing costs or required inspection efforts. Their nonconformance requirements do not materially change. What am I missing here, other than the API Monogram on the products we use? Let me know your thoughts.
