{"id":23945119,"date":"2023-11-07T10:23:25","date_gmt":"2023-11-07T09:23:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.eqmc-consulting.de\/project\/establishment-of-a-product-safety-organization\/"},"modified":"2026-06-12T12:43:57","modified_gmt":"2026-06-12T11:43:57","slug":"establishment-of-a-product-safety-organization","status":"publish","type":"project","link":"https:\/\/www.eqmc-consulting.de\/en\/project\/establishment-of-a-product-safety-organization\/","title":{"rendered":"From a blank whiteboard to an ECSS-ready Product Assurance organisation \u2014 for an ESA Earth observation mission"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>[et_pb_section fb_built=&#8221;1&#8243; _builder_version=&#8221;4.23&#8243; _module_preset=&#8221;default&#8221; background_color=&#8221;#D9EFFA&#8221; bottom_divider_flip=&#8221;horizontal&#8221; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221;][et_pb_row column_structure=&#8221;1_2,1_2&#8243; _builder_version=&#8221;4.23&#8243; _module_preset=&#8221;default&#8221; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221;][et_pb_column type=&#8221;1_2&#8243; _builder_version=&#8221;4.23&#8243; _module_preset=&#8221;default&#8221; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221;][dipi_divider content_text=&#8221;Space&#8221; content_text_tag=&#8221;h1&#8243; items_alignment=&#8221;left&#8221; hide_second_element=&#8221;on&#8221; first_decoration_style=&#8221;image&#8221; decoration_first_image=&#8221;https:\/\/www.eqmc-consulting.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/BernhardBals-Symbol.png&#8221; first_decoration_width=&#8221;32px&#8221; content_padding=&#8221;5px|10px|5px||true|false&#8221; first_decoration_padding=&#8221;0px|10px|0px|0px|false|false&#8221; first_decoration_bg_color=&#8221;RGBA(255,255,255,0)&#8221; _builder_version=&#8221;4.27.0&#8243; _module_preset=&#8221;default&#8221; text_font=&#8221;|700|||||||&#8221; text_text_color=&#8221;#F26B27&#8243; text_font_size=&#8221;18px&#8221; text_line_height=&#8221;1.7em&#8221; background_color=&#8221;#F9F9F9&#8243; custom_padding=&#8221;|15px||15px|false|true&#8221; border_radii=&#8221;on|100px|100px|100px|100px&#8221; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221;][\/dipi_divider][et_pb_text _builder_version=&#8221;4.27.6&#8243; _module_preset=&#8221;default&#8221; header_2_text_color=&#8221;#0C2A45&#8243; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221;]<\/p>\n<h2><strong>From a blank whiteboard<\/strong> to an ECSS-ready Product Assurance organisation \u2014 for an ESA Earth observation mission<\/h2>\n<p>[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=&#8221;1_2&#8243; _builder_version=&#8221;4.23&#8243; _module_preset=&#8221;default&#8221; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221;][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row column_structure=&#8221;1_2,1_2&#8243; disabled_on=&#8221;off|off|off&#8221; _builder_version=&#8221;4.27.6&#8243; _module_preset=&#8221;default&#8221; custom_margin=&#8221;||-180px||false|false&#8221; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221;][et_pb_column type=&#8221;1_2&#8243; _builder_version=&#8221;4.23&#8243; _module_preset=&#8221;default&#8221; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221;][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=&#8221;1_2&#8243; _builder_version=&#8221;4.23&#8243; _module_preset=&#8221;default&#8221; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221;][et_pb_text _builder_version=&#8221;4.27.6&#8243; _module_preset=&#8221;default&#8221; header_2_font=&#8221;|700|||||||&#8221; header_2_text_color=&#8221;#0C2A45&#8243; header_2_font_size=&#8221;21px&#8221; background_color=&#8221;#F9F9F9&#8243; custom_padding=&#8221;30px|30px|30px|30px|true|true&#8221; border_radii=&#8221;on|6px|6px|6px|6px&#8221; box_shadow_style=&#8221;preset3&#8243; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221;]<\/p>\n<p><strong>Project details<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Customer: LSS GmbH<\/p>\n<p>Branch: Space<\/p>\n<p>Period: 12\/2020 &#8211; 12\/2021<\/p>\n<p>[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section][et_pb_section fb_built=&#8221;1&#8243; _builder_version=&#8221;4.23.1&#8243; _module_preset=&#8221;default&#8221; custom_css_free_form=&#8221;body {||    -ms-hyphens: auto;||    -webkit-hyphens: auto;||    hyphens: auto;||}&#8221; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221;][et_pb_row column_structure=&#8221;1_2,1_2&#8243; use_custom_gutter=&#8221;on&#8221; make_equal=&#8221;on&#8221; _builder_version=&#8221;4.27.6&#8243; _module_preset=&#8221;default&#8221; width_tablet=&#8221;&#8221; width_phone=&#8221;&#8221; width_last_edited=&#8221;on|tablet&#8221; hover_enabled=&#8221;0&#8243; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221; custom_margin=&#8221;50px||||false|false&#8221; sticky_enabled=&#8221;0&#8243;][et_pb_column