Services · Inspection Manpower and Third-Party Services
Pre-Shipment, Source and Vendor Inspection
ONGC QAD approval Sr. No. 01 has been held since 1998, TCR's longest-held approval. The check happens on the vendor's shop floor, before the material ships rather than after it lands at site.
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In brief
TCR Engineering Services Pvt. Ltd., NABL ISO/IEC 17025:2017 accredited, Navi Mumbai, deploys API-, NACE/AMPP- and ASNT-qualified inspectors for pre-shipment, pre-dispatch, source and vendor inspection at manufacturer works across India and the GCC, and has held ONGC QAD Sr. No. 01 approval, its longest-held approval, since 1998.
What source, vendor and pre-shipment inspection is
Source and vendor inspection is the check made at the vendor's works, before material ships, rather than after it lands at site. TCR runs it, as part of its inspection manpower and third-party services, as a managed deployment of NDT-credentialled inspectors with a single point of accountability, and the samples its inspectors draw are tested in TCR's own accredited laboratory.
- The buyer: an EPC source-inspection lead or a process-plant owner.
- What the buyer expects: certified personnel and a quality-assurance discipline that survives the audit.
- What is tested, under one signature: mechanical, chemical, PMI, metallurgical, corrosion and dimensional properties of the samples drawn at the vendor's premises.
Third-Party Inspection or Source Inspection: Which Page Answers Your Question?
The two services overlap, because both put an independent TCR inspector at the vendor's works before goods ship. Third-party inspection is the buyer's programme across a whole order. Source and vendor inspection is how a material lot is sampled, marked, tested and released, and who does it. Each question is answered once, on the page named below.
| The question | Answered on |
|---|---|
| Which inspections an order needs, stage by stage | Third-party inspection |
| What the buyer receives at each stage | Third-party inspection |
| What counts as evidence, and when the inspector stops and escalates | Third-party inspection |
| What an AQL sample does and does not protect | Third-party inspection |
| What TCR is and is not accredited for as an inspector | Third-party inspection |
| How a material lot is sampled, stamped, tested and released | Source and vendor inspection |
| Who inspects: the service lines and each inspector's credential | Source and vendor inspection |
| The governing standards, approvals and client empanelments | Source and vendor inspection |
| Saudi Aramco vendor inspection categories, and HIC and SSC witness in India | Source and vendor inspection |
Scope of inspection
The scope runs from factory audit through loading supervision, covering vendor qualification and stage inspection for EPC contractors and process-plant owners, including vendor inspection for pharmaceutical original-equipment manufacturers.
The full list of inspection services, from factory audit to loading supervision, with the stage at which each is used and what the buyer receives at each, is on third-party inspection. This page sets out the procedure for inspecting and releasing a material lot, the people who do it and the approvals behind them.
The sourcing inspection follows a standardised procedure:
- The buyer names the vendor, the material and its specification (IS, BS, ASTM or other), the quantity, the tests required and any sampling plan.
- The inspection department confirms material availability with the supplier, and once available the inspection date is fixed with the supplier and the buyer.
- Suppliers' internal records and test certificates are reviewed against the approved quality plan and purchase-order requirements.
- Stage-based or final inspection is carried out, on TCR's own or in conjunction with the customer's representatives.
- Each item is marked with a unique identification number and a TCR stamp; where no sampling plan is given, a minimum of two samples plus one additional sample for a batch of ten is drawn.
- Where the vendor cuts the samples, they reach TCR's laboratory with the TCR stamp numbering and identification markings intact.
- Samples are tested at the TCR laboratory, and if any sample from a lot fails the entire lot is rejected until the vendor rectifies the deviation.
- Testing can be staged at the vendor's request and stopped once a sample has failed. A failed lot is released only if the vendor tests every bar or plate for the failed property, or offers a new lot after corrective action; a minor deviation needs the buyer's clearance, sent to TCR directly.
- Accepted material is dispatched carrying the TCR stamp and serial or test-certificate number, and the inspection report is issued with stage inspection reports and test certificates.
