repairs,   testing   and   recertifying,   and documenting any departure from specifications. CONCEPTS OF QUALITY ASSURANCE The   ever-increasing   technical   complexity   of present-day surface ships and submarines has spawned the  need  for  special  administrative  and  technical procedures known collectively as the QA Program. The program’s concept is fundamentally the prevention of defects. This encompasses all events from the start of maintenance operations until their completion and is the responsibility  of  all  maintenance  personnel. Achievement   of   QA   depends   on   preventing maintenance problems through your knowledge and special skills. As a supervisor, you must consider QA requirements  whenever  you  plan  maintenance.  The fundamental rule for you to follow for all maintenance is that TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS MUST BE MET AT ALL TIMES. Prevention  is  concerned  with  regulating  events rather  than  being  regulated  by  them.  It  relies  on eliminating  maintenance  failures  before  the  y  happen. This  extends  to  safety  of  personnel,  maintenance  of equipment,  and  virtually  every  aspect  of  the  total maintenance   effort. Knowledge is obtained from factual information. Quality  assurance  knowledge  is  acquired  through  the proper use of data collection and analysis programs. The maintenance   data   collection   system   provides maintenance managers with unlimited quantities of factual  information.  Their  correct  use  of  this information  provides  them  with  the  knowledge  required to  achieve  maximum  readiness  of  aircraft  and  weapon systems. Special  skills,  normally   not   possessed   by production personnel, are required by a staff of trained personnel  who  analyze  data  and  supervise  QA programs. The QA program provides an efficient method for gathering  and  maintaining  information  on  the  quality characteristics of products and on the source and nature of defects and their impact on the current operation. It permits decisions to be based on facts rather than on intuition or memory. It provides comparative data that will be useful long after the details of particular times or events have been forgotten. Quality assurance requires that certain individuals have both the authority and the responsibility  for  overseeing  QA  related  actions. A  properly  functioning  QA  program  points  out problem areas to maintenance managers so they can take appropriate  action  to  accomplish  the  following: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. To Improve the quality, uniformity, and reliability of the total maintenance effort Improve  the  work  environment,  tools,  and equipment   used   in   the   performance   of maintenance Eliminate  unnecessary  man-hour  and  dollar expenses Improve   the   training,   work   habits,   and procedures  of  maintenance  personnel Increase  the  excellence  and  value  of  reports  and correspondence  originated  by  the  maintenance activity Distribute  required  technical  information  more effectively Establish  realistic  material  and  equipment requirements  in  support  of  the  maintenance effort obtain   full   benefits   from   a   QA   program, teamwork  must  be  achieved  first.  Blend  QA  functions with  the  interest  of  the  total  organization  and  you produce a more effective program. Allow each worker and  supervisor  to  use  an  optimum  degree  of  judgment in  the  course  of  assigned  daily  work;  a  person’s judgment plays an important part in the quality of his or her work Quality assurance techniques supply each person involved with a job with information concerning actual  product  quality.  This  information  provides  a challenge to the person to improve the quality of the work. The resulting knowledge encourages the best efforts of all your maintenance personnel. Quality   assurance   is   designed   to   serve   both management  and  production  equally.  Management  is served when QA monitors the complete maintenance effort  of  the  department,  furnishes  factual  feedback  of discrepancies  and  deficiencies,  and  provides  the  action necessary to improve the quality, reliability, and safety of maintenance. Production is served by having the benefit of collateral duty inspectors formally trained in inspection procedures; it is also served in receiving technical  assistance  in  resolving  production  problems. Production personnel are not relieved of their basic responsibility y for quality work when you introduce QA to the maintenance function. Instead, you increase their responsibility   by   adding   accountability.   This accountability is the essence of QA. 6-2