Estimated reading time: 7 minutes

From the Hill: Have You Hugged Your Technical Review Board Lately?

Increasing revenue is generally the general manager’s top thought. It’s seemingly the only lifeline to a sustainable enterprise. However, the other side of the equation is managing the risk of losing existing cash streams. For the most part, preceding such losses are multiple times of failing to meet customer expectations. This “longer” time frame gives management time to react, develop, and implement a get-well plan.

Typically, however, the sudden loss of a revenue stream is not part of the company’s risk management plan. Maybe it should be when one of your streams is tied to PCBs fabricated to MIL-PRF-31032, and just maybe, the counter risk action might be as simple as periodic recognition.

The topic for this month’s military column is the function of the Technical Review Board (TRB) as it pertains to MIL-PRF-31032 (military requirements for printed wiring board fabrication). The TRB’s duties and responsibilities are the glue that connects the dots between the site, the Defense Logistics Agency (DLA), and the associated military revenue stream. Understanding these duties will help with resource allocation, general support, site priorities, and, most importantly, yearly re-certification to MIL-PRF-31032.

The TRB Defined

The site forms a team of in-house experts to make decisions regarding printed board acceptability and certification. The TRB is a cross-functional team made up of responsible individuals selected from the different areas covered by the quality management (QM) program for MIL-PRF-31032. The TRB assumes full responsibility for managing the QM program. Thus, the TRB is the mechanism that the qualifying activity (DLA) uses to reduce oversight. The TRB members must be identified by name and title. Since the TRB will be making important decisions about qualified materials product list (QML), a method for making decisions (majority rules, unanimous approval, etc.) must be documented. Other aspects of the TRB operation must also be described, such as how often the TRB meets to evaluate the status of the QM program, the standard meeting structure, and how records of these meetings are maintained.Keep in mind that no two manufacturer’s TRB will be designed the same. TRB membership, meeting frequency, etc., will depend on the size, structure, and capabilities of each manufacturing facility. 
 
The TRB’s Responsibilities
The TRB’s responsibilities are outlined in the following 18 items:

1. Implement and maintain the QM program: The TRB ensures the QM program is in place and working properly. The TRB monitors the QM program and makes any changes that it deems necessary.
2. Monitor the self-assessment audit: The TRB ensures results are effective and leveraged to contribute to continuous improvement.
3. Maintain certified processes: Through process controls, process monitoring, and continuous improvement, the TRB ensures the processes are producing high-quality products.
4. Manage process change control: The TRB must be privy to process changes and approve any major changes before qualifying activity notification.
5. Oversee reliability data analysis: The TRB must not only collect reliability data through lot and periodic conformance testing but also analyze the results to ensure continued compliance and product reliability.
6. Conduct failure analysis: When failures occur, the TRB must determine the cause of failure to help prevent reoccurrence.
7. Monitor and assess customer returns: At the TRB, these should be tied into the failure analysis and corrective action system as needed.
8. Ensure corrective action approvals: The TRB must ensure corrective actions are taken, that they are effective, and that any changes comply with the QM plan.
9. Address QML product recalls: When problems are discovered that may affect products in the field, the TRB must communicate with customers to help ensure continued operation and fielding of the affected weapon systems.
10. Review qualification status: At the TRB, this is done periodically as part of conformance verification inspection (CVI) to ensure the QML-31032 accurately reflects proven capability.
11. Dispose of test failures: The TRB ensures non-conforming products are properly segregated and oversees rework to make sure only fully compliant product is shipped.
12. Ensure communication throughout the process: The TRB ensures good communication and helps prevent costly failures later in the process.
13. Submit status reports to qualifying activity (DLA): A good status report involves all members of the TRB compiling data on the status of the QM program.
14. Assess the impact of changes in personnel and business plans: These changes can impact the QM program. Therefore, the TRB must be aware of them and determine if any actions are necessary.
15. Approve and update QM plan: The qualifying activity bases QML certification on the QM plan, so it is important that it accurately reflects the manufacturer’s QM program.
16. Ensure a correlation between test coupons and printed boards: Testing is expensive, and the TRB must ensure that testing on coupons is accurately evaluating the product it represents and has traceability for future reference.
17. Approve periodic conformance inspection (PCI) test vehicles, frequency, and procedures: The PCI and CVI programs are important for long-term reliability assurance and process characterization. The TRB must ensure the program is meeting the specification requirements in a cost-effective manner.
18. Manage quality improvement programs: Continuous improvement is an active element of all QM programs. The TRB directs this by setting goals and monitoring the progress of activities.

