Managing Manufacturing Maturity and Risks by Applying Department of Defense Manufacturing Readiness Assessment and Manufacturing Readiness Levels Process to a Military Weapons System

Abstract

In the 1990’s the Department of Defense, as part of the Acquisition Process Reform, started reducing and eliminating Manufacturing and Quality Assurance instructions, guidance, Mil-Specs and Standards, relying on the private sector to establish and manage these requirements. This in turn caused the loss of government Acquisition Manufacturing personnel and loss of the knowledge needed to identify and manage manufacturing maturity and risks associated with military weapon systems. In recent years the Department of Defense has recognized and is pushing to improve this deficiency. The following project discussion presents the application of Manufacturing Readiness Assessment process and Manufacturing Readiness Level to an US Air Force line replaceable unit device for a military aircraft. The end result is to provide the information necessary to the Support Program Office that manages the project contract, to determine manufacturing readiness and manage manufacturing risks through a Manufacturing Maturation Plan. Key Terms - Department of Defense Acquisition Process, Manufacturing Maturation Plan, Manufacturing Readiness Assessment, Manufacturing Readiness Levels.