Service lines and personnel
Each service line is anchored to a named credential set.
| Service | Personnel anchor |
|---|---|
| Source inspection (factory and vendor premises) | CSWIP, AWS CWI, ASNT Level II, API 510/570/653 inspectors |
| Vendor qualification audit | ISO 9001 lead auditor, API Q1 lead auditor |
| Pre-shipment inspection | Material verification, dimensional, NDT-witness, document control |
| Quality audit (system audit) | ISO 9001:2015 and API Q1 lead-auditor crew |
| Material verification | PMI (XRF, OES) at the vendor premises |
| Expediting | Schedule monitoring, document chase, milestone capture |
Governing standards
Inspection is run to quality-management, welding, and material-certification standards.
| Discipline | Standard |
|---|---|
| Quality management and auditing | ISO 9001:2015, API Q1, ISO 19011:2018 |
| Welding inspection | ASME Section V, ASME Section IX, AWS D1.1, AWS D1.5, API 1104, CSWIP framework |
| Material certification | EN 10204 Type 2.2, 3.1, 3.2 |
Approvals and empanelment
TCR has held ONGC QAD Sr. No. 01 approval since 1998, its longest-held approval.
- Longest tenure: ONGC QAD Sr. No. 01, held since 1998, TCR's longest-held approval.
- Engineering and PMC: EIL, Mecon and RITES.
- Oil, gas and power: BPCL, IOCL, GAIL, ONGC, NTPC, BHEL and HPCL.
- EPC and private: Larsen and Toubro, and Reliance Industries.
- Infrastructure and defence: MMRDA, NHSRCL, CIDCO, the city-gas-distribution operators, and the defence vendor framework.
- Saudi Arabia: vendor registrations held at group level, and delivery inside the Kingdom by TCR Arabia Company Limited, the 60/40 joint venture.
The empanelment list runs across EIL, Mecon, RITES, BPCL, IOCL, GAIL, ONGC, NTPC, BHEL, HPCL, Larsen and Toubro, Reliance Industries, the Defence vendor framework, MMRDA, NHSRCL, CIDCO, and city-gas-distribution operators. Vendor registrations across the KSA owner ecosystem are held at group level, and work performed inside Saudi Arabia is delivered by TCR Arabia Company Limited, the 60/40 joint venture with GAS Arabian Services. Inspectors are deployed at manufacturer works across India and the GCC.
Saudi Aramco Vendor Inspection: the Categories TCR Arabia Is Applying For
Inside Saudi Arabia, vendor inspection for Saudi Aramco is qualified category by category under its vendor inspector qualification matrix. TCR Arabia, the group's 60/40 joint venture in Dammam, is applying for the six categories below, as at September 2026. These are applications, not approvals, and this page will say so until each one is granted.
| Category | Scope | Prerequisite | Body of knowledge |
|---|---|---|---|
| QM03 | Mechanical, general | None | ASME Section II, V and IX; ASME B16.5, B16.9, B16.20, B16.21, B31.3; MSS SP-75; AWS D1.1; SSPC |
| QM05 | Line pipe | QM03 | API 5L |
| QM07 | Valves | QM03 | API 598, API 6D, API 600, API 602; ASME B16.5, B16.34; MSS SP-25; SSPC |
| QM30 | Pressure vessels | QM03 | ASME Section VIII Divisions 1 and 2; SSPC |
| QM35 | Skid-mounted equipment, mechanical | QM03 and QM30 | Interview |
| QM36 | Skid-mounted equipment, electrical | QM01 and QM02 | Interview |
Saudi Aramco's matrix qualifies the inspector as well as the company: each category is passed by a computer-based test and an interview, and certain certificates, such as API SIFE for mechanical and valves or a CSWIP 3.1 or AWS CWI with API 570 for line pipe, waive the test. Delivery inside the Kingdom is by TCR Arabia Company Limited.
HIC and SSC Testing and Witness, in India
Line pipe, plate and fittings for sour service are qualified by hydrogen-induced cracking and sulphide stress cracking tests before they ship, and Saudi Aramco's vendor inspection matrix lists HIC and SSC testing as its own category, QM84, to NACE TM0284 and NACE TM0177. For material made in India, TCR Engineering does both halves of that work in India.
- Testing: HIC to NACE TM0284 and SSC to NACE TM0177, Methods A to D, at TCR's NABL ISO/IEC 17025:2017 accredited laboratory in Navi Mumbai, a laboratory approved by PDO for HIC and SSCC testing. The method detail is on corrosion and sour service testing.
