Seaport-E DRC's Quality Assurance Program

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DRC's Quality Assurance Program

DRC's Quality Assurance (QA) Plan establishes and defines the Corporate QA policies, processes, and responsibilities to be used in accomplishing tasks under the Seaport Enhanced contract. The plan is used by DRC to provide engineering technical, and programmatic services to the Government and includes task orders of different sizes and complexity in support of a wide range of government customers. Because of the diversity of clients and the variety in the scopes of work, each task performed under the Seaport Enhanced contract will have its own stand-alone QA Plan as part of the project plan for the task. This plan delineates general standards to ensure our services and products meet DRC corporate requirements of the Seaport Enhanced contract and will be tailored to ensure compliance with individual Seaport task orders executed by the company.

DRC has an independently registered ISO 9001:2000 Quality Management System (ISO QMS) and a Software Engineering Institute Capability Maturity Model (SEI CMM) Level III rating, both of which serve as a tangible indication of our ability to implement, monitor, and maximize quality. Consistent both with the requirements of our ISO QMS, SEI CMM Level III and DoD guidance on performance-based contracting, the Zone Project Managers (ZPMs) in coordination with our Program Manager, develop project/task plans to plan, organize, and control each task order.

All Seaport Enhanced task orders will have a QA Plan (Task QA Plan). DRC's Task QA Plans translate corporate approved QA policies and procedures into specific guidance and procedures to enable pro-gram personnel to deliver quality services and products in a consistent manner on a task-by -task basis. Task QA Plans serve as a reference point for QA audits and reviews. For each DRC Seaport Enhanced Task Order, a Task QA Plan will be developed and will specify at a minimum:

A clear, understandable description of the task(s)
Guidance for periodic task QA reviews
Task Order technical and QA requirements [MIL Standards/Commercial Standards, etc.]
Project responsibilities and reporting chains
Schedules and milestones
Clearly defined Task Order deliverables and/or performance metrics, including customer-approved acceptance criteria
Unique project requirements [special tools, software, methodologies, procedures, etc.] specified in the Task Order and/or Task Proposal

The project plan acts as a guide for project implementation by describing what needs to happen, who needs to do it, when it needs to occur, and the performance metrics by which success will be judged. This builds upon historical TQM approaches to engineer quality into the process rather than just check for defects. The project plan includes the identification of the best practices to be used and establishes a baseline for measuring project performance and monitoring quality. The ZPM will compare actual work completed against work planned, actual costs against estimated costs, etc. The Project Manager and ZPMs will conduct monthly formal reviews of the project status. Risks identified during the status re-porting will be recorded in the project plan notes for action and resolution. Any significant risk remains as an agenda item for future meetings until it is closed. If the risk resolution is dependant on a Seaport Enhanced customer decision, task, or solution, this will be documented as an issue in the Issues/Task List. The issues will be documented and tracked to resolution. The Program Manager will have overall responsibility for quality for a Seaport Enhanced customer and conducts reviews of project tracking and oversight activities according to the DRC ISO QMS.

DRC uses ISO 9001:2000 processes both to identify/correct problems and to prevent the occurrence of problems. Our ISO QMS includes a structured process to identify and resolve problems. This process requires detailed documentation, which ensures we have adequately addressed the problem and incorporated sound procedures to prevent recurrence. DRC's ISO QMS also requires the identification of potential problems to initiate steps to avoid them. We document our analyses and actions to avoid the occurrence of a potential problem. The Project Plan developed for each task order will include a section on potential risks/problems and the steps the ZPM and Task Leader must take to ensure these risks/problems do not impact task order performance.

The Task QA Plan will clearly define the goal(s) of the task(s) and the milestones associated with the task. This will eliminate ambiguity and misinterpretation of task objectives and schedule, and will thus minimize the risk of non-compliance with the contractual requirements. The Task Order QA Plan will also be used by QA as a reference to monitor the progress and compliance of the effort to contractual requirements.

To ensure quality professional engineering services and related products meet all corporate and customer directed standards we will follow the process outlined below.

