I retired after 31 years from a contract defense plant. We produced
some of the navigation equipment for the shuttles.
The problem with pricing things, especially for the government or
space projects, is the cost of the part itself is nothing compared to
cost of specifications and testing and certifying the part.
In the case of the glide slope computers, they still use 1970
technology. We used to show the 1970 parts to new techs, for a laugh.
But, the cost of original certification for the computers so far
exceeded the cost of the computers themselves, that there was (at the
time I retired) no serious talk of even using something much newer and
much smaller.
One commmon fuss about procurement is the spectre of $500 hammers. I
gotta' tell you, if you can sell a hammer to the government of space
program for $500, you can also walk on water. The paper work for a
hammer could well cost thousands of dollars. Every step has to be
documented. Every thing has to be tested. If you and I buy a hammer
for our home, we go to the store, pick up a hammer that looks tough,
weigh it in our hands to see if it feels balanced, and pay a few
bucks.
First thing you must do to sell anything to procurement is certify you
are in compliance with affirmative action. That costs money. Then,
certify that your ethics are corrrect. That costs money.
Then, there is a bidding process. That costs lots of money.
At someo point, you need to prove the metallurgy of the hammer head is
correct. That costs money. The wooden handle must be tested.
There may or may not be a color requirement. I have seen stuff held up
since the color did not perfectly match the color chips. Do you have
any idea how much it costs to obtain certified touch-up paint for
knobs on a small control panel? By memory here, a small touch up
bottle like you use on your car cost over $50 and had to be tossed out
after 30 days. When you run a vendor company, you have to charge for
every expense.
Then, you have to deal with customer inspection, etc.
Also, in this case, there was, if you remember, a lot of engineering
evaluation of the possible temperature problem on that o-ring, just
before the launch. How do you measure the cost involved with all that?
But, to truly measure the cost, all that has to be added, and the
vendor has to charge for it or go out of business. I have always
found it a bit, um, inappropriate to even measure such a cost in terms
of what it would cost you or me at a hardware shop for such an item. |
