Procuring Equipment Items That Meet R,M, and SS Requirements

The successful procurement of hardware items with reliability R, maintainability M, and system safety SS requirements and R, M, and SS program requirements involves no particularly new or unusual techniques. It does require the consistent, disciplined use of several of the tools presently available, i.e., the item specification, a really comprehensive statement of work (SOW) and a data requirements list (CDRL). These all must be closely coordinated so that they “track together”. Clear distinctions between tasks to be accomplished, requirements for the design, and data items to be prepared are essential. Also, most system contractors need to better inform their potential suppliers.