Process Activity	Responsibility
Fully understand all QA requirements, specifications, and standards associated with a contract or Task Order	Program Manager, Task Leaders, and Technical Staff QA Manager
Ensure QA requirements are factored into the planning and development of each individual Contract/Task Order	Program Manager, Task Leaders, QA Manager
Conduct QA audits as scheduled in the Task QA Plan or as events dictate. (Example of event-driven audits are those associated with Physical Configuration Audits or In-Process Reviews.)	QA Manager
Take immediate corrective action for all non-conformance items in all contracts and Task Orders	Program Manager, Task Leaders, and Technical Staff
Maintain records of non-conforming items for reference and for "Lessons Learned" actions to prevent recurrence of discrepancies	QA Manager
Ensure appropriate QA findings and corrective actions are presented at reviews as scheduled in the Task QA Plan.	QA Manager

Management Review—The DRC Program Manager will ensure that contract deliverables undergo informal reviews for completeness and formal reviews for correctness prior to delivery. For technical deliverables, at least one non-author/designer/developer that is a Subject Matter Expert in the particular specialty area will review the deliverables. The Program Manager will review the work product documentation and review results as a final check, approves the deliverable, and submit it to the customer.

Corrective and Preventive Measures—Any individual performing work on a Task Order who discovers a deficiency will take appropriate and proper action, effectively communicate, and exercise personal initiative in accordance with policies, plans, and procedures for all non-conformance. The Task Leader will inform the QA Manager and then include a summary of the deficiency and the corrective action in their Status Report to the respective ZPM. The ZPM will disseminate all such items to his/her reports. The QA Manager will track corrective action status to ensure that the actions taken are effective, sustaining, and will prevent recurrence. The respective ZPM will review all open corrective actions with his task leaders on a weekly basis to ensure appropriate actions are being taken. DRC's procedure for preventive action includes the use of appropriate information regarding product quality to analyze, and eliminate causes of non-conformities. The QA Manager may make suggestions or work in conjunction with the Task Order staff to remedy a situation, but ultimately the Task Leader is responsible for correcting all non-conformities.

The Program Manager, task leaders, and all technical staff should anticipate project problem areas and be prepared to implement realistic solutions. Previously experienced project problems such as long lead items require aggressive action beyond timely ordering. Project personnel should seek out alternative item sources and form/fit/function alternatives to mitigate the cost and schedule impacts of not being able to get required project parts and materials.

Training—Program Managers are responsible for ensuring all individuals working on a Seaport Enhanced Task Order understand DRC's QA policies, procedures, and the specific requirements associated with the Task Order. ZPMs will assess the QA training needs of all personnel assigned to their program and make individual determinations as to the specific courses or training program needed to ensure quality products and services are delivered to our customers.

Organizational Conflicts of Interest—QA reporting is not confined to the Seaport Enhanced organization chain-of-command. In addition to passing through the Seaport Enhanced management reporting chains, QA comments and reviews will also pass through a separate QA chain of command to a DRC senior executive. This reporting structure minimizes the possibility of reporting failures when line managers control all information on task performance, and also avoids the potential for organizational conflicts of interest. It promotes the independence and objectivity of the QA organization, but does not relieve the responsible task and ZPMs from their obligation to immediately report QA problems and initiate corrective actions. When a QA Analyst identifies a Task Order non-conformance, he/she will attempt to resolve the matter at the lowest possible level within the organization. If a non-conformance cannot be resolved at a lower level, the QA representative will elevate the issue through the Program/Project organization up to and including Senior Management if required.

Procedures for Meeting Urgent Requirements—For urgent, high priority efforts, DRC uses an accelerated Task Order response process. When urgent QA issues, new quality requirements, or modified quality requirements are identified, the Task Leader associated with the impacted Task Order will notify the ZPM and QA Manager assigned to the Task Order. The ZPM, in turn, notifies our contract administrator. Working in close coordination, the ZPM, Task Leader, QA Manager, and contract administrator will review the Task Order's Task QA Plan to adapt the pre-determined contingency plans and risk mitigation strategies to meet the urgent requirements. The DRC Contracts Administrator will coordinate with the Government's Contracting officer to effect whatever contractual changes are required to meet the urgent needs of the client's requirements.

This page was last modified on 04/23/08 14:26:13.