Safety-Helmut
“The Air Systems Group (formerly ADRP) changed some fairly key definitions in the JSP553 last year, and many people were not happy with the changes I don't have a copy to hand, but they changed the way they refer to designer, design organisation, design authority etc. I don't know if it's been changed back”.
The reason people weren’t happy is simple. Yet again, faceless people with little or no experience, and without consultation or regard to the consequences, re-invent the wheel and cause havoc.
The bottom line is that there is a perfectly good Def Stan which covers these procedures for Air, Land and Sea. (Its sole purpose is to describe the procedures for maintaining the build standard, including safety. I’d be astonished if the Nimrod IPT even has a copy, and they certainly don’t have the accompanying Specifications it invokes).
If ASG issue a JSP which contradicts the Def Stan, the IPT or project manager must disregard the JSP as the Def Stan sits higher in the mandated “Order of Preference or Hierarchy for the Selection of Standards for MOD Acquisition”. Thus, the IPT appoint the Design Authority or Design Custodian; as they appoint, in agreement with other stakeholder IPTs, the Co-ordinating System Design Authority. (Or would, if they understood what I’m talking about). There are a few cases where the IPT are the Design Authority, Service Engineered Mods being the most obvious. Even then, IPTs routinely breach mandated safety rules which require them to have SEMs appraised by the DAs (both aircraft and equipment). Has this caused safety problems? Yes, most certainly.