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Vendor Document Review

Vendor document review that rechecks each old comment on each resubmission and finds what the supplier changed without saying, before an engineer signs a return code.

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Follow one drawing on its third pass ↓
The problem

Vendor document review breaks when closed is taken on trust

A supplier's comment sheet marks the old comments closed. On a third cycle the engineer checks the new items and rarely re-reads all the old ones, so a blank row or a hold that never cleared slips through. The revision block says comments incorporated, and says nothing about the nozzle that moved.

Piping, civil and instruments keep designing on the last revision they saw. A comment with no clause behind it starts one more cycle and an argument with the supplier. Late documents pile up, and nobody can see which one is holding up which piece of engineering.

Built forDiscipline engineersLead engineersDocument controllersSupplier document coordinators

The Problem Today

Suppliers mark comments closed and change drawings without a note, and engineers cannot re-read it all.

245K
review hours in one sample project, at an assumed 2 hours a pass our estimate

Checked by hand today

  • Drawings
  • Datasheets
  • Procedures
  • Comments
  • Late documents hideNobody sees what each late document holds up
  • Comments with no clauseAn opinion starts one more cycle and an argument

The Solution

  1. Checked at the doorTitle block, tag, order, revision and stamp read before an engineer does
  2. Old comments recheckedEach comment is found on the new revision, closed or not, with the place
  3. Undeclared changes foundRevisions compared, then traced to the documents that used the old value
  4. Comments that cite a clauseRequirement comments go back; preferences only if an engineer keeps them

Built-in controls

  • Lead opens the evidence before signing
  • Closures accepted by a person, on a stated sample
  • Fabrication holds until a revision is accepted

What You Get

Engineers judge findings, not stacks, and each discipline designs on what is really being built.

  • One document, one rallyWho held it, for how long, and each comment across cycles
  • Late documents rankedBy what waits on each one, with a chase note drafted
  • A file for each returnComment sheet and audit evidence, ready to download
One drawing, third pass

A vendor document review where Rev C says all 17 comments are closed

A general arrangement for a sales gas compressor comes back for the third time. Its comment sheet says every comment is closed, and the review clock reads day 1 of 14. Here is the reviewer's morning, on the working screens, up to the point where other disciplines have to answer.

demoSample data throughout: the project, the compressor, its supplier, the reviewers and all counts.

  1. 01On arrival

    Three passes, 93 days, and a sheet that says 17 of 17 closed

    Mechanical reviewer

    The rally draws the document as an exchange across a net: supplier above, our side below, time left to right. Rev A drew 11 comments, Rev B answered 9 of them and drew 6 more, and Rev C says all 17 are closed. The supplier has held it 68 days in all, our side 25. Every strand reads says closed.

  2. 0202:14

    Overnight: 15 really closed, 2 not, and a nozzle that moved with no note

    Closure checker and the other agents

    Before anyone opened the drawing, the agents read the comment sheet, rechecked the 7 comments closed at Rev B, checked the 10 carried into Rev C and compared Rev C with Rev B for anything not declared. The result: C-07 and C-14 are not closed, and nozzle N2 moved 150 mm with no note.

  3. 03Morning

    N2 at X 3,630 now, and the stress isometric still has it at X 3,480

    Mechanical reviewer

    Laid over each other, Rev B and Rev C show nozzle N2 sitting 150 mm toward the drive end, and the revision block lists none of it. The lube oil console is 40 mm wider, and Note 12 is reworded. Meanwhile the stress isometric issued for review still places N2 where it was. The agent does not judge the loads.

  4. 04Morning

    C-07 says closed, see table, and the N2 row in that table is blank

    Mechanical reviewer

    Each comment shows three things side by side: what was raised and the clause behind it, what the supplier says, and what the new revision shows. On comment C-07, the nozzle load table has a row for N1, but N2's row is empty, and N2 is the nozzle pipe stress depends on. That finding belongs with the piping stress group.

  5. 05Morning

    HOLD 3 is still on the sheet beside the seal gas vent

    Mechanical reviewer

    C-14 asked for the seal gas vent connection size by Rev C. The sheet still carries HOLD 3, and the size still reads later. The agent is 99% sure on the location, and she has two choices: agree, or disagree and send it to the lead engineer. She rules on the evidence in front of her.

  6. 0609:12 to 09:18

    Three sampled closures opened, and the other 12 accepted on that sample

    Mechanical reviewer

    The agents confirmed the rest as closed. She opens the three drawn for her, C-04, C-08 and C-13, reads each against the drawing, then accepts the other 12 in one recorded act. The screen says plainly that a person accepts them on that sample. Confidence figures are labeled sample data.

  7. 07Morning

    Four comments with a clause go back, and two opinions stay behind

    Comment drafter, for the reviewer

    Each requirement comment cites its clause: restore N2 or declare the move and get written agreement, confirm the console anchor pattern, list every change in the revision block, confirm thermal growth at the final nozzle. Two preference comments have no clause, so they are held back unless she keeps them with a reason.

  8. 08Morning

    Code 3 waits until piping, civil and instruments have answered

    Mechanical reviewer

    She picks Code 3, returned: revise and resubmit, do not fabricate to this revision. The proposal will not go to the lead engineer yet. Piping stress, civil and instruments must answer first, and five findings need a ruling. The return code cannot run ahead of the people whose work the nozzle and the console touch.

Three cycles of one general arrangement, and who held it

The supplier held the drawing 68 days and our side 25. Each clock runs 14 calendar days.