type=&#8221;1_2&#8243; _builder_version=&#8221;4.23&#8243; _module_preset=&#8221;default&#8221; custom_padding=&#8221;30px|30px|30px|30px|true|true&#8221; border_radii=&#8221;on|6px|6px|6px|6px&#8221; border_width_all=&#8221;2px&#8221; border_color_all=&#8221;#0C2A45&#8243; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221;][et_pb_text _builder_version=&#8221;4.23.1&#8243; _module_preset=&#8221;default&#8221; header_2_font=&#8221;|700|||||||&#8221; header_2_text_color=&#8221;#0C2A45&#8243; header_2_font_size=&#8221;28px&#8221; custom_margin=&#8221;||20px||false|false&#8221; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221;]<\/p>\n<h2>The challenge<\/h2>\n<p>[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=&#8221;4.23&#8243; _module_preset=&#8221;default&#8221; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221;]<\/p>\n<p>A space company in the Munich area had won the contract for the deployable reflector assembly (DRA) of ESA&#8217;s CIMR mission.<\/p>\n<p>The project carried full ECSS Product Assurance obligations, but no Product Assurance organisation, no tailored PA Plan and no supporting evidence structure were yet in place. All three had to be established <strong>before the next review cycle began<\/strong>. <\/p>\n<p>[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=&#8221;1_2&#8243; _builder_version=&#8221;4.23&#8243; _module_preset=&#8221;default&#8221; custom_padding=&#8221;30px|30px|30px|30px|true|true&#8221; border_radii=&#8221;on|6px|6px|6px|6px&#8221; border_width_all=&#8221;2px&#8221; border_color_all=&#8221;#0C2A45&#8243; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221;][et_pb_text _builder_version=&#8221;4.23&#8243; _module_preset=&#8221;default&#8221; header_2_font=&#8221;|700|||||||&#8221; header_2_text_color=&#8221;#0C2A45&#8243; header_2_font_size=&#8221;28px&#8221; custom_margin=&#8221;||20px||false|false&#8221; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221;]<\/p>\n<h2>Cooperation<\/h2>\n<p>[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=&#8221;4.23&#8243; _module_preset=&#8221;default&#8221; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221;]<\/p>\n<p>Together, we created the three foundations the project required:<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>A Product Assurance Plan tailored against ECSS-Q-ST-10C and defensible in discussions with ESA.<\/li>\n<li>An evidence and tooling structure capable of surviving future personnel changes.<\/li>\n<li>A Product Assurance team able to operate the system independently, including the interfaces to Engineering, Project Management and the prime contractor.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section][et_pb_section fb_built=&#8221;1&#8243; _builder_version=&#8221;4.23&#8243; _module_preset=&#8221;default&#8221; background_color=&#8221;#F9F9F9&#8243; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221;][et_pb_row _builder_version=&#8221;4.23&#8243; _module_preset=&#8221;default&#8221; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221;][et_pb_column type=&#8221;4_4&#8243; _builder_version=&#8221;4.23&#8243; _module_preset=&#8221;default&#8221; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221;][et_pb_text _builder_version=&#8221;4.27.6&#8243; _module_preset=&#8221;fc1a7e47-b83c-4553-a2f0-180d5d9d58f9&#8243; text_orientation=&#8221;center&#8221; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221;]<\/p>\n<h2>What we have achieved<\/h2>\n<h3><strong>Outcomes that remained after the engagement:<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row column_structure=&#8221;1_3,1_3,1_3&#8243; _builder_version=&#8221;4.23&#8243; _module_preset=&#8221;default&#8221; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221;][et_pb_column type=&#8221;1_3&#8243; _builder_version=&#8221;4.23&#8243; _module_preset=&#8221;default&#8221; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221;][et_pb_blurb title=&#8221;A functioning Product Assurance organisation&#8221; use_icon=&#8221;on&#8221; font_icon=&#8221;&#x4e;||divi||400&#8243; _builder_version=&#8221;4.27.6&#8243; _module_preset=&#8221;0340ce56-14e0-4763-a3fc-48fb5c978b24&#8243; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221;]<\/p>\n<p>My customer had the necessary plans and structures to implement product assurance according to ECSS standards.<\/p>\n<p>[\/et_pb_blurb][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=&#8221;1_3&#8243; _builder_version=&#8221;4.23&#8243; _module_preset=&#8221;default&#8221; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221;][et_pb_blurb title=&#8221;An independent team&#8221; use_icon=&#8221;on&#8221; font_icon=&#8221;&#xf0c0;||fa||900&#8243; _builder_version=&#8221;4.27.6&#8243; _module_preset=&#8221;0340ce56-14e0-4763-a3fc-48fb5c978b24&#8243; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221;]<\/p>\n<p>At the end of the collaboration, my client had a team that was able to independently and successfully fulfill ESA&#8217;s product assurance requirements for the next project phase.