WHA International, Inc. offers certification for oxygen equipment suppliers (OES).
Oxygen fire risk mitigation relies heavily on OESs to consistently deliver their products with traceable oxygen-compatible materials and a verified level of cleanliness. WHA’s certification program is designed to audit and test OESs and ensure their equipment production processes meet these two critical objectives for fire risk mitigation. WHA’s auditing process includes consulting, partnering with our customers to develop recommendations designed to achieve compliance and mitigate the oxygen fire risk for their customers.
Audience and Industries
The program is primarily intended for industrial oxygen valve manufacturers. However, the program can also be applied to OESs of other industrial oxygen equipment such as piping (e.g., spools, flanges, gaskets, etc.), instrumentation (e.g., sensors for pressure, temperature, and flow), pressure vessels, and others (e.g., filters, orifices, silencers, spargers). OESs for other oxygen industries such as medical/healthcare and aerospace can also benefit from this type of auditing and certification.
Relevant Standards
This certification program considers multiple guidelines for oxygen equipment suppliers. These documents include:
- CGA G-4.14 / EIGA Doc 200/17: Quality assurance, quality control measures for valves and spare parts, Section 13
- CGA G-4.1 / EIGA 33/18: Quality assurance, quality control measures for oxygen cleaning, Section 12
- ANSI/MSS SP-138-2023: Quality Standard Practice for Oxygen Cleaning of Valves and Fittings
Audit Scope
The certification program audit focuses on materials traceability/compliance and the processes used by suppliers to receive, clean, inspect, verify, assemble, test and package oxygen equipment. The clean process typically involves the following sub-processes:
- Receiving and tracking third-party cleaned parts
- Disassembly and pre-cleaning (if required)
- Piece part cleaning and drying
- Inspecting clean parts
- Assembling clean parts
- Pressure testing and functional testing clean assemblies
- Preserving and preparing clean assemblies for shipment
The audit scope will also include addressing customer orders, procuring, receiving, traceability, and control of materials and their associated oxygen compatibility testing/justification.
Certification Process
WHA’s Oxygen Equipment Supplier Certification Program follows a phased approach. Each phase may require more than one revision in order to achieve compliance and the program includes a first round of consulting if recommendations for improvement are necessary:
- Audit Scope and Plan: Identification of personnel, locations, and internal documentation needed for the audit, as well as the standards and cleanliness specifications each process must satisfy.
- Desktop Audit: WHA reviews the OES process documentation and evaluates compliance based on industry standards, best practices, and risk analysis.
- Live Audits: WHA performs onsite and/or virtual inspections of the oxygen equipment supplier facilities, evaluating each process, from manufacturing output to cleaning to assembly/testing to packaging and final shipping.
- Oxygen Cleanliness Verification (OCV): Tests at WHA’s laboratories quantify the cleanliness of oxygen equipment compared to the required cleanliness specifications.
- Audit Reporting and Certification: After the successful completion of phases 1-4, the supplier receives a detailed report and official certification from WHA.
Optional Support Services
Throughout the process, WHA identifies any nonconformities and opportunities for improvement. The program is designed to educate and equip oxygen equipment suppliers with everything they need to achieve compliance and demonstrate safe practices. Additional consulting and support services include:
- Process Consulting: when cleaning processes are in-development or require improvements to meet oxygen cleaning standards, WHA can provide clean process review and consulting prior to initiating the auditing program and increases the likelihood of audit success.
- Training: oxygen safety training customized for personnel involved with producing oxygen-clean equipment.
- Hazard Analysis: oxygen fire risk analysis (OFRA) services for oxygen components as referenced in industry standards.
- Testing: oxygen compatibility testing to help qualify materials for oxygen service to numerous standards worldwide.