RevisionHeld beforeWhat came back
Rev A, first issueNoneCode 3, 11 comments
Rev BSupplier 25 days, 11 lateAnswers 9 of 11; Code 3, 6 more comments
Rev CSupplier 43 days, 29 lateComment sheet says all 17 closed
Overnight checkOur side, day 1 of 1415 confirmed, 2 not closed, 3 changes undeclared

demoSample data, from the working solution.

Around the rally

Requirements lists, return codes, the door and what is late

Screens the document controller, the lead engineer and the auditor work from across 186 purchase orders. Open one to read it full size.

Requirements lists52,400 documents across 186 purchase orders, by state: closed, filed, final revision to come, fabrication on hold, in review, overdue.
Our side of the net4,128 documents in review by discipline, 428 past the clock, and what the agents found in the last 90 days, labeled sample data.
A signed return, ready to issueAnother document, signed Code 2 by the lead engineer: the draft transmittal, the comment going back and the fabrication line, waiting for document control.
What late documents hold up2,514 overdue, and the 318 that block someone else's engineering, each with what waits on it and a chase note to read.
First checks at the doorTitle block, tag, order, revision and stamp read on arrival. A file the agents cannot open is held, and the document controller decides.
Audit trailAgents, our people and the supplier on one trail, newest first, with each sampled closure the reviewer opened.
Clocks and return codesClosures an engineer must open, the confidence line, both clocks and the sample size. The return code legend is a sample; your project loads its own.

demoSample data, from the working solution.

What the overnight check found that the comment sheet did not say

A load table with one row empty

N1 has its nozzle loads. N2, the one pipe stress needs, has none.

A hold left on the drawing

HOLD 3 beside the seal gas vent, with the size still reading later.

A nozzle moved 150 mm

Not in the revision block, and the stress isometric still uses the old spot.

A console 40 mm wider

The foundation drawing was set for the old width.

demoSample data, from the working solution.

Reviewer proposes, lead engineer signs, document control issues

The person who proposes a code cannot sign it, and the lead must open the evidence himself.

Discipline reviewer
Sees
The rally, each comment's three-part evidence and the undeclared changes
Signs
Rules on findings, opens sampled closures, proposes the return code
Lead engineer
Sees
Each piece of evidence behind the proposal, opened one by one
Signs
Signs the code or sends it back
Document controller
Sees
The door, the clocks and the late list
Signs
Issues the transmittal and proposes settings
Supplier document coordinator
Sees
Only his own company's returns and clock
Signs
Answers comments, declares changes, sends the next revision
Internal auditor
Sees
The whole trail
Signs
Nothing; reads each entry and exports the file
The agents

Seven agents check every revision, and none of them sets a code

They read, compare and draft. Engineers rule.

Register keeper

Keeps the requirements lists, dates and who holds each document.

  • Never changes a date or a line
First checker

Reads title block, sequence, stamp and file on arrival.

  • Never returns a file itself
  • Holds what it cannot open
Comment drafter

Drafts comments with the clause behind each one.

  • Never sends
  • No clause means preference
Closure checker

Checks each old comment against the new revision.

  • Never trusts a supplier's status
  • Below the line, asks an engineer
Change finder

Compares each revision with the last for anything not declared.

  • Never judges a change
Knock-on tracer

Finds who relied on the old value.

  • Never judges pipe stress
Clock keeper

Watches who holds each document and drafts chase notes.

  • Never contacts a supplier

What stays with the engineers and document control

Whether a comment is closedBelow the confidence line it goes to an engineer, and the rest are accepted by a person on a stated sample.
What a moved nozzle does to the pipingThe agent finds who relied on the old spot. The stress engineer re-runs the loads.
The return codeThe reviewer proposes, the lead opens the evidence and signs. A code cannot ignore a standing undeclared change.
Anything sent to a supplierDocument control issues each transmittal. The agents draft chase notes and never send them.

What project engineers ask about vendor document review

What is vendor document review?

Vendor document review is checking the drawings, datasheets, procedures and certificates a supplier owes on a capital project, returning comments and a code, and repeating until accepted. This solution rechecks each old comment on each resubmission, finds undeclared changes, drafts comments that cite a clause, and leaves rulings and codes to engineers.

How does it work with the VDRL?

The vendor data requirements list, or VDRL, is where each purchase order's documents, due dates and review class live. The register keeper tracks every line against it, so each document shows who holds it, for how long, and what waits on it.

Does it follow our vendor document review procedure?

Your procedure stays in charge: your return codes, clocks and roles are loaded, and the legend on screen is a sample until you load yours. Reviewers propose, a lead engineer signs, and document control issues, with each step on the audit trail.

Can it replace a vendor document review checklist?

It runs the checks a checklist asks for on every file: title block, tag, order, revision and stamp at the door, then each old comment against the new revision. The reviewer still judges the engineering, with the evidence for each item side by side.

What happens when a supplier changes something without saying so?

Each revision is compared with the last. A change missing from the revision block is listed with both values, and the knock-on tracer finds which other documents relied on the old value and who owns them. The agent never judges whether the change is acceptable.

How do return codes and fabrication holds work?

A code must fit the findings. Accepted with comments is refused while an undeclared change that touches other work stands. Returned, or filed for information, places a fabrication hold, and the hold clears only when a revision is accepted.

What does the supplier see?

Only their own documents: each return, its comments with the clause behind each, and their clock. They answer, declare changes and send the next revision. The agents' working stays on our side.

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