<\/p>\n<p>[\/et_pb_blurb][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=&#8221;1_3&#8243; _builder_version=&#8221;4.23&#8243; _module_preset=&#8221;default&#8221; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221;][et_pb_blurb title=&#8221;Confidence through clarity and structure&#8221; use_icon=&#8221;on&#8221; font_icon=&#8221;&#xf3ed;||fa||900&#8243; _builder_version=&#8221;4.23&#8243; _module_preset=&#8221;0340ce56-14e0-4763-a3fc-48fb5c978b24&#8243; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221;]<\/p>\n<p>Thanks to the clarity and structure created, all those responsible have gained certainty, know the background and know what the next steps are.<\/p>\n<p>[\/et_pb_blurb][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section][et_pb_section fb_built=&#8221;1&#8243; _builder_version=&#8221;4.23&#8243; _module_preset=&#8221;default&#8221; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221;][et_pb_row _builder_version=&#8221;4.23&#8243; _module_preset=&#8221;default&#8221; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221;][et_pb_column type=&#8221;4_4&#8243; _builder_version=&#8221;4.23&#8243; _module_preset=&#8221;default&#8221; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221;][et_pb_button button_text=&#8221;Arrange a free check-in meeting&#8221; button_alignment=&#8221;center&#8221; _builder_version=&#8221;4.23&#8243; _module_preset=&#8221;c892fb66-996f-4d6a-a73c-f78c4e865adb&#8221; button_border_radius=&#8221;100px&#8221; custom_margin=&#8221;||10px||false|false&#8221; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221;][\/et_pb_button][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section][et_pb_section fb_built=&#8221;1&#8243; _builder_version=&#8221;4.22.2&#8243; _module_preset=&#8221;default&#8221; background_color=&#8221;#0C2A45&#8243; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221;][et_pb_row column_structure=&#8221;1_4,1_4,1_4,1_4&#8243; _builder_version=&#8221;4.23&#8243; _module_preset=&#8221;default&#8221; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221;][et_pb_column type=&#8221;1_4&#8243; _builder_version=&#8221;4.22.2&#8243; _module_preset=&#8221;default&#8221; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221;][et_pb_image src=&#8221;https:\/\/www.eqmc-consulting.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/BernhardBals-Footer.png&#8221; title_text=&#8221;BernhardBals-Footer&#8221; _builder_version=&#8221;4.23.1&#8243; _module_preset=&#8221;default&#8221; border_radii=&#8221;on|0px|0px|0px|0px&#8221; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221;][\/et_pb_image][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=&#8221;1_4&#8243; _builder_version=&#8221;4.22.2&#8243; _module_preset=&#8221;default&#8221; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221;][et_pb_text _builder_version=&#8221;4.23&#8243; _module_preset=&#8221;default&#8221; header_4_font=&#8221;|||on|||||&#8221; header_4_text_color=&#8221;#F26B27&#8243; background_layout=&#8221;dark&#8221; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221;]<\/p>\n<h4>Contact<\/h4>\n<p>Bernhard Bals<br \/>Lechrainstra\u00dfe 22<br \/>86163 Augsburg<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><span style=\"color: #ffffff; text-decoration: underline;\"><a href=\"mailto:%20bals@eqmc-consulting.de\" style=\"color: #ffffff; text-decoration: underline;\">bals@eqmc-consulting.de<\/a><\/span><\/span><br \/><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><span style=\"color: #ffffff; text-decoration: underline;\"><a href=\"tel:%20004917647378899\" style=\"color: #ffffff; text-decoration: underline;\">+49 176 4737 8899<\/a><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p>[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=&#8221;1_4&#8243; _builder_version=&#8221;4.22.2&#8243; _module_preset=&#8221;default&#8221; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221;][et_pb_text _builder_version=&#8221;4.27.0&#8243; _module_preset=&#8221;default&#8221; header_4_font=&#8221;|||on|||||&#8221; header_4_text_color=&#8221;#F26B27&#8243; background_layout=&#8221;dark&#8221; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221;]<\/p>\n<h4>Consulting<\/h4>\n<p><span style=\"color: #ffffff;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.eqmc-consulting.de\/en\/system-development-consulting\/\" style=\"color: #ffffff;  \">Systems development<\/a><\/span><\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #ffffff;  \"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.eqmc-consulting.de\/en\/management-system\/\" style=\"color: #ffffff;  \">Quality Management<\/a><\/span><\/span>[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=&#8221;1_4&#8243; _builder_version=&#8221;4.22.2&#8243; _module_preset=&#8221;default&#8221; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221;][et_pb_text _builder_version=&#8221;4.22.2&#8243; _module_preset=&#8221;default&#8221; header_4_font=&#8221;|||on|||||&#8221; header_4_text_color=&#8221;#F26B27&#8243; background_layout=&#8221;dark&#8221; custom_margin=&#8221;||7px|||&#8221; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221;]<\/p>\n<h4>Connect<\/h4>\n<p>[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_social_media_follow _builder_version=&#8221;4.23&#8243; _module_preset=&#8221;default&#8221; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221;][et_pb_social_media_follow_network social_network=&#8221;linkedin&#8221; url=&#8221;https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/bernhardbals\/&#8221; _builder_version=&#8221;4.23&#8243; _module_preset=&#8221;default&#8221; background_color=&#8221;#007bb6&#8243; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221; follow_button=&#8221;off&#8221; url_new_window=&#8221;on&#8221;]linkedin[\/et_pb_social_media_follow_network][\/et_pb_social_media_follow][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version=&#8221;4.23&#8243; _module_preset=&#8221;default&#8221; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221;][et_pb_column type=&#8221;4_4&#8243; _builder_version=&#8221;4.23&#8243; _module_preset=&#8221;default&#8221; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221;][et_pb_divider color=&#8221;rgba(217,239,250,0.3)&#8221; _builder_version=&#8221;4.23&#8243; _module_preset=&#8221;default&#8221; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221;][\/et_pb_divider][et_pb_text _builder_version=&#8221;4.23.2&#8243; _module_preset=&#8221;default&#8221; text_text_color=&#8221;#FFFFFF&#8221; text_font_size=&#8221;14px&#8221; text_orientation=&#8221;center&#8221; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221;]<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #ffffff;\">\u00a9 2024 Bernhard Bals &#8211; Engineering &#8211; Quality &#8211; Management &#8211; Culture | <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.eqmc-consulting.de\/en\/impressum\/\" style=\"color: #ffffff; text-decoration: underline;\">Legal Note<\/a><\/span> | <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.eqmc-consulting.de\/en\/datenschutz\/\" style=\"color: #ffffff; text-decoration: underline;\">Privacy Policy<\/a><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p>[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A space company in the Munich area had won the contract for the deployable reflector assembly (DRA) of ESA&#8217;s CIMR mission.<\/p>\n<p>The project carried full ECSS Product Assurance obligations, but no Product Assurance organisation, no tailored PA Plan and no supporting evidence structure were yet in place. All three had to be established before the next review cycle began. <\/p>\n<p>Together, we created the three foundations the project required: a Product Assurance Plan tailored against ECSS-Q-ST-10C and defensible in discussions with ESA; an evidence and tooling structure capable of surviving future personnel changes; a Product Assurance team able to operate the system independently, including the interfaces to Engineering, Project Management and the prime contractor.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":23945207,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"on","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","iawp_total_views":35,"footnotes":""},"project_category":[30,22],"project_tag":[],"class_list":["post-23945119","project","type-project","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","project_category-product-assurance","project_category-space-industry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.eqmc-consulting.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/project\/23945119","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.eqmc-consulting.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/project"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.eqmc-consulting.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/project"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.eqmc-consulting.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.eqmc-consulting.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=23945119"}],"version-history":[{"count":12,"href":"https:\/\/www.eqmc-consulting.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/project\/23945119\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":23948142,"href":"https:\/\/www.eqmc-consulting.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/project\/23945119\/revisions\/23948142"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.eqmc-consulting.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/23945207"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.eqmc-consulting.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23945119"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"project_category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.eqmc-consulting.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/project_category?post=23945119"},{"taxonomy":"project_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.eqmc-consulting.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/project_tag?post=23945119"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}