Quality Control System

In conditions of market economy one of the most effective methods of increase of metal products competitiveness is implementation of the integrated quality, ecology and labour safety control system at Ukrainian metallurgical enterprises. It is a mortgage of economic stability and authority of the metallurgical enterprises that allows associate their trade marks with high quality and safety of products.

Implementation of international standards — is a «gold rule» Donetsk Metallurgical Plant follows to and one of basic direction of it’s work.

Since January 2000, the Quality Control System has been successfully employed by DMP to meet the EN ISO 9002:1994 Standard requirements developed by the TÜV NORD Inspectorate Agency.

In 2002, the existing quality control system was completely modernized to fall within the latest standards approved by the International Standardization Organization, where a component-based approach of the Quality Control System was replaced with a so-called «process approach», and transformed into the Quality Management System (SMK). On March 20, 2003 an official ceremony was held where DMP was handed over with a certificate to confirm that its Quality Management System meets the requirements of ISO 9001:2000 Standard developed by the TÜV NORD Certification Agency.

A key reason for putting the SMK System into service was a company’s statement made regarding its quality control policy to be focused on a complete covering the clients’ requirements to the quality of the products.

Under the severe price and quality competition conditions the company is facing, its performance is built on a «zero defect» approach. The customer is considered and recognized as both the key figure and purpose of activity by every company’s employee. A system-based approach in the quality management the existing SMK System is built upon allows achievement of a quality level at every stage of the production processes, i.e. from processing of the requests to come and agreements to be concluded till shipment of the finished products.

To put the Quality Management System into service by the management staff clearly written instructions (i.e. standards and directives) were developed and approved for their use so that each employee will be able to exercise his work in compliance with the instructions to do his job first time right as per the regulations currently in force to result in a proper quality of the products at every stage of the production processes.

The responsibility for planning, of the System’s performance, its commissioning and maintenance rests with the Quality Control Director being also appointed as an authorized quality control company’s senior officer.

Control over performance of the Quality Management System is exercised by means of special-purpose audits the company departments are exposed to on a regular basis. Outcomes of the company’s performance are discussed at the quality progress meetings held on a monthly and quarterly basis. Each of the company’s departments is exposed to monthly audits intended to check if the technological requirements have been met. On a quarterly basis, the General Manager conducts a check-up and analysis of the data provided by the System. For the product quality reference feedback from the DMP customers, the latter are interviewed by completing special questionnaire forms. In the future, a quality management approach is planned to be applied by the company on a total basis.

Precise work of the company in the direction of providing of quality on all stages of production has allowed The «Donetsk Metallurgical Plant» Open Joint Stock Company to pass repeated certification of a quality management system in March, 2006 in accordance to requirements ISO 9001:2000 and to get positive estimation of The TÜV CERT Certification Body of TÜV NORD CERT GmbH & Co. KG (Certificate Registration No. 78 100 0786). It certifies that The «Donetsk Metallurgical Plant» Public Joint Stock Company has established and applies a quality management system for development, production and sale of sections, shapes, plates; hot rolled merchant bars in carbon, structural and alloyed steel grades. The certificate is valid until 2009-01-31.

«Donetskstal Iron and Steel Works» Closed Joint-Stock company has become the first enterprise of the branch which has introduced and has certificated the integrated control system of quality, ecology and a labour safety according to requirements of the international standards ISO 9001: 2000, ISO 14001: 2004, OHSAS 18001: 1999.

On May, 7th, 2007 representatives of certified body TÜV NORD СЕRТ have handed over to the company administration certificates of conformity.

The integrated system extends on designing, manufacture and realization of pig-iron, steel, electrowelded pipes and metal furniture, concrete products; selling commodity hot-rolled preparations, high-quality, rolled plate and bar products from the carbonaceous constructional and alloyed marks of steel.

Presence of certificates of conformity is a guarantee of that except for qualitative competitive production of «Donetskstal Iron and Steel Works» Joint-Stock Company offers the consumer greater — industrial safety, that is safety of productions for an environment and the personnel. Such recognition speaks that at the enterprise the control system of industrial safety is introduced which is way of thinking, behaviour and real actions of the personnel of the enterprise, directed on maintenance of quality of production, ecology and labour safety.

It has become one more evidence of correctness of the course chosen by the enterprise. This course is aimed at achievement of the high quality standards of production. In fact qualitative production is not only a basis of selling and care of consumers. For workers of the plant it is also stable social guarantees and new social programs.

The quality of products released by our company has been confirmed by certificates of the international societies on sheep classification: The «DONETSKSTAL Iron and Steel Works» Closed Joint Stock Company has been recognized by English Lloyd’s Register as a producer of steel and steel semi-products — slabs and cast billets of ordinary and high strength carbon, carbon-and-manganese grades of steel; and by German Lloyd — as a producer of slabs of sheep structural ordinary strength grades of steel GL-A and GL-B in accordance with German Lloyd’s Code.

A high quality of the products allowed the company to successfully certify its shipbuilding-purposed steel with the following Quality Certification Agencies: Russia Marine Register and Lloyd’s Register of England. Apart from the above, this type of steel was for the first time certified as meeting requirements of Lloyd’s Register of Germany, «Veritas» Bureau in France, and «Det Norske Veritas» in Norway.

Besides that in June, 2005 certification of blocks of concrete hollow ordinary marks M50 and M75 let out by building section by the plant was led according to DSTU B.V 2.7-7-94 Standard of Ukraine and UkrSEPRO System. Without such certificates letting out of production mentioned above is impossible because it is included into the list of products that are to be certified in Ukraine.

The Quality Management System enabled the company to make a positive step towards a client-oriented approach, i.e. to launch development of target product shipments for a particular customer to meet the requirements applied to the similar products by the market.

Currently, training of the staff for the product quality management basics is in progress at the company. In addition, the staff dealing with the operation and modernization of the Quality Management System shall be regularly trained at the training centres (e.g. TÜV NORD, BUREAU VERITAS).

Quality control for the finished products and raw materials is exercised by DMP’s Central Quality Analysis Laboratory equipped in conformity with the requirements of the EN 45001 European Standard, DSTU 3412-96 Standard of Ukraine and UkrSEPRO System «Requirements to Test Laboratories and How To Certify Them.» A facility was established at the Central Analysis Laboratory, allowing for making a database on all steel product quality variables controlled. The control procedures are exercised as per techniques of ASTM and DIN and those of National Standards.

Established in 2000, a branch of the Donetsk Technical University’s (DonNTU) Quality Control Department is currently continuing its successful activity. On an agreement basis, our company provides adequate conditions for the field and graduation practice studies intended for the DonNTU’s Quality Control and Certification students and takes part in the research work focused on a quality control matter. The above DonNTU Department’s Branch supports DMP with services in the quality control system development and putting it into service.

The quality-oriented policy of the company gains its further growth and development via effective mechanisms of logistics, use of advanced production processes, as well as employment of instrumentation certified and of a high-skilled staff involved in quality control for the raw material and finished products.

Putting that approach into life will make a stable foundation for better company’s standing at the market to finally result in a better wealth of its employees, along with the production and sales improvements.