Final Program Quality
Al Richardson, VP &
Head of Technology Requirements
In our previous blogs R&R has addressed program and
quality items to point out where a program has a better chance of success. Like
most, R&R System Solutions defines Program Quality as how well a program
operates in delivering its product or service on time and within budget meeting
all the requirements. We measure it by;
- The program’s ability to develop and manage all requirements
- The programs use of Lessons Learned and checklists
- The effectiveness of peer inspections / reviews
- The techniques and procedures for validation and verification
There is no doubt that excellent program quality needs excellent
program management. Program planning to risk management and everything in
between needs to be of a high quality. And even with everything in place,
things can still go wrong. If you are familiar with Murphy’s Law and then you
should know about Otoole’s Law. Otoole’s law states that ‘Murphy was an
optimist’.
Let us share a quick story of the ½ inch bolt.
At one time there was a requirement for the rapid deployment
of a very small electro-optical cable. The design teams started and things
progressed smoothly for quite some time. Designs were created, checked,
re-checked, fabricated and tested. All was good. All the elements were
assembled and off to the sea trial we went. D-day for deployment came and
within minutes after the system was deployed, it failed! A bit of head
scratching and everything was checked and re-checked again. Assembly
instructions and deployment procedures were re-reviewed. As built books
examined, quality records were investigated and nothing came immediately to
light. Finally, after several inspections, the cause was determined to be none
other than the ½ inch bolt. Yup, one little old ½ inch bolt.
In the design, a ½ inch bolt was specifically called for in
various places. The bolt needed to be of various lengths in various places and
you guessed it, a long bolt was used in a place where a short bolt was
required. The longer bolt extended into the cable pack and ripped the
jacket causing water to penetrate the cable and the cable shorted to sea. As a
result, checklists were updated and a new item was added to Lessons Learned.
As you have read in previous blogs, from the color of the
jacket, from sharks, skates, and rays, from Lessons Learned, from misused
acronyms, to the ½ inch bolt and beyond even the best planning cannot always
anticipate what can occur. Our experience has taught much. While R&R has not seen everything in
the world of undersea programs, we have experienced and seen a lot!
