MSQP: A fresh new approach for serving hi-rel and satcom customers

The view from aerospace and defense

by Rey Green

Today nearly half of all hi-rel and satcom component shipments from RF and microwave manufacturers are not delivered on time, and costs are still high, even as technological advances mandated by the wireless market have driven manufacturing costs down. Merrimac has applied expertise gained from more than 30 years of supplying hi-rel and satcom components to create a design, manufacturing, and procurement environment that is making great strides in solving this problem. Called Merrimac Space Qualified Products (MSQP), the program is shaving up to 60 percent from the procurement cycle, while maintaining the exceptionally high levels of performance our aerospace and defense customers require.

MSQP reduces the complexity of the procurement process, reduces delivery time, and improves quality by assembling an array of Merrimac products proven in hi-rel and space applications. To create MSQP, we drew on proven design practices, compiled and standardized the documentation and levels of screening achieved for hi-rel and satcom products, and produced a set of rules that customers can follow when tailoring a specification for a certain component they want Merrimac to build.

By utilizing MSQP and Merrimac's design library, customers draw on a comprehensive library of documentation so that each requirement is not started from scratch. Through continual utilization of the design, process improvements, and screening elements in MSQP, variables are reduced and product quality and reliability are improved.

To use MSQP, customers either select a part from Merrimac's standard MSQP offerings that meets their needs, or they create a specification for a component based on the MSQP design process, qualification, and screening rules. In the first case, once Merrimac receives the request, it produces the component based on existing documentation. Since Merrimac has prequalified each family of its standard MSQP offerings, the customer saves cost and reduces development time by accepting qualification or qualification-by-similarity data. If the customer chooses to build a spec around the MSQP rules, Merrimac designs the desired component utilizing existing designs whenever possible. In either case, considerable time and cost are removed from the process. The customer also has the assurance that the requested component will be available over the long term.

MSQP is delivering much-needed improvements that foster an environment of cooperation in which our hi-rel and satcom customers can maintain construction schedules more reliably than before. For more information on MSQP, call Merrimac at (973) 575-1300, or send an e-mail to RKG@merrimacind.com.

Rey Green is Vice President and General Manager of Merrimac's RF and Microwave Products.