Iso 9000
Another nail in the coffin for small manufacturers was the requirement of all Dept of Defence manufacturers to comply with ISO 9000. For the engineering factory, this not only meant retooling but a never-ending paper trail and an administrative quagmire that just wasn't worth small businesses to pursue. To machine a simple DoD part may well have taken only minutes but to then prepare documentation for inspection, dispatch and receipt took a monumental effort. Simply unbalanced.
Once upon a time there were jobbing workshops around everywhere, take a look around now. They machined and fabricated aircraft and their parts including other military hardware. When complete inspectors would visit the plant, do a hardness test, check dimensions and minimal documentation and invariably be satisfied.
To add to Ex FSO Griffo's list, who didn't mention AWA in Sydney too.
Austruckingfalia...we have dumbed down, our practical wisdom diminishing.