Provisions Governing Qua/ification SD-6
CHAPTER 1:
THE QUALIFICATION PROGRAM
WHAT IS QUALIFICATION?
Qualification is a 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 inclusion of products in an electronic qualified products list (QPL) or manufacturers in an electronic qualified manufacturers list (QML), which are part of the Qualified Product Database (QPD). Criteria for retention of qualification are applied on a periodic basis to ensure continued integrity of the qualification status. Before an electronic QPL or QML can be established, an approved and dated federal or defense specification or a non-government standard (NGS) must exist which requires qualification and sets forth the qualification examination, tests, and criteria
for retention. (See DoDM 4120.24).1
Testing for conformity to the requirements of a specification in advance of, and independent of, a specific acquisition (contract award) is known as qualification testing.
The primary benefit of qualification is that it improves the availability of products and shortens the procurement process by completing long or highly complex evaluations and tests of manufacturers or products prior to award of contract. Qualification improves readiness by improving the availability of products with requisite quality, reliability, performance, and safety. Qualification can also help reduce costs by eliminating repetitive surveillance audits and tests.
Qualified Products Database
In the past, manufacturers or distributors that successfully qualified their products to a federal or defense specification or non-government standard had their products or processes listed on a paper or portable document format (PDF) QPL or QML. In April 2006, the DoD began transitioning from paper and PDF media to electronic QPLs and QMLs with the information housed in an online, searchable Qualified Products Database (QPD). The QPD can be accessed through the Acquisition Streamlining and Standardization Information System (ASSIST) at https://assist.dla.mil.
Qualified Products List
A QPL focuses on qualifying products or families of products. A QPL will normally be appropriate for items of supply that have a stable design/composition and will be continually available for an extended period of time, thereby making it practicable to qualify individual
1 Available from www.dtic.mil/whs/directives
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