Where an aircraft design organisation is pursuing approval by DASA as a Military Design Organisation (MDO), DASA will rely extensively on the design organisation handbook to gain confidence that the organisation has the potential to provide professional aircraft design services. The information below provides an overview of the requirements of the handbook for MDOs; further information can be found in DASR 21.A.243.
Pivotal to the handbook is a description of the Design Assurance System (DAS) that is to be employed by the MDO, which shows how the MDO intends to:
ensure their design of products, parts and appliances, design changes and repair designs, all comply with the type certification basis (TCB) for the aircraft
provide independent checking of the showings of compliance with the TCB
account for design input provided by other organisations
implement an effective Safety Management System (SMS)
provide for independent monitoring and improvement of the DAS.
The DAS must specifically address, either directly or by reference to other documents, the organisational structure and key responsibilities, procedures and resources that will be employed by MDO, as summarised below.
Organisational structure and key responsibilities. In addition to presenting the proposed MDO structure, the handbook will document the incumbents for the following roles: the Chief Executive, any authorised signatories (including Compliance Verification Engineers (CVEs), and the following three individuals that are formally accepted by DASA via the issue of Form 4 - Acceptance of Nominated Management Personnel:
Head of Design Organisation - responsible for the design organisation’s output
Chief of the Office of Airworthiness - responsible for the preparation of certification program plans, interpreting airworthiness requirements, classifying design changes and repair designs, independent checking of showings of compliance, approval of minor changes and repair designs, and other functions.
Chief of Independent System Monitoring - responsible for continual evaluation of the DAS to ensure it remains effective (which must also cover design suppliers)
Procedures. The design organisation handbook will document key MDO procedures for a range of functions, including design, compliance documents, independent checking, independent monitoring, and accounting for external input. It will also document the selection, training, ongoing competence and identification of authorised signatories (including CVEs).
Resources. The handbook will describe the available resources to support the provision of professional design services, including human resources, equipment, tools, facilities, design data, and so on.