Air Products South Africa’s Verification and Repair Body accreditation for cryogenic and liquid carbon dioxide (CO2) by the South African National Accreditation System (SANAS) is a turning point in terms of the local capability and compliance of flowmeters in South Africa.
The accreditation is the result of a demand for legal metrology in a high-risk, precision-driven field. The Verification and Repair Body accreditation process was a complex journey with a lot to learn and has sharpened the team’s understanding of the requirements. The following key achievements were valuable and obtained:
- Legal traceability
- Reduced fragmentation
- Improved local capability
- Technical excellence
Dual Accreditation: Verification and Repair
According to Gift Nyambe, the General Manager for Technical, the accreditation was built on three critical pillars, which empowers Air Products South Africa to deliver the verification and repair service. These pillars includes technical astuteness, legal compliance and system efficiency, and our customers will be able to benefit from this compliant and integrated solution.
The process included the Master Meter approval by the National Regulator for Compulsory Specifications (NRCS), certification by the verification officer, and final accreditation by SANAS.
Regulatory compliance and a commercial advantage
“The accreditation is not only an indication of the compliance to regulation, but it also holds a commercial advantage to customers. This is largely due to the metering accuracy and traceability, a reduced risk of not conforming to regulation and a vast improvement in the service turnaround times and cost efficiencies as a result of our in-house capability and resources”, says Nyambe.
Nyambe further comments: “Teamwork and tenacity were critical in the process with a dedicated team that had to drive the project planning, documentation and audits. The Technical team in collaboration with the Bulk Distribution team, were integral in obtaining the accreditation. Besides a vision, metrological rigour was essential as the systems has to be traceable to certified weighbridge standards. Lastly, the team had to ensure that a robust quality infrastructure was implemented and aligned with SANAS’ quality management system (QMS) requirements. The team describes the accreditation journey not only as technically fulfilling, but as transformational”.
Strategic investment
With the accreditation milestone, Air Products South Africa uplifted more than systems – it empowered people. The newly certified Verification Officer and Repairer now hold nationally recognised qualifications, which builds sustainable metrology expertise within South Africa.
Nyambe concludes: “Earlier this year, Air Products South Africa also obtained its ISO/IEC 17025:2017 accreditation for testing and calibration in laboratories. These accreditations strategically differentiates the company from competitors in the market and assures our customers of superior service and quality products”.