About QPD
About QPD
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CAGE CodeA Commercial and Government Entity (CAGE) code is a five-character code uniquely identifying a specific company or business organization. The format of the code may be any mixture of alphanumeric values excluding the letters ‘I’ and ‘O’. The fifth position will always be numeric. All contractors, manufacturers, fabrication and assembly facilities, and distributors are required to register and be assigned a CAGE code before conducting business with the Federal Government.
Examples:
0YWL3
3Y633
00N34
20999
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Cancellation DateThe date on which the need for qualification was canceled.
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Critical Safety ItemCritical Safety Items (CSIs) pertain to specific parts used in aviation related applications where failures may have catastrophic consequences. When a part is deemed a CSI, the QA cannot add or remove any sources for that part from the qualification dataset without first obtaining approval from the Design Control Authority.
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Document DateThe Effective Date of the latest version or component piece of the governing specification
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Document IDThe Document ID refers to the alphanumeric identifier assassigned to a military, federal, or non-government specification or standard. Sometimes referred to as a DoDISS Document ID, this value may optionally include a slash sheet, section, part, volume number, revision, amendment, notice, interim indicator or supplement symbol.
Examples:
MIL-W-215
MIL-PRF-1M SUP 1
MIL-C-5/2G(1) NOT 2
MIL-M-14H(3) SUP1 NOT 1
MIL-M-0038510/22C(1) NOT 1
MIL-DTL-38999
MIL-C-5191B(4) NOT 2
OO-S-00256/15B NOT 1
GGG-F-671B(I5) NOT 1
AIR-STD-25/48(2)
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DoDISSThe Department of Defense Index of Specifications and Standards (DoDISS) is a publication listing defense and federal specifications and standards, guide specifications, defense handbooks, commercial item descriptions (CIDS), adopted non-government standards (NGSs) and other related standardization documents used by the Department of Defense. The DoDISS is a printed subset of information from the ASSIST database.
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EditClicking the edit tab places users with the appropriate permissions in the edit mode. When in the edit mode, users have the ability to add, change, or delete items from a qualification data set (QDS). New or deleted items do not become immediately viewable to the general user population until those items have been published. Additionally, users can search and filter to drill down to specific items, much like they can in the Search mode. The biggest difference between Edit and Search modes is that while in the Search mode, the user is restricted to published information whereas in the Edit mode, users can see both published and pending information.
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Expiration Date
An expiration date, if specified, indicates the date on which qualification will expire if no subsequent requalification occurs. The validity or retention period is identified in the individual specification that defines and describes the performance characteristics of the product.
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FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
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FSCFSC, or Federal Supply Class, are codes used to group products into logical families for supply management purposes. The four-digit values, fully discussed in Cataloging Handbook H2-1, are used within the Defense Standardization Program to group standardization documents associated with products into logical families for standardization management purposes. Similarly, Standardization Areas refer to categories for engineering technologies, disciplines, and practices that do not fall under a FSC. The ASSIST maintains a current catalog of all FSCs and Areas to which documents are associated. Documents may also be classified within a Federal Supply Group, a two-digit code followed by 'GP', to categorize a small number of documents that can only be categorized in general, group-level terms.
Examples:
FSC: 1610 AIRCRAFT PROPELLERS
1615 HELICOPTER ROTOR BLADES, DRIVE MECHANISM
1620 AIRCRAFT LANDING GEAR COMPONENTS
FSG: 16GP AIRCRAFT COMPONENTS AND ACCESSORIES
59GP ELECTRICAL and ELECTRONIC EQUIPMENT COMPONENTS
AREA: ISDN INTERNATIONAL STANDARDIZATION DOCUMENTS – NAVY
TCSS TELECOMMUNICATIONS SYSTEMS STANDARDS
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Govt Part Designation
A government part designation is the part designation as assigned in the governing specification document.
The format and any coded meanings to the part designation are identified and explained in the specification.
Examples:
MS27467G17F35JC
M83413/8-G711CD
D38999/20WJ61JE
4940-01-250-4236
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Governing Specification
The specification that stipulates the need for qualification.
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Historical Search
Alows review of Qualification Data Sets based on a past date to verify what was or was not included in a QDS at that point in time.
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Last UpdateThe date of last update represents the date a change was posted to this Qualification Dataset. Whether in the QDS header, a government, or manufacturer part was changed, added, or deleted, sopmething changed in this QDS causing it to be different from the previous version. The Last Update is the QPD equivalent of the document date for document cataloged in ASSIST.
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Manufacturer
A manufacturer is the producer of the product. The manufacturer typically performs fabrication or assembly of the
final product as defined by the governing specification and is responsible for its performance, quality, and reliability.