- Witness inspection: TCR inspectors witness sample selection, marking, specimen preparation and the test at the mill or laboratory in India, and report against the purchase order and the governing NACE method.
- Why it matters to a buyer: a failed HIC or SSC result found after the pipe reaches the Kingdom costs the schedule; the same result found at the Indian mill costs a heat.
TCR Engineering does not hold a Saudi Aramco QM84 qualification; this is testing and witness capability in India, offered for orders that carry the requirement.
What Does a Pre-Shipment Inspection Check Before Goods Leave the Works?
A pre-shipment inspection, also called a pre-dispatch inspection, is the last independent check at the vendor's works before goods are packed and despatched. TCR Engineering's inspectors verify material, dimensions, documents, packing and marking against the purchase specification across India and the GCC, and the samples they draw are tested in TCR's own laboratory in Navi Mumbai.
- Material verification: grade and heat traceability against the mill test certificates, with PMI by XRF or OES at the vendor premises.
- Dimensions and workmanship: visual inspection with size measurements against the drawing and the specification.
- NDT witness: the non-destructive testing the order calls for, witnessed and recorded.
- Document control: test certificates and inspection records reviewed against the approved quality plan and the purchase-order requirements.
- Packing, marking and loading: packaging and labelling checked against the specification, and container condition, packing units and sealing checked at loading supervision.
- The outcome: a final inspection concluded as pass, fail, or pass subject to corrective action, with accepted material carrying the TCR stamp and its serial or test-certificate number.
Source and pre-shipment inspection on video
The same film, for a buyer deciding what to inspect at an Indian works before goods ship: the stages of an order, the reports each stage produces, AQL sampling and the laboratory that tests what the inspector draws.
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Frequently asked questions
What is source inspection, and where does it happen?
Source inspection is the check carried out at the vendor or manufacturer works, before the material ships rather than after it lands at site. TCR deploys API-, NACE/AMPP- and ASNT-qualified inspectors across India and the GCC.
Which credentials do the inspectors hold?
Source inspection is anchored by CSWIP, AWS CWI, ASNT Level II, and API 510, 570 and 653 inspectors, with ISO 9001 and API Q1 lead auditors for vendor qualification and PMI by XRF and OES at the vendor premises.
How is an inspection date arranged?
Once material availability is confirmed with the supplier, the inspection date is fixed with the supplier and the buyer.
What approvals does TCR hold for source inspection?
TCR has held ONGC QAD Sr. No. 01 approval since 1998, its longest-held approval, and is empanelled with EIL, Mecon, RITES, BPCL, IOCL, GAIL, NTPC, BHEL and HPCL. Vendor registrations across the KSA owner ecosystem are held at group level, and work performed inside Saudi Arabia is delivered by TCR Arabia Company Limited, the 60/40 joint venture with GAS Arabian Services.
Which Saudi Aramco vendor inspection categories is TCR Arabia applying for?
Six, as at September 2026: QM03 mechanical general, QM05 line pipe, QM07 valves, QM30 pressure vessels, QM35 skid-mounted equipment mechanical and QM36 skid-mounted equipment electrical. They are applications, not approvals. Delivery inside Saudi Arabia is by TCR Arabia Company Limited, the 60/40 joint venture in Dammam.
Can HIC and SSC testing for a Saudi Aramco order be done in India?
Yes. TCR Engineering tests HIC to NACE TM0284 and SSC to NACE TM0177, Methods A to D, at its NABL accredited laboratory in Navi Mumbai, and its inspectors witness sampling and testing at mills and laboratories in India. TCR Engineering does not hold a Saudi Aramco QM84 qualification; this is testing and witness capability in India.
Who carries out a pre-shipment inspection in India?
An independent inspector appointed by the buyer carries out a pre-shipment inspection at the vendor's works, before goods are packed and despatched. TCR Engineering deploys CSWIP, AWS CWI, ASNT Level II and API-certified inspectors for it across India and the GCC, and tests the samples they draw in its own laboratory in Navi Mumbai.
What document does a pre-shipment inspection produce?
After final inspection TCR issues an inspection report with the stage inspection reports and test certificates, and an inspection release note. Where the order calls for it, TCR endorses the manufacturer's EN 10204 Type 3.2 certificate as the inspector who witnessed the tests. Accepted material carries the TCR stamp and its serial or test-certificate number.