5.1 Procurement practices encourage industry innovation and provide flexibility to achieve the benefits of continuous improvement.

5.2 There is an evolving industrial product quality philosophy that recognizes the need for quality policy changes that will provide producers with opportunities and incentives toward improvement of product quality and cooperative relationships between the producer and the consumer.

5.3 Process controls and statistical control methods are the preferable means of preventing nonconformances, controlling quality, and generating information for improvement. An effective process control system may also be used to provide information to assess the quality of deliverables submitted for acceptance. Producers are encouraged to use process control and statistical control procedures for their internal control and to submit effective process control procedures in lieu of prescribed sampling requirements to the consumer for approval.

5.4 Sampling inspection by itself is an inefficient industrial practice for demonstrating conformance to the requirements of a contract and its technical data package. The application of sampling plans for acceptance involves both consumer and producer risks; and increased sampling is one way of reducing these risks, but it also increases costs. Producers can reduce risks by employing efficient processes with appropriate process controls. To the extent that such practices are employed and are effective, risk is controlled and, consequently, inspection and testing can be reduced.

5.5 The following points provide the basis for this standard:

5.5.1 Producers are required to submit deliverables that conform to requirements and to generate and maintain sufficient evidence of conformance.

5.5.2 Producers are responsible for establishing their own manufacturing and process controls to produce results in accordance with requirements.

5.5.3 Producers are expected to use recognized prevention practices such as process controls and statistical techniques.

5.6 This standard also provides a set of sampling plans and procedures for planning and conducting inspections to assess quality and conformance to contract requirements. This standard eliminates acceptable quality levels (AQL's) and associated practices within specifications.

5.7 Applicability—This standard, when referenced in the contract, specification, or purchase order, is applicable to the prime producer, and should be extended to subcontractors or vendor facilities. The quality plans are to be applied as specified in the contract documents, and deliverables may be submitted for acceptance if the requirements of this standard have been met.

5.8 Applications—Quality plans and procedures in this standard may be used when appropriate to assess conformance to requirements of the following:

5.8.1 End items,

5.8.2 Components or basic materials,

5.8.3 Operations or services,

5.8.4 Materials in process,

5.8.5 Supplies in storage,

5.8.6 Maintenance operations,

5.8.7 Data or records, and

5.8.8 Administrative procedures.

5.9 Product Requirements—The producer is required to submit product that meets all contract and specification requirements. The application of the quality plans or procedures of this standard does not relieve the producer of responsibility for meeting all contract product requirements. The producer's quality system, including manufacturing processes and quality control measures, will be established and operated to consistently produce products that meet all requirements. Absence of any inspection or process control requirement in the contract does not relieve the producer of responsibility for assuring that all products or supplies submitted to the consumer for acceptance conform to all requirements of the contract.

5.10 Limitations—The sampling plans and procedures of this standard are not intended for use with destructive tests or where product screening is not feasible or desirable. In such cases, the sampling plans to be used will be specified in the contract or product specifications.

1.1 This guide establishes lot or batch and continuous sampling plans using MIL-STD-1916 as a basis. It represents an alternative sampling approach to attributes sampling (MIL-STD-105E, same as E2234), variables sampling (MIL-STD-414, E2762), and continuous sampling (MIL-STD-1235B, E2819).

1.2 This guide provides the sampling plans of MIL-STD-1916 in ASTM format for use by ASTM committees and others. It recognizes the continuing usage of MIL-STD-1916 in industries supported by ASTM. Most of the original text in MIL-STD-1916 is preserved in Sections 4-6 of this guide. The original wording of “Government” in MIL-STD-1916 has been changed to “consumer”, and “contractor” has been changed to “producer” to make this standard more generic.

1.3 Purpose—To encourage producers supplying goods and services to its consumers to submit efficient and effective process control (prevention) procedures in place of prescribed sampling requirements. The goal is to support the movement away from an AQL-based inspection (detection) strategy to implementation of an effective prevention-based strategy including a comprehensive quality system, continuous improvement and a partnership with the consumer. The underlying theme is a partnership between consumer and the producer, with the requisite competence of both parties, and a clear mutual benefit from processes capable of consistently high quality products and services. The objective is to create an atmosphere where every noncompliance is an opportunity for corrective action and improvement rather than one where acceptable quality levels are the contractually sufficient goals.

1.4 This standard does not purport to address all of the safety concerns, if any, associated with its use. It is the responsibility of the user of this standard to establish appropriate safety and health practices and determine the applicability of regulatory limitations prior to use.