Aerospace Standards Newsletter - December 2014 - 4

NEW MANUFACTURING MANAGEMENT STANDARDS RELEASED
(Adapted from an article previously published in Aerospace
Engineering magazine)
A new manufacturing management standard, designed
to encourage suppliers and OEMs to put more focus on
manufacturability during the early phases of a product's
life cycle, was published by SAE International's G-23
Manufacturing Management Committee in November.
The standard, "AS6500: Manufacturing Management," is
intended for use on all programs with manufacturing content,
and requires proven manufacturing management practices.
"The standard will require certain activities to be accomplished
and certain assessments of manufacturing maturity to be
done early in the life cycle," said the standard's sponsor, David
Karr, G-23 Committee Chair. "It applies all the way through
development and production-and even in the sustainment
phase, so when major modifications to weapons systems are
being done, it will also cover those major modifications."
Requested by the Department of Defense (DoD), which
identified a need for improvements and standardization in the
area of manufacturing management, the standard is primarily
intended for use in the defense industry, but may be applicable
to other commercial industries.
DoD had encountered cost, schedule, and quality problems
on its weapon systems due to a lack of focus on sound
manufacturing principles and practices. In November 2011, the
Defense Standardization Council approved the development of
a manufacturing management standard. The Council issued a
clarification in March 2012, directing the development of a nongovernment standard (as opposed to a military standard).

In December 2012, the DOD
created a working group to carry
out that effort. In addition to
drafting a working document,
the group also was directed to
select an outside organization to
create a commercial, vs. military,
standard. In September 2013,
SAE International was selected
for that work. A new SAE
committee, G-23 Manufacturing
Management, was formed.
David Karr
Consisting of approximately
an equal number of DOD officials and industry (including
representation from Lockheed Martin, Boeing, Raytheon, BAE,
GE, and Northrop Grumman), the roughly 40 G-23 members
reviewed and revised the initial draft standard in 2014.
Among the manufacturing management tools required by the
standard is Manufacturing Readiness Levels which, Karr said
"are quickly becoming the generally accepted approach, at least
within the DOD industry, and even in some other industries, for
measuring your manufacturing maturity and level of risk. It's a
tool that the standard imposes that's widely recognized and has
a common language that everyone understands. The standard
addresses the use of that tool very early on in the life cycle so
that early on we understand where our manufacturing risks are
and we can start addressing them."
The standard will be incorporated into new Air Force contracts
soon after it is adopted, Karr said. It may be applied in its
entirety or tailored to each program's specific needs.

SAE A-10 COMMITTEE WORKS WITH NEW JERSEY HIGH SCHOOL TO UPDATE AEROSPACE
STANDARDS
SAE International's A-10 Aircraft Oxygen Equipment Committee
is working with Kittatinny Regional High School in Newton, New
Jersey on a project to create updated electronic drawings for
older SAE documents.
Jim Stabile of the A-10 committee approached Doug Carnegie,
a Technology Education Teacher at the school with the idea of
having students work on the document conversion project. The
partnership provides the committee with updated electronic
drawings and gives students real-world recognition and
scholarship opportunities.
"As a high school teacher, giving students the opportunity
to work on real-world projects that connect my lessons to
something the student can apply to a tangible outcome is a winwin for everyone," wrote Carnegie in a recent article published in
SAE Update.

The first student Carnegie chose to work on the project was Ryan
Jeskey, and the first document converted was AIR1358b.
"SAE has provided Jeskey and the school with awards and
accolades to recognize the many hours of work completed,"
Carnegie wrote. "Working with SAE has not only shown Ryan
real-world applications for his talents, but it has also provided him
the opportunity to access many forms of scholarships provided
by SAE. As we move forward, new students will be recruited
to help continue the successful partnership between SAE and
Kittatinny Regional High School."
For his leadership in this program, Jim Stabile, Vice President,
Aeronautical Data Systems Inc., was recognized at the October
A-10 committee meeting.

SAE International Aerospace Standards Newsletter - December 2014

Aerospace Standards Newsletter - December 2014

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