Production, Quality & Manufacturing

A product baseline in product development serves as a comprehensive reference point that encapsulates the detailed design aspects for various stages of a product’s lifecycle, including production, fielding/deployment, and operations and support. It is a crucial document that outlines both the physical characteristics (form, fit, and function) and selected functional characteristics essential for production acceptance […]

Value Engineering Change Proposal (VECP) is a proposal submitted by a contractor under the Value Engineering (VE) provisions of the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) (FAR Part 48) that, through a change in the contract, would lower the project’s life-cycle cost to DoD. It’s intended to reduce costs, increase quality, and improve mission capabilities across the

The Reliability Information Analysis Center (RIAC) is DoD-funded and provides products, training, and services related to the Reliability, Maintainability, Quality, Supportability, and Interoperability (RMQSI) disciplines. Government agencies can contract with RIAC to perform RMQSI support work at any phase of the acquisition life cycle. Products and services include: [1] System Reliability Toolkit Handbook of 217

Quality in Supply Management is a measure of providing products that are free from defects, deficiencies, and significant variations in the purchase-buyer transaction.  High quality is brought about by the strict and consistent adherence to measurable and verifiable standards to achieve uniformity of output that satisfies specific customer or user requirements. Quality management is a

A Quality Management Plan (QMP) helps guide the Program Manager (PM) and project personnel to execute quality management and quality assurance activities for a project or program. The QMP is usually developed by a contractor and reviewed by the customer. Quality is the degree to which the project fulfills requirements. Definition: A Quality Management Plan

Six Sigma seeks to improve the quality of process outputs by identifying and removing the causes of defects (errors) and minimizing variability in manufacturing and business processes. The goal of six sigma is to produce a process where 99.99966% of the products manufactured are statistically expected to be free of defects (3.4 defects per million).

Obsolescence is a lack of availability of an item or raw material resulting from statutory and process changes, as well as new designs. Obsolescence deals with the process or condition by which a piece of equipment becomes no longer useful, or a form and function no longer is currently available for production or repair. Implementation

Production Qualification Tests (PQT) are conducted post Milestone C to ensure the effectiveness of the manufacturing process, equipment, and procedures. It provides data for the independent evaluation required for materiel release so that the evaluator can address the adequacy of the materiel with respect to the stated requirements. These tests are conducted on a number

A Production Representative Article is a system that accurately represents the production configuration system for both hardware and software but is not produced on a final production line. To be considered a Production Representative Article, all of the following reviews must have been completed: Critical Design Review (CDR), Qualification testing, All Functional Configuration Audits (FCAs)

Manufacturing is a conversion process and a form of production. It brings together resources including materials, manpower, tools, equipment, technology, and facilities in a structured, organized manner to produce the evolved design of a finished product. Manufacturing includes three main functions: Manufacturing Management Manufacturing Engineering Manufacturing Operations 1) Manufacturing Management Manufacturing Management refers to internal

The Materiel Fielding Plan (MFP) is an acquisition program’s plan that details the steps, actions, and responsibilities of the fielding and successful deployment of a fully manned, trained, and supported material system that meets all user objectives. The MFP also addresses any system or material being replaced and outlines how it will be transferred or

Manufacturing Readiness is the ability to harness the manufacturing, production, Quality Assurance, and industrial functions to achieve an operational capability that satisfies mission needs; in the quantity and quality needed by the military to carry out its missions. [1] AcqNotes: Manufacturing Readiness Level (MRL) Manufacturing readiness begins before, continues during the development of systems, and

Manufacturing Readiness Levels (MRLs) are used with assessments and are designed to assess the maturity of a given technology, system, subsystem, or component from a manufacturing perspective. MRLs provide decision-makers (at all levels) with a common understanding of the relative maturity (and attendant risks) associated with manufacturing technologies, products, and processes being considered to meet

Maintenance Concept The maintenance concept is a brief description of the maintenance considerations, constraints, and plans for operational support of the system/equipment under development.  It’s derived from the Concept of Operations (CONOPS) and is a major driver in system design and support.  Maintenance concept requirements are translated into system design and support requirements. As the

Maintenance Task Analysis (MTA) is the identification of the steps, spares, and materials, tools, support equipment, personnel skill levels, and facility issues that must be considered for a given repair task.  It also includes the elapse times required for the performance of each maintenance task. MTAs cover both corrective and preventative maintenance tasks and, when

ISO 9000 is a series of International Organization for Standards (ISO) that are being used by companies and organizations around the world to provide a basis for a quality system.  It assures customers that processes and procedures have been implemented that will help to guarantee the quality levels of products and services rendered. ISO 9000

Maintainability Demonstration (M-Demo) is a formal process conducted by the product developer and the end customer to determine whether specific maintainability contractual requirements have been achieved (i.e., MTTR, MDT, MMH/OH, etc.) during fielded operation. The M-Demo would be implemented to verify by demonstrating the actual maintainability characteristics of a system, against the maintainability requirements or

An industrial capability is a skill, facility, process, or technology needed to design, develop, produce, repair or maintain products used by the Department of Defense (DoD). Defense industrial capabilities include private and public industrial activities. The DoD always needs a good understanding if the current and future industrial base can meet the needs for all

The Final Product Baseline is the approved documentation describing all of the necessary functional and physical characteristics of the Configuration Item (CI); any required joint and combined operations; the selected functional and physical characteristics designated for production acceptance testing; and tests necessary for deployment/installation, support, training, and disposal of the CI. This baseline is finalized

Flexible Computer Integrated Manufacturing (FCIM) is a design and manufacturing tool. It integrates equipment, software, communication, human resources, and business practices within one computer-based tool that helps manufacture, repair, and deliver items on when requested. It also provides data for Continuous Process Improvements. FCIM is an extension of Computer Aided Design (CAD) / Computer Aided

Applying DoD policy to Environmental Safety and Health (ESH) and complying with Federal laws are important aspects of managing programs. It’s important to start this at the beginning of any program, to reduce the risk of liability, lower cost, and save time. Techniques used by Program Managers (PM) and Manufacturing Personnel to comply with ESH

Failure Modes and Effects Analysis (FMEA) an analytical tool that is used in Risk Management to identify various ways in which systems elements can fail and what’s their overall impact (consequence) to other elements and/or the overall system.  The results are processed thru Failure Modes Effects and Criticality Analysis (FMECA) in which each potential failure

A Fault Tree Analysis (FTA) is a Risk Management tool that assesses the safety-critical functions within a system’s architecture and design. It analyzes high-level failures and identifies all lower-level (sub-system) failures that cause them. FTA is useful during the initial product design phase as a tool for driving the design through an evaluation of both

Diminishing Manufacturing Sources and Material Shortages (DMSMS) is the loss of resources and material needed to build, maintain and operate warfighting equipment.  DMSMS may endanger the life-cycle support and viability of the weapon system or equipment.  An obsolete device is part of a larger system that is no longer manufactured by the original manufacturer. Definition

The Defense Standardization Program (DSP) is in charge of standardization throughout the Department of Defense (DoD) to reduce costs and improve operational effectiveness and is governed by DoD Manual 4120.24. The program is run by the DoD Standardization Program Office (DSPO). The documents they develop include DoD or federal specifications or standards, military specifications, military standards,