Original Date: 04/07/1997
Revision Date: 04/14/2003

Previous to 1993, Rock Island Arsenal (RIA) conformed to the MIL-Q-9858A Quality System. Believing itself capable of more, and in response to a demanding environment, RIA wanted to improve its competitive posture by providing a structured approach for self-assessments; a uniform set of assessment criteria and metrics for measuring performance; assurance that the government is receiving cost effective quality; and recognition as a facility that demonstrates high quality and continuous improvement. RIA established a goal to achieve certification under the Contractor Performance Certification Program (CP2) documented in the U.S. Army Materiel Command (AMC) pamphlet, AMC-P 715-16.

Through CP2, contractors who consistently deliver quality products, apply process controls, and continuously demonstrate aggressive efforts to improve quality are formally recognized. The program incorporates all elements of the ISO-9001 quality system, plus several advanced quality concepts (Figure 2-7). CP2 is based on management’s commitment to total quality, compliance to quality system requirements, effectiveness of the Statistical Process Control (SPC) program, and metrics. Other areas of evaluation include continuous improvement, ethics, environmental, and safety. The CP2 effort is a teaming approach between contractor and government.

The Arsenal’s high level of quality and commitment to quality were recognized when RIA became the only government- owned, government-operated supplier certified to CP2. Recognition and certification to CP2 allowed RIA to have first article requirements waived in some contracts. Other benefits from the certification include improved controls in the operations, improved accountability for work functions, improved understanding of the responsibility for quality, and through the new channels of communication, better teamwork yielding enhanced customer focus.

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