Manufacturing Readiness Level (MRL) Deskbook

such as: setting goals for increased manufacturing maturity and reduced manufacturingrisk; creating action plans and funding estimates to reach those goals; reachingdecisions about the readiness of a technology or process to transition into a systemdesign or onto the factory floor; and reaching decisions on a system’s readiness toproceed into the next acquisition phase. Therefore, an assessment of manufacturingreadiness should compare the status of the key program elements to a nominal MRLappropriate for the stage of the program, describe the risk associated with elements thatfall short of the goal, and lay the foundation for manufacturing risk mitigation planningand investment.4.2 DETERMINE INITIAL ASSESSMENT SCOPEThe government program/project office should establish the initial scope andschedule for the assessment in conjunction with the prime contractor or equivalentthereof.• At Milestone A, the proponents of the alternatives evaluated in the AoA,including the proposed materiel solution, should fulfill the role of the primecontractor. Since the AoA is conducted by an entity independent of theprogram, the program/project office may not be established this early in theacquisition process. In that case, the DoD Component should identify whowill carry out the program/project office’s responsibilities associated with theassessment of manufacturing readiness.• At Milestone B, there will be prime contractors associated with every systemlevelpreliminary design still in competition. However, there may becircumstances where the system-level preliminary design is not the startingpoint for the detailed design effort in EMD because a new technology hasbecome available or there has been a change in the requirement. Therefore,assessments of manufacturing readiness are also applicable to the primecontractors associated with these situations if the risk warrants it.• At CDR, there will be a prime contractor associated with the detailed design.• At Milestone C, the prime contractor will be associated with the system-levelPRR.• At FRP, there will be a prime contractor associated with production.Program/project personnel are likely to need training and additional information.The MRL definitions, threads, tutorials, tools and other information can be found athttp://www.dodmrl.com/.The scope of the assessment and the associated MRL target will vary as afunction of the stage of the life cycle 27 and specific program requirements. For example,27Section 3 of this deskbook provided guidelines for expectations at key decision points in the acquisitionmanagement system.4-2