The NACE International Institute (NII) formally launched the NII Contractor Accreditation Program (NIICAP) in India on April 19, 2019 with a full-day workshop hosted by India’s largest company, Indian Oil Corp. Ltd., in the western city if Ahmedabad. The function was attended by over 50 people from Indian Oil and several of its coatings contractors.
The NACE team was represented by NII Executive Director Helena Seelinger, NACE Director of Global Operations Kamal Taher, Senior Manager of NII Operations Anna Roberts, Sr. Manager, Kim Shah, CORCON Institute, and NACE Past President Samir Degan. The Indian Oil team was headed by Chief General Manager (M&I) S.S. Gupta.
After the inaugural ceremony, the NACE team presented comprehensive details on NIICAP, which was then followed by an open discussion session. After lunch, there were breakout groups for individual discussions with the various contractors.
At the concluding session, Gupta stated Indian Oil’s support for NIICAP and a phased introduction for the accreditation in their tenders. He strongly recommended that the contractors get accredited at the earliest opportunity, as any delays may affect their participation in tenders at a later date. As has been the trend in Asia, Indian Oil support for NIICAP is similar to the support received from Saudi Aramco and Kuwait Oil. The NACE team is now following up with several of the contractors and hopes to have several signed up by mid-2019.
NIICAP Background
NIICAP is the premier, industry-driven and industry-managed accreditation program that validates a contractor's quality assurance program, support practices, and production processes. The NIICAP process is transparent and customer-focused from the top down, resulting in a robust accreditation program that endorses only coatings contractors who have demonstrated capabilities and competencies necessary to meet owner requirements.
The accreditation process is based on three different auditing standards: AS-1, AS-2, and AS-3. Three NIICAP standards are used to assess and audit a contractor’s ability to meet a variety of customer specifications. Contractors that earn accreditation through NIICAP’s audit process distinguish themselves as elite coating applicators by demonstrating the highest levels of specialty knowledge, product and service quality, and organizational achievement.