11 Quality Assurance
The IceCube project office will implement a quality plan meeting the requirements of ANSI/ISO/ASQC Q9001-2000 (ISO 9000). The UW Space Science and Engineering Center (SSEC) is in the process of implementing a Quality Management System (QMS) meeting the requirements of ISO 9000 and eventual registration.
The IceCube Quality Plan will define the overall project policy, the processes to be controlled and how they interact, and the procedures to be used. The plan will include, but not be limited to, addressing the following areas:
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The overall scope of the Quality Plan, the standards (ISO 9000, etc.) it is designed to meet, and the management commitment to the plan. Exclusions, if any, will be listed. The plan will make it clear how each element of the program is affected by the quality plan, who is responsible, how each requirement is to be met, and how we verify the effectiveness of the plan.
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Control of documents: who approves, how released and distributed, lists of documents, change procedures, how users are assured they have the latest documentation, and how obsolete documentation is removed from the system. The document control system will use on-line databases with web access to simplify the process, reduce paper handling and the time and effort needed to make changes, and make the latest information available to all project elements without delay.
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Control of customer and supplier documentation: How such documentation is received, logged, and stored. The process for assuring such documentation is the latest and correct version is also described.
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Procurement controls: how requirements are passed to suppliers and collaborators, what information and documentation is required, how material is verified upon receipt, what records are generated and kept. The nature of the quality requirements that are to passed on to suppliers and collaborators will be described.
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How the quality system is planned, maintained, improved, and verified. Management review process, internal audits, corrective and preventive actions will be included and will follow the ISO 9000 standard model. The essence of the system is to make our processes clear and understandable so they can be reliably executed. The processes must be sufficiently clear and verifiable so that deficiencies can be readily identified and corrected, ideally before problems arise.
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The quality organization: who is responsible for what. Internal communication processes, management roles and responsibilities, the nature of the management reviews, internal audits, and how these processes are carried out.
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Awareness and training, certification, assuring personnel have the appropriate skills and experience, the records required for these elements, the process for verifying the effectiveness of training, and how deficiencies are corrected.
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Design and development process: inputs and outputs, design reviews, design documents required by phase, the purpose of the reviews, who is involved, the specific items needed for the review, the process for documenting review actions and closeout, the points of the project where reviews are required, major and minor reviews (formal and informal)
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Reliabilility guidelines: assembly standards, parts program (standards, testing, screening), parts derating guidelines, traceability requirements, vendor documentation, receiving inspection, certifications, parts documentation and how tied to assembled items. Spares logistics and parts guidelines relating to spares.
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Manufacturing planning: How manufacturing and assembly processes are planned, controlled, and verified. How in-process material is identified and what records are kept. This includes the traceability documentation (parts lists, lot numbers, serial numbers, etc.), how inspections are handled, by whom, the process for documenting non-conformances, how the documentation and actual hardware are processed, test procedures, how test data is kept, and what happens to the final records after the item is complete.
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Verification: Inspection and tests: standards, records, test procedures, integration processes, calibration of test equipment and associated records, integration logbooks, record retention, configuration identification lists, and test procedures.
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Non-conformance control: Identification of non-conforming articles, disposition processes, rework, repair, MRB, and associated records. How repairs are planned and documented, rework vs repair and how each are handled, Who determines what levels of disposition of non conforming articles and why.
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Service, field support, logistics: spares, records of failures and malfunctions, configuration management, configuration records, maintaining configuration records of items deployed, maintaining spares and support for deployed items and items subject to configuration control that are changed.
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Internal audit plans and procedures, management reviews, schedules, personnel, training for audits, audit follow up
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Analysis of data for determining status and trends of product quality, customer satisfaction, supplier performance, areas needing attention for continual improvement and/or corrective and preventive action and how this all relates to the management review process.
The details of the plan will resemble plans appropriate for spacecraft instrumentation because IceCube must operate reliably in a remote and harsh environment, is a large and complex system, once deployed cannot be returned for repair, and represents a major investment. The quality plan must therefore be rigorous and fully integrated in the management and development process.
The ISO 9000 standard is process based using a "plan, do, check, act" model. The plan begins with identification of the processes necessary to control quality. The definition and documentation of those processes are done to the extent required to achieve the desired results. The QMS emphasizes the process of continuous improvement via internal audits, corrective and preventive action, and management review. The system is based on the heritage of assurance programs meeting NASA requirements for spacecraft instrument development projects which SSEC has implemented within a university based research and development organization. The quality aspects of the project are designed and built-in from the beginning, rather than "tested in" after the fact. This approach makes quality assurance part of the management and engineering process thereby increasing efficiency, improving results, and minimizing errors.
The key documents defining the IceCube Quality Plan are:
- American National Standard ANSI/ISO/ASA Q9001-2000 (and referenced documents). These define the standards we are intending to meet.
- The SSEC Quality Management System (QMS) Plan (in development). This describes the UW-Madison SSEC Quality Management System policies and procedures.
- The IceCube Quality Plan. This plan will detail the quality plan for the IceCube project. The application of the SSEC QMS for this project and any special needs of IceCube will be described in this document
- Supporting Procedures, Specifications, and Instructions. Some of these will be created for the project, others will documents used by other projects.