The original manufacturer’s identification or code symbol is a product requirement where a product is rebranded and
resold by an authorized distributor.
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Match
A match is the qualifying set of results based on the specified search criteria.
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Mfr Part DesignationA manufacturer’s part designation is the manufacturer’s (or distributor’s) internally assigned designation or part number for a specific item, whether manufactured, assembled, or repackaged.
Examples:
1103G99
87893-02-3985-XX
8213
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New Qual Data Set
A Qualification Data Set is the on-line, real-time equivalent of the paper-based
QPL or QML documents previously published.
Clicking the New Qual Data Set link from the Edit menu screen, allows a user with the appropriate privileges the ability to create a new Qualification Data Set (QDS). A QDS can only be created against an existing specification that is not canceled and for which qualification is required. (The setting of the ‘Qualification Required’ flag for any specification is stipulated within the specification and is the responsibility of the Preparing Activity for that spec.)
The initial assumption is the QDS will be owned by the same activity as is responsible for the governing specification. In those few cases where the QDS and its governing specification are owned by different activities, the appropriate Qualifying Activity (QA) can be selected at the time the QDS is created.
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Non Government Standard Part NumberNon-Government Standard Part Numbers are identified in Non-Government Standards (NGS) and cross-referenced to a former government part number where that NGS supercedes a government standard.
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NIIN
The National Item Identification Number (NIIN) is a nine digit identifier that uniquely identifies a government part designation
within a federal supply class (FSC). The FSC together with the NIIN comprise the national stock number (NSN).
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NSN
A national stock number (NSN) is a thirteen digit number uniquely identifying a single government part designation. An NSN, although displayed or written as a continuous string of digits, consists of two separate components – the FSC and NIIN.
Examples:
---- NSN -------
FSC --- NIIN ---
5960 000113658
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Pending Edits
Within the context of QPD, qualification information is considered either “published” or “pending”. Published information is available and searchable by all QPD users; it is considered “official” and is the information used in making decisions regarding sourcing and availability. Pending information, on the other hand, is not viewable to users, with appropriate permissions assumed, outside the activity responsible for the maintenance of that qualification data set (QDS). Pending edits include new additions to a QDS as well items flagged for removal from that QDS. Only upon the publication of these pending edits does that information become publicly viewable and searchable.
Clicking the Pending Edits link from the edit menu will generate a list of all QDSs with any pending edits. This could include an entire QDS, or a single part flagged either for insertion or deletion from a QDS. This function provides the QA or cognizant engineer the ability to review all changes to a QDS before releasing those changes to the public domain.
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Preparing ActivityA Preparing Activity (PA) is a code used to designate the military or federal activity or agency responsible for the preparation, coordination,
issuance, and maintenance of a standardization document. In the case of non-government standards (NGS), the preparing activity is typically the
activity that has adopted an NGS or has registered a level of interest in an NGS.
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QDS NotesQDS Notes provides access to the preamble - a statement of ownership and disclaimers regarding the inclusion of products and/or sources within a Qualification Dataset. It may also include any "footnote" type information deemed necessary by the Qualifying Activity to provide additional information, explanation, or clarification of information to the listed items.
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Qualification Data Set
Qualification is the process in advance of, and independent of, an acquisition by which a manufacturer’s capabilities or a manufacturer’s or distributor’s products are examined, tested, and approved to be in conformance with specification requirements, and subsequent approval for or display of products in a Qualification Data Set.
A Qualification Data Set is a collection of either:
- manufacturers’ qualified processes and materials at each facility that have been subjected to a defined set of qualification and periodic tests using processes, worst case designs or materials to verify the end product’s design, performance, quality, and reliability meet all applicable requirements; or
- products or product families that have successfully completed the formal qualification process (including all periodic tests) that examines, tests, and verifies that a specific product design meets all applicable specification requirements.
A Qualification Data Set is the QPD equivalent of the paper-based QPL document.
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Qualified Date
The qualified date may indicate the date on which a product was approved for inclusion within a QDS. This date does not necessarily reflect the date on which testing was conducted, but a date at which time, after reviewing the test results that the product was approved for procurement. The qualified date applies only to products or processes produced in the plant specified in the Notification of Test Results letter and is effective at 8:00 AM (local time of the Qualifying Activity) as of the date of the letter of notification.
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Qualifying ActivityA Qualifying Activity (QA) is a code designating the military or federal activity or agency responsible for the development, implementation, and maintenance of a qualification program as specified in the applicable specification. A QA may be an organization other than the activity responsible for the preparation of the governing specification.
