Quality Issues in the Military

1
Quality Issues in the Military

• By
• Lei Fu
• Hung Hoang
• Craig Shull
• Edmund Tai

2
Agenda

• Quality Process in the Military
• Case Study The Osprey
• Quality Issues
• Discussion
• Additional Examples
• Kurst Submarine
• Space Shuttle Challenger

3
Quality Process in the Military

• 70s - 80s
• All military equipment mfg according to specific
  requirements (MilSpecs)
• -gt No economies of scale, slow defense industry,
  
• Mid 80s
• Increased commercial technology
• Off-set strategy Match Russian threat with
  superior technology, not numbers
• Present
• Modernize the working of a huge organization
• Revolution in Military Affairs (RMA)
• Revolution in Personnel Management (RPM)

4
Revolution in Military Affairs (RMA)

• Outsourcing of non-core competencies
• Adopting commercial buying practices, E-commerce
• Streamlined testing
• 5 Pilot Programs (proto-typing)
• JDAM precision-guided bomb, Fire support combined
  arms tactical trainer, etc.

5
Revolution in Personnel Management (RPM)

• Recruitment
• Quality standards
• GI Bill
• Education Training
• Workstation in bases, computer-trained
• Simulated operations training facilites
• Retention Quality of Life
• Housing provision
• Family compensation
• Discrepancy between military and civilian pay

6
Effect of RMA and RPM

• Benefits
• Good implementation efficiency
• Management of defense programs in control
• Adaptation flexibility and changing world
• Quality in Sourcing, Planning and Implementation.
  

7
Case Study the Osprey
8
Background

• A tilt-rotor, Vertical/Short Take-Off or Landing
  aircraft
• First strike weapon to insert and extract US
  Marine Corp amphibious forces
• Designed and developed by the Boeing Engineering
  Company and Bell Helicopter
• First delivered in late 1999

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Why Osprey?

• Work horse of USMC is the C-46 helicopter, a
  1960s design whose fleet is aging quickly
• Flies faster than a traditional helicopter making
  it less vulnerable to enemy fire
• Able to fly greater distances and can re-fuel in
  mid-air

10
Osprey Problems

• Vortex Ring State V22 gets caught in its own
  prop wash, loses lift
• Hydraulic Failure V22 loses hydraulic pressure
  in its control system
• Drive Shaft Drive shaft coupling fails
• Software Fly by wire capability in both
  helicopter and fixed wing

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Catastrophes

• Delivered late 1999
• April 2000 19 Marines killed when Osprey loses
  all lift and plunges into the runway
• August 2000 No fatalities, Osprey drive shaft
  coupling fails, loses all power
• December 2000 4 Marines killed, combination of
  hydraulic and software malfunctions

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Quality Issues

• Testing
• USMC skipped tests of the V22 Osprey to save
  money and meet deadlines
• Only performed 1/3 of originally planned tests
• Originally planned significant testing at various
  rates of decent, speed and weight while
  converting from helicopter to airplane mode, none
  attempted

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Quality Issues (continued)

• Hydraulic System
• Marines had warnings there was trouble in the
  hydraulic system, dismissed
• Key factor in December crash was frayed hydraulic
  casing

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Quality Issues (continued)

• Falsification of Maintenance Records
• Col. Leberman, a lieutenant in the USMC, orders
  subordinates to falsify maintenance records
• The reason we need to lie or manipulate data, is
  that this program is in jeopardy

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Why?

• Political Clout
• 30 billion dollar project
• Large suppliers are from various states
• USMC
• Do not want to admit initial unwise decision,
  continue to cover up

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Garvins Eight Dimensions
Marine Emphasis
Dimensions
Aesthetics
Conformance
Durability
Features
Reliability
Performance
Perceived Quality
Serviceability
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Garvins Eight Dimensions
Marine Emphasis
Points of Failure

• Features
• Tilt-rotor design
• Larger cargo space
• Greater lift-off capacity
• Performance
• Dual-functionality
• Speed
• Fuel efficiency

• Reliability
• 4 crashes in 2 years
• Serviceability
• Only 38 field capable
• Conformance
• Misrepresentation of maintenance tests

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Cost of Quality
Prevention
Internal

• Pilot testing
• Maintenance
• Design costs

• Human lives
• Aircraft cost
• Servicing/Repair

Appraisal
External

• Equipment testing
• Mission simulations

• Public relations
• Liability claims

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Other Examples

• Kurst submarine
• Challenger shuttle

20
Kursk Submarine
On Saturday, August 12, 1999, the giant Russian
nuclear submarine Kursk -- carrying a crew of 118
-- sank in the icy waters of the Barents Sea.
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Kursk Potential Causes

• Explosion of weapons in 1st compartment resulting
  in internal fire
• Explosion during trial of a "secret torpedo" or
  other new Russian weapon
• Collision with own target, which resulted in a
  torpedo explosion
• Flooding through non-dense closed bow torpedo
  tubes after the exercises or because of torpedo
  sticking in the tube

22
Kursk

• The sinking of the Kursk is the latest in a
  litany of naval disasters underscoring the
  disarray in Russia's military
• Shrinking military budge
• inadequate training
• flagging morale
• a bias towards land-based missiles
• the country's nuclear submarine fleet in a state
  of perilous disrepair

23
Space Shuttle Challenger

• On January 28, 1986 America was shocked by the
  destruction of the space shuttle Challenger, and
  the death of its seven crew members.

24
Challenger Why?

• Cause of explosion was an O-ring failure in right
  Solid Rocket Booster (SRB)

25
Challenger Whose Fault?

• The probability of a failure with loss of vehicle
  and of human life
• Working engineers 1 in 100
• Management 1 in 100,000
• Why such an enormous disparity?
• An attempt to ensure supply of funds from
  government
• Lack of communication between management and
  engineers

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Summary

• Duty versus Moral Obligation
• Quality Trade-offs
• Cutting-edge or Defective?
• External Influences on Quality Control

• For a successful technology, reality must take
  precedence over public relations, for nature
  cannot be fooled