Shop Inspection, Expediting,
& Tracking Services

Expediting is a function of Procurement that is sometimes perceived as unnecessary and thereby neglected when in reality it is an essential part of any capital procurement effort. Many times a project’s completion schedule is missed because a critical piece of equipment does not arrive as scheduled. If the Owner agreed to supply a contractor with materials or equipment by a certain date and does not, the contractor has grounds for extra compensation if this disrupts his execution plans and adds to his costs.

All purchase orders and contracts should be expedited on a regular basis to ensure on-time delivery of an acceptable quality product. The level of expediting required for a specific purchase order or contract should be decided upon award and adjusted as required based on the supplier’s performance and the importance of delivery.

The following are expediting functions that are required to ensure successful on-time completion of a capital project:

• Constant contact with the vendors and suppliers to ensure the
  on-time delivery of the purchased materials and equipment.
• · Shop Inspections as required to verify progress.
• · Expediting the submittal of vendor data and drawings as required to complete detailed design and engineering.
• · Preparing and distributing equipment and material status reports to project personnel.
• · Furnishing Owner and Project Personnel with information regarding a vendor’s inability to perform for such reasons as labor problems, supply problems, shutdowns, or other situations that could affect a vendor’s ability to comply with the terms of the purchase order.
• · Developing practical and economical methods of improving
  schedules as required to support the overall completion of the
  project.
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• The following are typical activities completed while expediting a capital project’s needs:
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• · Establishing an expediting file for each purchase order while
  reviewing and analyzing all of its provisions.
• · Expediting written purchase order acknowledgements and written schedule commitments.
• · Meeting with project management to compare real “Field Need Dates” with scheduled delivery dates.
• · Issuing material and equipment status reports to keep project
  personnel informed of current scheduled delivery dates.
• · Determining the supplier’s planned method of delivering the
  products, i.e. from present stock, special factory order, fabricating, lower-tier purchase, etc.
• · Obtaining supplier’s internal control numbers and lower-tier
  purchase order numbers as required to support the monitoring
  process.
• · Constantly confirming promised data submission dates and delivery dates.
• · Determining shipping points.
• · Performing shop inspections and audits as required to verify
  progress.
• · Resolving overage, shortage, and damage claims.