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Publish ChangesPublishing changes is the process of making pending edits available for public viewing. Publishing changes may be performed at the either the QDS level where all new additions or deletions are
published in a single operation or on an item by item basis by clicking the pending change icon to the left of the appropriate part.
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Search / FilterPerform a query or lookup based on the user-specified selection parameters.‘Searching; and ‘filtering’ are conceptually similar actions, but within QPD are used with a distinctive connotation. A ‘search’ is performed when first entering QPD via the Search tab to retrieve an initial result set. A ‘filter’ is the process of refining the query to limit or reduce the result set returned by the initial search. This refinement may include finding a list of qualification data sets and then refining the list down to a specific list of parts, The process of refining queries to limit a result set is often referred to as “drilling down”. The drilling down process allows the user to locate the precise result set needed to locate items of specific interest. Once an initial result set has been returned, the ‘Search’ button is replaced by the ‘Filter’ button.How to Search:
The search (or filter) mechanism consists of three components: the search (or filter) button, a search text box, and a dropdown criteria list box.
The text box allows a user to place a text value used for evaluation or comparison in the ensuing query. This text may be any combination of upper or lower case characters and/or digits necessary. Generally, the more explicit the search text entered, the more constrained (and smaller) the result set; the less explicit the search text, the larger the result set. A complete document ID with slash number, revision, supplement, amendment, and notice very explicitly identifies a single qualification data set based on that specification. A partial document ID may return a list of several possible qualification data sets based on the number of partially matching specifications.
The dropdown criteria list box is used in conjunction with the search text. This dropdown provides a specific list of data elements on which the query is to be executed. Selecting a value from this list provides a means for a specific data item to be compared to the value in the search box. For example, a typical query against an NSN would utilize the search text and specified data element to, in effect, request ‘all occurrences where the NSN is like the value entered in the text box. If a full 13-digit NSN value is entered, only a single item would be returned (assuming the NSN does exist within QPD). If a partial NSN were entered, all items matching that partial NSN value would be returned.
The “NONE” value in the criteria list provides the ability to perform an unconstrained search that would return everything in the database. Depending on how and where an unconstrained query is executed, extremely large volumes of data may be returned rendering the result set unwieldy if not totally useless.
The search or filter button simply executes the query once the search text and search item criteria have been selected. Should the returned result set not be as expected, adjustments to the search text and/or the query criteria.
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Spec SheetA spec (or 'slash') sheet identifies a specific part or section of a general specification or standard.
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Source
A source is any business entity that manufactures, assembles, sells, conveys, or otherwise transfers a product in the process of consummating an acquisition. A source may be a manufacturing plant, assembly or fabrication facility, or a distributor or dealer.
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StatusQualifying Activities are responsible for the maintenance of their qualification data to ensure that information is updated or validated to accurately describe the current state of parts and source availability in accordance with the requirements stated in the governing specification.user needs, current technology, modern industrial practices, and relevant testing methods. As technology and user needs change, the usefulness of a given QDS in the acquisition of systems, equipment, and related logistics support may diminish or it may become obsolete. Status determines the current applicability of a QDS in the acquisition process and may have one of two values:
- Active -
The QDS is approved for use in all acquisitions.
- Canceled -
The QDS is no longer needed for acquisition or procurement.
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Test ReferenceThe test reference is a designation identifying a formal test report documenting the date, authorization, synopsis of performance of samples that passed or failed; a listing of test equipment used and calibration dates; summary test data sheets; and a comparison of results with specification requirements. The test reference itself does not constitute a formal test report, but rather, it indicates where that report may be found.
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TitleThe Title is the text description of the governing document.
Examples:
ELECTRON TUBES, GENERAL SPECIFICATION FOR
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Unresolved IssuesWhere issues have been noted with a specific manufacturer's part, the Unresolved Issues flag is set to notify buyers of the potential problem without identifying either the part or manufacturer to avoid "undue bias" in acquisition decisions. Buyers must contact the QA for more specific information and given the details of the nature of the problem without making any incorrect inferences on their own. Unresolved issues are identified at the QDS level and visible to buyers, but do not directly identify either the government or manufacturer's part with which the issue exists.
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Defense Standardization Program (DSP) Links
The Defense Standardization Program home page provides a gateway to the DSP web site with information regarding the Program and its mission, news, libraries, and related links to other programs and sites.
Defense Standardization Program Home Page
DoD Manual 4120.24-M
SD-6
SD-20
DFARS
DFARS Subpart 209.2
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New QPLA QPL is a document, which lists manufacturers who have received a PRI product qualification approval letter to a specific standard for specific product designations and plant locations.
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