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Five services — one contractor

From factory selection to shipment. You can start at any stage: we also work on contracts you have already signed and on your approved vendor list.

01

Factory selection and market analysis

The task is to narrow dozens of candidates down to 3–5 factories that can be trusted with the order, and to compare prices and lead times against the same specification.

  • One RFQ to all factories, so quotes compare like for like
  • Factory or trader: we check whether there is real in-house production and where the subcontracting goes
  • Equivalents of Western brands for items traditionally bought in Europe or the USA
  • Short list with prices, lead times and risks — the decision always stays with you
Welding a vessel shell in the shop
Welding a vessel shell in the shop
02

Supplier audit

Before the advance payment goes out, our engineer spends one or two days at the factory and answers one question: is it really a factory, and can it deliver your order on your schedule?

  • Machine tools, heat-treatment furnaces and test rigs — do they exist and do they work
  • Welders with valid qualifications and a functioning QC department
  • Nameplates on products in the shop instead of a reference list on paper
  • Valid certificates: ISO, API, ASME and your project requirements
  • Financial health, current workload, subcontracting
Vessel in the PWHT furnace
Vessel in the PWHT furnace
03

Inspection and expediting

We do not turn up once at the end to look at the finished product. An inspection and test plan is agreed with the factory in advance, and between the points our specialist stays on site and checks plan against fact every week.

Inspection

  • Incoming material: heat certificates matched to the metal, instrument check (PMI)
  • Welding and weld inspection: radiography and ultrasonics
  • Heat treatment and mechanical testing
  • Hydrotesting witnessed in person
  • Painting: thickness gauge before and after
  • Completeness, marking, packing

Expediting

  • Schedule broken down into stages, plan against fact every week
  • Not “how is it going” but “show me”: the casting order placed, the body on the machine
  • The riskiest stage is the first one: castings and forgings take 2–3 months to obtain
  • A forecast months ahead, not on shipping day

Every visit — a photo report the same day. A non-conformance found is recorded in an NCR: the factory must rectify it and demonstrate the rectification.

Piping spool: weld dimensions
Piping spool: weld dimensions
04

Pre-shipment inspection and loading

The last point where a mistake can still be fixed cheaply. Once the cargo is handed to the carrier, any problem means claims, return logistics and months.

  • Quantity and completeness against the packing list
  • Quality: appearance, coating, damage
  • Packing: flange covers, securing, preservation
  • Container loading check, stowage and securing, seal number in the documents
  • Photo and video record of loading, report the same day
Column wrapped and netted for transport
Column wrapped and netted for transport
05

Documents and legalisation

Equipment without the right set of documents will not clear customs and will not be accepted on site. We assemble and cross-check the package while still at the factory.

  • Data books and final documentation (MDR)
  • Material test certificates (MTC) matched to the metal of the product
  • Inspection point reports and acceptance records
  • Invoice, packing list, certificate of origin — cross-checked before shipment
  • Russian · English · Chinese: translation of technical and commercial documents
PWHT: temperature chart recorder
PWHT: temperature chart recorder

How the process works

Enquiry
Selection
Contract
Production (quality gate)
Documents
Shipment

Each stage has an owner, a deadline and a completion criterion. An open NCR at the gate blocks shipment.

What you receive every week

  • Photo report the same day for every visit and every day on site
  • Weekly plan versus actual, delay forecast and escalations
  • Test reports and comments for every ITP point
  • Non-conformance register with close-out control
  • Pre-shipment package: PSI and CLC reports, packing and loading photos

How we report

Real documents, names withheld

Pages from our own reports: the same forms your team will receive. Factory, client and tag numbers are replaced.

Sample inspection report
PDF · 756 KB
Inspection report — page 1
Inspection report — page 1Visit type, disposition, ITP points inspected, attendees
Inspection report — photo pages
Inspection report — photo pagesEvery visit documented with photos and captions
Expediting report — delivery status
Expediting report — delivery statusItem by item: plan versus actual, remaining work, forecast

Full sample report is available as a PDF. Client formats are used where the client has its own.

Questions and answers

What EPC procurement teams ask us first

How quickly can you get an inspector to a factory?

Within 48 hours at any factory in China. Our engineers are based in Shanghai and travel to the plant; on long orders the inspector stays resident at the factory rather than visiting for hold points only.

We have already signed the contract with the factory. Can you still step in?

Yes, at any stage. On a signed contract we put an inspector and an expediter on site, agree the inspection and test plan with the factory and run the order through to shipment. Two of the three cases on this site started that way.

Do you work to our ITP and in our report format?

Yes. We cover every hold and witness point of your ITP and add presence between the points. We report in your format if you have one; otherwise in ours: a photo report the same day, weekly plan versus actual, a non-conformance register with close-out control.

What happens when a non-conformance is found?

It is recorded in an NCR the same day, with photos and the requirement it breaches. The factory must rectify it and demonstrate the rectification; an open NCR at the quality gate blocks shipment.

What exactly do we receive, and how often?

A photo report for every visit and every day on site; a weekly plan-versus-actual with a delay forecast and escalations; test reports and comments for every ITP point; the NCR register; and before shipment — PSI and container loading reports with packing and loading photos.

How do you charge?

Open-book, by man-days: an agreed day rate per specialist plus documented travel. We do not sell equipment and take no mark-up on it, so our interest is the same as yours — the order shipped on time and accepted.

Which equipment and which standards do you cover?

Vessels, columns and reactors; heat exchangers, air coolers and cold boxes; isolation and control valves; pipes, fittings and flanges; pumps and compressors; modules and steel structures; instrumentation and electrical equipment — to ASME, API, EN and GOST codes and to your project specifications.

Can you also find and qualify the factory?

Yes. One RFQ to all candidates so quotes compare like for like, a factory-or-trader check with real in-house production confirmed, and a short list with prices, lead times and risks. The decision always stays with you.

In which languages do you work, and do you handle documents?

Our engineers speak to the factory in Chinese and report to you in English; Russian on request. We assemble and cross-check data books, material certificates, inspection records and export paperwork while still at the factory, and translate technical and commercial documents.

Next step

Ready to discuss your project

Send us your equipment list and project schedule — we will return a proposal: inspection and expediting plan, team composition and man-day rates.

Send us your equipment listbox@glsservice.cnEquipment list template
XLSX · 26 KB
Send us your equipment list