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DAOD 3009-2, Government Quality Assurance (GQA)

Table of Contents

  1. Introduction
  2. Overview
  3. Operating Principles
  4. Responsibilities
  5. References

1. Introduction

Date of Issue: 2003-08-15

Application: This is a directive that applies to employees of the Department of National Defence (DND) and an order that applies to officers and non-commissioned members of the Canadian Arme Forces (CAF members).

Approval Authority: This DAOD is issued under the authority of the Assistant Deputy Minister (Materiel) (ADM(Mat)).

Enquiries: Director General Materiel Systems and Supply Chain (DGMSSC)

2. Overview

Context

2.1 Suppliers of materiel and services to DND and the CAF are responsible for controlling quality and for supplying materiel and services that conform to contract requirements. DND and the CAF perform Government Quality Assurance (GQA) on contracts, incorporating an assessment of materiel and supplier risk, to assure that suppliers provide materiel and services that are fit for their intended purpose and meet departmental needs.

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3. Operating Principles

Basic Rules

3.1 The following table describes the basic rules that DND and the CAF apply to perform GQA.

Rule Description

1

It is more effective to build quality into materiel than to deal with the cumulative costs of materiel failure arising later in the materiel life cycle.

2

Suppliers are responsible to provide quality materiel and services on time and within projected cost in response to a real and clearly articulated need.

3

Successful materiel performance is marked by repeated desired results with no more than the predicted degree of materiel maintenance.

4

Value-added activities are based on the risk of failure of performance associated with the materiel and the supplier.

5

Unless it is mandatory requirement of a Request for Proposal, suppliers are not required to be registered to an International Organization for Standardization (ISO) standard in order to receive a contract. However, the supplier's quality management system must address each requirement contained in the standard.

Performance of GQA

3.2 DND and the CAF shall perform GQA by:

  1. ensuring that suppliers develop and use the appropriate quality systems and that they are committed to continual improvement of those systems;
  2. co-operating within the procurement matrix team to improve the quality of all contract-related documents as well as the determination and mitigation of procurement risks;
  3. obtaining information on suppliers related to the status of development and degree of use and effectiveness of quality systems;
  4. monitoring the risk of materiel and supplier performance failure involving contracts for critical materiel; and
  5. analysing feedback provided by users on the in-service performance of materiel.

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4. Responsibilities

Responsibility Table

4.1 The following table identifies the responsibilities in respect of GQA policy:

The ... is/are responsible for ...

DQA
  • promoting the value of quality and environmental management systems to suppliers of materiel and services to DND and informing such suppliers of the expected content of such systems;
  • participating with other DND stakeholders and contracting authorities to determine materiel risks, produce quality contract documents, establish quality assurance requirements and evaluate bids;
  • where risk warrants, requiring that bidders of materiel and services provide quality plans that are evaluated as part of the bid evaluation process to assess their ability to provide a quality materiel or service;
  • determining the status of the quality management systems of a supplier;
  • analysing the risk of materiel or supplier performance failure;
  • summarizing the risk of materiel or supplier performance failure, and conducting GQA appropriate to the identified risk;
  • evaluating information from CAF users about the performance of materiel and services provided by suppliers, and taking appropriate corrective action to prevent recurrence of any nonconformity; and
  • developing mutual agreements with other nations for the conduct of GQA.

equipment program managers
  • involving DQA personnel:
    • as part of the procurement team as early as possible in the procurement cycle; and
    • in the risk management process to establish materiel or supplier performance failure.

DND employees and CAF members who are users of materiel and services
  • providing DQA with feedback, through their chains of command, in respect of the performance and suitability of materiel and services used in the performance of their duties.

5. References

Acts, Regulations, Central Agency Policies and Policy DAOD

Other References

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