My second day on site

[Bayside Blue]

My second day in configuration management, pretty interesting but I had to sit through so many presentations yesterday I still had a head ache. It's important because things like the challenger disaster, could have been avoided if effective configuration management was in place. There was some nasa plane that crashed too because somebody changed the fuel pitot on the front with out notifying anyone so it crashed cause it impacted on other things.

I gotta just make sure nothing goes wrong with any missiles, for the next 13 weeks and then I move onto another placement.

But im not allowed to go on SXOC at work, any none work use is a disciplinary offense :( so don't think ill be risking that even for the SXOC lol! ;) might have noticed by my sudden lack of added posts to this board.

On a more interesting note:

Saw a red s14a in one of the lower car parks nothing to affiliate it as being with the SXOC so will slap a flyer on it today. Saw an s14 when i was delivering leafelts in west common too. Must remember to do that one

'Join us!' :wack:

Martin :thumbs:

[Dave_S]

Sounds like a cool job :thumbs:

Not sure you're supposed to tell us "secrets" though :wack: :D

Dave

[Bayside Blue]

nah :) i can outline just as long as it doesn't go into specifics :D

like if ive had a really bad day i dont have to go home and say

'I've had such a bloody bad day at work... but i can't tell you why cause i'd have to kill you' because that would be ridiculous :wack:

as long as it's vauge it doesnt matter to much, the plane and the nasa stuff isn't anything to do with my company so i can blab allong about that as its not resistriced

its just common sense most of it :)

martin :thumbs:

but i do get proper tired... got home with a lift from my mate and saw that a bird had poo'd on my car so i go to clean it... I only use the bloody scratchy side of the sponge cause im not thinking don't I!!! so its straight out with the t cut to remove the haze of bloody scratches i've left on my roof!

I've promised myself ill get it resprayed next year. But till then its gonna be pissing me off, I am such a knob!! :mad:

[Storm]

It's important because things like the challenger disaster, could have been avoided if effective configuration management was in place.

How's that work then? I ask as I'm a Senior Project's Engineer and as the disaster was due to an o-ring failing due to thermal fatigue, how would anyone find this out without micro-managing every part (quality) which would in effect be impossible due to timescales and cost? It's the old QCD triangle ;)

It's one of those "it should have been in the maintenance manual to replace at set intervals" things but no amount of management will ever stop someone from either missing it and failing to report it, ignore it and incorrectly report it etc. It's all about risk management in the end and risk is risk, you can only minimise it never remove it :nod:

Hopefully that didn't sound too harsh, if you have the answers let me know as it would make my job a damn site easier :)

[Bayside Blue]

It's to do with information. :)

-There were concerns over design limitations of the 'o' ring seals.
-The document trail of changes in design was incomplete (breakdown in configuration management).
-And because of this the decision to launch was made against incomplete information.

should have put could have possibly been avoided :)

kinda thing :D
Martin :)

[Storm]

Hmmm sounds just like Project Management, or at least one aspect of it anyway. It's all to do with ensuring the paperwork and processes are in place to avoid errors I guess then?

Project Management covers the same under the quality aspect but the other two have an impact on a Project just as much so as I usually quote :-

Cost, Quality and Time you can have any two from three ;)

[Bayside Blue]

Sort of :)

The Def-Stan definition (05-57) of configuration management is:

'The discipline that applies technical and administrative direction to the development, production and support throughout the life cycle of the product.'

other related standards are:
Def-Stan 05-123 - Technical procedures for the procurement of aircraft, weapon and electronic systems
Def-Stan 05-10 - Drawing procedure
ISO 10007 - Guidelines for Configuration Management
STANAG 4427 - Allied CM Publications (ACMP 1-7)
ISO 9000:2000 - Quality Management system requirements
ANSI/EIA-649 - National consensus for Configuration Management

And the main objectives of CM are to:

-Identify and document the functional and physical characteristics of the product
-Control changes to the product
-record and report change processing status and product definition data
-verify compliance with specifications and contract requirements
-To ensure everyone working on a project at any time in its life cycle uses correct and accurate data.

blah-de blah-de blah-da

It goes on to say problems with poor CM is:

-Different parts with the same part number.
-Parts not built to engineering drawings
-Approved changes not incorporated
-(or even worse) Unapproved changes being incorporated
-Products do not meet customer requirements
-Cannot define what has been built
-Quality problems, high rate of scrap
-Suppliers deliver non complying parts
-Difficulty maintaining delivered parts.

And you can imagine any of the above could have catastrophic consequences where guided missile systems are involved. :eek:

Martin :thumbs: