Back to basics: Putting backing rings to the test

Henry Ford, famous American industrialist, innovator, and business magnate once said: “quality means doing it right when no one is looking”.

These words, which remain as relevant as ever, are the driving force for Advanced Piping Systems’ new inspection, verification, and testing process.

Developed by our Quality Control Officer, David Evans, who has more than 30 years of experience in manufacturing and fabrication, this process ensures our imported products are compliant with not only country standards — but our own rigorous standards too.

The first product David put to the test through our new process were some imported galvanised-steel backing rings sourced from a new overseas supplier.

As an essential component of any poly pipe system, we were able to ensure that the backing rings were of a consistent and measurable quality, with the required strength for use.

The first step of the inspection, verification, and testing process involved requesting a trial quantity of the galvanised-steel backing rings from our supplier, along with its material certificate which stated the composition of the product.

“Once I received the sample batch of rings and their certificates, the first thing I did was check the physical dimensions of the product, then ensured that it was coded and marked correctly,” David said.

Then, once the backing ring’s physical appearance had been inspected, a sample of the rings along with material certificates were sent to an independent verifier to check the material composition.

David was pleased to learn that the selected backing rings all passed the verification process – which meant the team could undertake the third, and final step of the process: developing batch testing for subsequent purchase orders.

Batch testing is used to identify whether the received batch of backing rings are of an acceptable quality to be used for fabrication.

“I developed an Acceptable Quantity Level (AQL) and then batch tested a certain quantity of these backing rings to meet that AQL,” David said.

“We inspect for several physical attributes, things like either the dimension across the ring, the number of holes, diameter of the holes, thickness, and the like.”

The backing rings passed the final step of the process, providing Advanced Piping Systems with a higher level of confidence in the quality of the product – and our new supplier. In the coming months, David will be rolling out the inspection, verification, and testing process on a range of stainless-steel backing rings.

If you’d like to learn more about Advanced Piping Systems’ quality assurance processes – or place an order for backing rings – contact our knowledgeable and experienced customer service team today.