Original Date: 04/20/1998
Revision Date: 01/18/2007

ITT Aerospace/Communications Division (A/CD) developed the Product Assurance Laboratory (PAL) to perform calibration and testing procedures (e.g., failure analysis, construction analysis, re-certification) for space, military, and commercial programs. The company has been cultivating the PAL’s in-house capability since 1988 when the initial laboratory consisted of a few work areas and seven people. Prior to the PAL, ITT A/CD contracted most of its laboratory work to independent facilities. Today, the PAL has been expanded to more than 6,000 square feet.

During the developmental phases of the PAL, ITT A/CD spent considerable time and effort in surveying and identifying capabilities outside of the company. More than 500 surveys were sent to independent laboratories to request benchmarking partnerships. From these surveys, the company selected seven premier laboratories (e.g., Cray Research, IBM Materials Laboratory, Motorola AIEG) from which to model the PAL. The PAL handles various commodities such as active discrete and passive devices; hybrids and integrated circuits; fasteners; coatings; and electro-mechanical connectors, switches, and relays. Specialized equipment used at the PAL includes C-mode scanning acoustic microscopes, scanning electron microscopes, energy dispersion x-ray analyses, atomic absorbers, and ultraviolet/visible spectrophotometers.

ITT A/CD’s PAL is becoming widely recognized as a quality analysis laboratory, and prides itself on customer satisfaction, continuous improvement, and quality service. In 1997, the laboratory’s customer satisfaction level reached 99.6%. Besides its in-house responsibilities to the company, the PAL has begun contracting its services to other companies.

For more information see the Point of Contact for this survey.