Quality is about more than manufacturing a product to the correct specification. It is also about ensuring that every product is correctly identified, verified and released in accordance with project requirements.
During the manufacture of two tank liners for the Heineken Pretoria project, SBS Tanks’ final Quality Control process identified a discrepancy just before dispatch.
The liners had been correctly manufactured to the required ST11/09 specification but were physically labelled as ST10/09.
The discrepancy was immediately identified, and both liners were isolated before they could leave the manufacturing facility.
To eliminate any uncertainty, the SBS Tanks Quality Team completely unrolled and re-measured both liners against the approved design drawings.
This confirmed that the liners themselves had been correctly manufactured to the required ST11/09 specification and that the issue was limited to the labelling.
By identifying the discrepancy during final verification, Quality Control prevented an incorrectly identified product from reaching site.
Identifying the error was only the first step.
Under the SBS Tanks ISO 9001:2015 Quality Management System, a formal Corrective Action process was initiated to investigate how the error occurred and, more importantly, prevent it from happening again.
The investigation identified a gap between the final physical inspection and the application of the liner label.
As a result, the process was strengthened through:
This project demonstrates how Quality Assurance, Quality Control and ISO 9001 each play a different but connected role in delivering quality.
Quality Control identified the discrepancy and verified that the physical product met the required specification.
Quality Assurance investigated the root cause and strengthened the process to reduce the risk of the error occurring again.
ISO 9001:2015 provided the structured framework for controlling the non-conformity, implementing corrective action and driving continual improvement.
Both liners were confirmed to have been correctly manufactured to the required ST11/09 specification.
The labelling error was identified and corrected before dispatch, ensuring that no incorrectly identified product reached the project site.
While the labelling error caused temporary friction, it prevented a far more serious outcome: the deployment of an incorrect liner, which could have resulted in installation failure, costly rework and significant project delays. Immediate corrective action ensured that the issue was identified and resolved before it could cause operational or project-related consequences.
More importantly, the incident resulted in a stronger manufacturing and Quality Control process.
A robust Quality Management System is not about assuming that mistakes will never happen. It is about having the right systems in place to identify, contain and learn from errors before they affect the client or the project.
In this case, Quality Control caught the error, Quality Assurance strengthened the process, and the ISO 9001 Quality Management System helped turn a mistake into an opportunity for continual improvement.
A labelling discrepancy on two tank liners for the Heineken Pretoria project was identified during SBS Tanks’ final Quality Control inspection before dispatch. Although the liners were correctly manufactured to the ST11/09 specification, they were incorrectly labelled as ST10/09. The liners were isolated, re-measured and verified against the approved drawings.
A subsequent Quality Assurance investigation identified a process gap, leading to improved labelling procedures, additional QC checks and team training under the ISO 9001:2015 Quality Management System. By identifying and containing the error before dispatch, SBS Tanks also prevented the risk of an incorrectly identified liner reaching site, where it could have resulted in installation failure, costly rework and significant project delays.
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