Assurance

Complex systems must be designed, procured and delivered to meet the needs and requirements of the client and end user. The designed solution must meet the demands of the Acquisition Operating Framework (AOF) and comply with all regulatory and legal requirements and appropriate MoD and Government standards.

Increasingly, systems must be able to protect the integrity of the users’ operational data and information as well as be able to operate with other systems and other nations’ capabilities. Systems, increasingly systems of systems, must be safe and secure in use. They must be safe to operate, transport and maintain and the design must meet the safety regulations and requirements laid down by HMG.

Design solutions must encompass and take into account through life requirements and a support solution design that is tailored to the demands of the Support Solutions Envelope (SSE). This means that the system is supportable through life and is sustainable and available to the end user, when it is actually needed for use.

This not only means that the through life support of the system is taken into account in the solution design but also that the service or system is sustainable and the logistic and equipment support requirements are considered. End to end supply chains and supporting processes and tools must underpin any delivered solution and as this aspect is increasingly becoming part of the ‘industry’ remit, supply chains must be coherent, efficient and fit for purpose.

Systems designers must increasingly take account of environmental factors and all solutions must be accredited by the appropriate authorities. With our deep knowledge and understanding of the accrediting authorities and bodies, we are able to help inform the designers of the importance of compliance.

Benefits

The business benefits of systematically handling Assurance are clear. Our consultants will work with you to provide independent advice, or they can work as part of your team, bringing the necessary professional functional expertise and engineering competence across a wide range of disciplines, leading to:

Confidence in the designed and delivered solution and services
Improved systems and process performance
End user confidence in capability
Reduced risk and cost avoidance
Compliance with Government standards and policies
Enhanced reputation
Coherent and effective supply chains

Safety Assurance

Quintec offers the full range of operational and functional safety assurance activities from concept to disposal for equipment, systems and systems of systems.

Quintec has an in-depth understanding of the application of formal System Safety concepts and Safety Management, and the preparation of Safety Management Systems, Safety Cases and Safety Arguments. We understand and have experience of a wide range of safety standards including:

IEC 61508
Def Stan 00-56
DoD Std 2167A
Mil Std 418
RTCA DO-178C
Rail Safety Yellow Book
JSPs 375, 418, 430, 454, 518, 533
POSMS
ARP 4754

The application of safety engineering and safety management processes ensures the risk of harm to personnel, property and equipment is as low as reasonable practicable. We can integrate Safety with Systems Engineering, Human Factors and Project Risk Management to provide a comprehensive capability to support small and large projects and are committed to serving the best interests of customers and their continued long term support by providing tailored, solution focused safety services adopting appropriate and structured techniques and methods such as HAZOPs, Goal Structuring Notation and Fault Tree Analysis.

Quintec consultants also have experience in the development and accreditation of High Integrity Software. Our safety consultants work closely with other engineering disciplines to ensure that any safety issues are addressed early in the design lifecycle.

Our Safety Team is supported by the latest tools including Cassandra, Fault Tree plus and Adelard Safety Case Editor. Quintec works closely with safety working groups, including academia to develop new methods of assessing safety more efficiently and effectively.

Information Assurance

Quintec’s Information Assurance (IA) service ensures that the protection, security and access of data and information needs are properly defined and documented and that steps are in place to ensure compliance with any accreditation standards. IA brings together all the activities required to generate, document and maintain a system or service accreditation through life.

Our IA consultants understand the need to bring together key stakeholders at the earliest opportunity in order to capture all the necessary security aspects of the system design and then plan the appropriate route towards formal systems accreditation. We have security consultants belonging to the Communications Electronic Security Group (CESG) Listed Advisor Scheme (CLAS) and many of our people are Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP) qualified. Our services are delivered from an independent standpoint and are ‘product’ agnostic. We remain objective and advise our clients of all likely outcomes prior to making recommendations.

With our strong credentials in systems engineering and our understanding of the governance needs of large programmes, we have developed a range of Information Assurance services including:

Provision of CLAS and CISSP experts
Information Architecture design
Secure network design
Security risk assessments
Preparation of accreditation document sets
Security accreditation
Information and security audits
ISO27001 implementation
Production of security operating procedures

Support Solutions

Working within the CADMID cycle, Supportability Engineering provides the linkage between Systems Design, Systems Integration & Logistics. We provide support infrastructure expertise including the ILS Elements Plan Suite to optimise Whole Life Cost and effectiveness.

Our Supportability Engineering Assurance encompasses Integrated Logistic Support and Through Life Capability Management requirements as an approach to Supportability Assessment. This provides the cornerstone to ensure that fitness for purpose and the required levels of availability are sustained through life at an optimum cost of ownership. Quintec consultants are fully familiar with Def Stan 00-600 and JSP 886 and our capabilities include:

Whole Life Cost Analysis, FMECA, RCM, ARM
ILS Management, LSA and Contractor Logistic Support
Maintenance Planning, LORA and Integrated Supply Support
Training
Obsolescence and Disposal planning
Technical Publications
Facility Planning including Support and Test Equipment, PHS&T and Maintenance Management Systems

Supply Chain 21

AIDIS Supply Chains for the 21st Century (SC21) programme is aimed at improving the efficiency of the UK’s Defence and
Aerospace supply chains.

As an AIDIS SC21 Strategic Partner, we provide support to companies undertaking their respective SC21 journey, from the moment they become SC21 signatories through to the development of a Continuous Sustainable Improvement Plan (CSIP) leading to industry recognition as a bronze, silver or gold supplier.

Our end-to-end mentoring model enables an organisation to develop a CSIP within three months, developing the leadership team in the process. We facilitate the implementation of four strands of supply chain development and performance processes as the vehicle for raising the bar of supply chain excellence: