Preparing for a Manufacturing Readiness Review (MRR) or Production Readiness Review (PRR)

You have done the difficult work of developing a product that meets the technical specifications, quality, and reliability your Government customer requires. As you move from design to manufacturing, Redstone Government Consulting can help you plan and prepare for your Manufacturing Readiness Review (MRR) or Production Readiness Review (PRR). These phase gates may be required by your contract as part of the project bringing your product from design into manufacturing. Manufacturing Readiness Review (MRR) is the phase gate that typically follows the Critical Design Review (CDR), where the design is frozen. It is very common for this to be the point in the project that the manufacturing team becomes involved in preparing to produce the product.

How Early Involvement by your Production Team can Ensure Production Readiness

The earlier your Manufacturing Engineers and Production Technicians can be involved in the design process, the better. This is especially true if you will be making more than quantity one of your product(s). The Production team brings insights and perspectives into the design process, allowing for efficiency and ease of assembly downstream in the Manufacturing process. The Production team has the perspective of what works well when assembling components and what has been challenging with other products in the past. For example, there may be opportunities to incorporate features into the design that allow for fixturing or tooling interfaces that increase repeatability in the assembly process. Involvement in the project kickoff and participation in design meetings or with the design team can ensure that design factors that will either help or hinder the Manufacturing process are recognized and either incorporated or eliminated to pave the way to a smooth transition into Production.

4 Elements to Highlight in a Manufacturing Readiness Review (MRR)

When you reach the MRR phase gate, you must demonstrate that you have everything in place to start the Manufacturing process. Include an in-person tour of the production area where the products will be built, including seeing production team members, process documentation, and inventory parts ready for the build process.

1. 1. Process

   • How will you perform the assembly of the product?
   • Are there sub-assemblies that will be built and fed into the next level assembly?
   • How are information and data captured and recorded for each assembly step?

2. 2. Place (Facility)

   • Do you have a logical flow of work in the physical space?
   • Do you have the ability to expand if the Production quantities increase?
   • Is your Production cell set up and ready to go with all equipment and tooling needed for assembly?

3. 3. People

   • Do you have the staff needed to support the build?
   • If you need to hire, do you have a hiring plan?
   • Does the team require any additional training prior to the start of Production?
   • Do you have training records on file for needed capabilities?

4. 4. Parts

   • Are all the parts in-house and ready for the build?
   • What are your warehousing and replenishment practices?
   • How do you track lot and serial traceability to each assembly?
   • How are you planning and accounting for supply chain issues?

What is Manufacturing Readiness Level (MRL)?

Manufacturing Readiness Levels are quantitative measures developed by the Department of Defense (DoD) that go hand-in-hand with Technology Readiness Levels (TRLs). From the DoD MRL Deskbook, “The basic goal of all acquisition programs is to put required capability in the field in a timely manner with acceptable affordability and supportability. To be successful, the two key risk areas of immature product technologies and immature manufacturing capability must be managed effectively.” The Redstone GCI team now offers help navigating the determination of your Manufacturing Readiness Level and can provide facilitation and objective eyes for your MRL self-assessment and reporting. Redstone GCI can ensure you consider and present all aspects of Manufacturing Readiness to instill confidence internally and to your government customer.

The Best Way to Leverage the MRL Assessment Process to Further Your Readiness

The MRL Framework brings together best practices in Manufacturing and an incremental approach to preparing for manufacturing and maturing your manufacturing processes. When you find that you are required to self-assess and report on MRL, adopting the framework as your methodology for tracking and incrementing your progress toward maturing manufacturing capability as opposed to viewing it as a separate activity in addition to your organization’s process can provide added benefits. You can leverage the existing framework, quantified criteria, and the MRL assessment criteria that have been thoughtfully and thoroughly developed by your ultimate end customer.

Redstone GCI assists contractors throughout the U.S. and internationally with understanding the Government’s expectations and requirements. The Redstone GCI team is ready to support you in all Manufacturing and Production readiness areas, including an initial assessment and gap analysis.