 
The TRB’s Duties
The aforementioned responsibilities generate multiple duties/tasks that have to be performed for MIL-PRF-31032 continuous compliance. There are too many to mention all, but this partial list of 26 is already quite extensive. 
 

1. Establish and implement the site QM plan for MIL-PRF-31032.
2. Maintain the qualification and certification processes.
3. Review, approve, and communicate all major process changes. 
4. Ensure there are test vehicles, process control measurements, and reliability tests that collect sufficient data to verify compliance. 
5. Ensure failure rates, customer returns, and complaints are collected and monitored on production parts compliant to Mil-PRF-31032.
6. Ensure that corrective actions are effective.
7. Review all associated MIL-PRF-31032 data at least on a quarterly basis and determine any actions necessary to maintain compliance.
8. Address the effect of management or business plan changes on the QM program and communicate to DLA as needed.
9. Address product recalls if necessary. 
10. Review all rework on the discrepant material report (DMR).
11. Hold periodic TRB meetings to review all aspects of military compliance with minutes.
12. Approve any change to the QM program through ECN or TCF.
13. Correlate test coupons to production parts with DPA analysis.
14. Conduct add-on qualification data reports to the qualifying activity.
15. Document customer deviations to the specification. 
16. Address test optimization (sample plan reductions) as needed. 
17. Monitor the self-assessment (internal audit) and follow-up within 30 days. 
18. Purchasing process: Through system audits, ensure material and services conform to the purchase requirements.
19. Incoming inspection: Ensure procedures are reviewed and audited. 
20. Material evaluation: Ensure new materials are evaluated before use in production. 
21. Process and flow changes: Review and approve all major process changes.
22. Corrective actions: Ensure the timely closure of all corrective actions.
23. Once every two years (biannually), produce a capability verification inspection (CVI) report, indicating attribute compliance to the present QML will be completed and sent to DLA for review and approval. 
24. Send yearly compliance reports to the qualifying activity. 
25. Technical reports: From time to time, tests done for compliance-related activity will be documented in a report. 
26. Add-on qualification data reports will be sent to the qualifying activity when the test data is accepted by the TRB.

Summary
Please note that TRB membership, in general, is in addition to the person’s normal workload. Such work occurs in the background of day to day activities and, as a result, offers little to no additional recognition. On the other hand, the minute a site loses certification, these TRB members are thrown under an uncomfortable microscope.
 
“Stop production” orders from the DLA occur for various reasons—all of which are deemed to jeopardize the integrity of the customer’s finished PCBs. Most often, such “stop orders” are the result of the DLA triannual site audit when major supply chain issues are discovered. DLA audits last three days with the “stop production” order effective immediately. The corrective action is never easy and usually takes months. Such a loss of certification/revenue usually lasts a minimum of six months and could easily stretch to 12. 
 
If your site’s certification continues year after year in what seems like a simple, on-going, non-crisis process, every member of your TRB deserves a hug and recognition for the continuity of the site’s military revenue stream. It’s the simplest part of the company’s risk management plan.  
 
Reference
1. Certification and Qualification Information for Manufacturers (MIL-PRF-31032); DLA VQE-31032, Revision G, DTD, August 2013.

This column originally appeared in the March 2020 issue of PCB007 Magazine.