Quality and product assurance

The aim of Quality and Product Assurance at the German Aerospace Center (Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt; DLR) is to meet the highest standards of quality, sustainability and the protection of the environment in research, development and management. We achieve this by implementing quality and environmental management, management systems and their associated auditing and product assurance in order to guarantee excellent research results, research products and services.

The department coordinates, plans, develops, monitors and secures the processes for DLR-wide quality and environmental management, quality and product assurance and the implementation of the strategic objectives of standardisation. Standardisation is an important building block for the transfer of know-how to society.

The DLR Quality Management Representative is responsible for the DLR management system, its compliance and further development. He is the head of Quality and Product Assurance and is responsible for issuing guidelines for quality management and auditing at DLR as well as for standardisation, qualification, product and quality assurance.

The department reports to the Administrative Board. Further information can be found in the Executive Board area of the Deputy Chair.

Departments

DLR Management system

DLR attaches great importance to quality standards and sustainability in processes and results. Its management system follows the principle of subsidiarity and adapts to the various contexts of the institutes in a decentralised manner.

Quality management

The Quality Management department is responsible for ensuring excellent research results, services, management systems and auditing. The institutes themselves are responsible for quality, with all employees contributing to the fulfilment of quality objectives.

Environmental management

DLR is actively committed to environmental sustainability by regularly identifying and monitoring environmental aspects. Based on the DIN EN ISO 14001 standard, measures for environmental improvement are planned and implemented in order to fulfil both environmental protection and legal requirements.

Audit management

DLR conducts regular audits to ensure the ongoing development and continuous improvement of the management systems of the institutes and facilities. Performing audits in the institutes and facilities helps to continuously improve DLR's quality standards.

Standardisation

DLR emphasises the importance of standardisation in its key research areas. As Germany's leading space agency, it is actively involved in national and international committees and associations.

Product assurance

Product assurance is decentralised and carried out by the DLR institutes and facilities, with the support of coordination centres. This allows researchers to carry out quality-tested experiments and research products.

Qualification

In addition to the direct requirements, research projects at DLR must also comply with numerous norms and standards. In aerospace in particular, this requires the detailed analysis and qualification of hardware, materials and processes.