Quality and Safety Director of pressure vessel manufacturing units? Quality and safety officer? What is the relationship between the Quality and Safety Director and the Quality Assurance Engineer?

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On April 4, 2023, the State Administration for Market Regulation issued Order No. 73, the \"Regulations on the Supervision and Management of Special Equipment Production Units’ Implementation of Their Primary Responsibilities for Quality and Safety.\" These regulations cover entities engaged in the production of special equipment, including those responsible for the design, manufacturing, installation, modification, and repair of boilers, pressure vessels, gas cylinders, pressure pipelines, elevators, lifting machinery, passenger cableways, large-scale amusement facilities, and specialized motor vehicles used within factories or premises (hereinafter referred to as production entities). They aim to ensure that these entities assume primary responsibility for quality and safety, to strengthen the responsibilities of the key personnel in production entities regarding the quality and safety of special equipment, and to regulate the behavior of those in charge of quality and safety management. These provisions are formulated in accordance with laws and regulations such as the Safety Law of the People’s Republic of China on Special Equipment and the Regulations on the Supervision of Special Equipment Safety. I took a brief look; it mainly requires special equipment manufacturing units to appoint directors and officers responsible for quality and safety in accordance with the law, to fulfill their responsibilities regarding the quality and safety of such equipment as required by law, as well as to ensure proper supervision and management. The responsibilities of the quality and safety directors and quality and safety officers in pressure vessel manufacturing units are summarized below; to view the original text of these specifications, you can click to read it. The director of pressure vessel quality and safety as well as the quality and safety officers shall possess the following capabilities in regard to the quality and safety management of pressure vessels: (1) Familiarity with the laws and regulations related to pressure vessel production, safety technical specifications and standards, as well as the organization’s quality assurance system ； 　　(II) The Quality and Safety Director shall not hold the position of Quality and Safety Officer; a Quality and Safety Officer may hold at most two unrelated quality control positions ； (III) Possess professional knowledge to identify and prevent quality and safety risks associated with pressure vessels ； 　　 (IV) Be familiar with the production process control requirements related to the quality and safety of pressure vessels in the unit, including relevant facilities and equipment, process flows, operating procedures, etc ； 　　 (5) Possess a professional educational background and work experience related to the tasks at hand, and be familiar with the duties and requirements of the position ； 　　 (VI) Meeting other requirements stipulated by laws, regulations, and safety technical standards for special equipment. The Director of Pressure Vessel Quality and Safety is, in accordance with the requirements of their duties, directly accountable to the principal person in charge of the organization, and undertakes the following responsibilities: (1) Organizing the implementation of laws, regulations, safety technical specifications, and relevant standards related to pressure vessels, and being responsible for the operation of the quality assurance system ； 　　(II) Organize the development of quality assurance system documents such as quality assurance manuals, procedure documents, and work instructions, and approve the procedure documents ； 　　(III) Guide and coordinate, as well as supervise and inspect the operations of various quality control systems within the quality assurance system ； 　　(IV) Organize the establishment and ongoing maintenance of a quality and safety traceability system for pressure vessels ； 　　(5) Organize quality analysis and quality audits, and assist in management review activities ； 　　(VI) Implement control over non-conforming products (items) and exercise the one-vote veto power for quality and safety ； (7) Establish an enterprise bulletin board system to promptly publicize information on safety incidents, quality defects, and potential accident risks related to the pressure vessels produced ； 　　(8) Organize the establishment and improvement of information systems for the feedback and processing of internal and external quality information ； 　　(IX) Truthfully report quality and safety issues to the market supervision and administration department ； 　　(10) Organize regular education and training for quality and safety officers ； 　　(11) Accept and cooperate with the supervision and inspection activities as well as accident investigations carried out by the market supervision and administration authorities, and provide relevant materials truthfully ； 　　(12) Fulfill other quality and safety management responsibilities for pressure vessels as stipulated by the market supervision and administration authorities and as required by the own organization. In accordance with the requirements of their duties, the quality and safety officers for pressure vessels are accountable to the quality and safety director or the person in charge of the organization, and undertake the following responsibilities: (1) Responsible for reviewing quality control procedure documents and work instructions ； 　　(II) Review and confirm the relevant work evidence in accordance with the requirements of safety technical specifications and quality assurance manuals, and inspect the implementation of quality control procedures and requirements throughout the production process ； 　　(III) Upon identifying a problem, it is necessary to contact the relevant party promptly to resolve it; if needed, order them to stop working and report the situation to the Quality and Safety Director ； (IV) Organize regular education and training for relevant technical personnel ； 　　(5) Cooperate with inspection agencies to carry out type tests and supervision inspections on pressure vessels ； 　　(VI) Accept and cooperate with the supervision and inspection efforts as well as accident investigations carried out by the market supervision and administration authorities, and provide relevant materials truthfully ； 　　(7) Fulfill other quality and safety management responsibilities for pressure vessels as stipulated by the market supervision and administration department and as required by the organization. What is the relationship between the Quality and Safety Director of pressure vessels and the quality assurance engineer? With the issuance and implementation of this regulation, I believe TSG07-2019 will be revised over time, and at that point the Quality and Safety Commission will take over the responsibilities and authorities previously held by the Quality Assurance Department.