Vendors’ Maturity Assessment Processes Modelling and Automation Based of the Best International Practices
The article considers the issues of modeling and automation of processes and tools for assessing vendors’ maturity based on the best international practices, contributing to possible risks identification at the early stages of contractual relations, their prevention and elimination. The data on existing both domestic and foreign techniques for vendors’ assessment was systematized. Analysis of the main causes of default on contract commitments by the nuclear industry vendors was performed. Exigencies and expectations of the sectorial quality services, as well as external customers’ requirements were formalized. The article analyses the results of the discrepancies, revealed by the customers while pre-contract and inspection audits, as well as corresponding sectorial legislative, regulatory and other requirements and recommendations. The most important trends for the vendors’ maturity assessment. Based on studying and analysis of the best world practices, a technique for works applicability signs assignment, necessary for meeting the customer’s requirements. As the result, a customer acquired the possibility to draw up a checklist for its specific requirements. To unify the checklists configuration variants, work types classifier was introduced for manufacturers and contractor/servicing enterprises. Data analysis results on the existing object revealed that the presence of explanations, describing the mechanism for compliance with the requirements assessment eliminates a possible judgment subjectivity and a risk of cassation from the side of the enterprises under the audit. The authors developed a checklist form, which should contain a set of the following signs, ensuring the possibilities of its configuring according to the customer’s requirements, introducing the audit evidence and objective calculation of the vendor maturity level (the total score). It should contain also the requirement description, its clarification, systemness, and applicability for the type of work; assessment of the compliance with the requirement; assessment substantiation (records of the audit evidence); the auditee surname, name and patronymic, the date of the assessment performing. The developed vendors’ maturity model accounts for the difference of the errors elimination costs, occurred at various stages of product manufacturing life cycle.