Total quality management in US DoD electronics acquisition

A study effort being performed by the reliability engineering department of McDonnell Aircraft Co. and the quality directorate of Hughes Aircraft-Radar Systems Group is described. The final product of this 24-month project will be a handbook that provides guidelines in all phases of the acquisition process to enable significant and continuous improvement in the reliability of US Department of Defense electronic systems. The guidelines will address the application of total quality management (TQM) tools and techniques and the use of those new and old design and manufacturing processes that directly contribute to obtaining high reliability. How to tailor current specifications to implement the guidelines will be included