Meaning of the signature 1

[irq]

I am interested what is the definition of the signature in different organizations? What responsibility you take if you prepare, check or approve the technical documents (you can give some example tasks e.g. for stress reports)? What in case of a new document issue? Are you responsible for a whole document or for the edited parts/pages of the document only? Are there any general specification for that in aerospace industry?

 

[IRstuff]

What responsibility you take if you prepare, check or approve the technical documents (you can give some example tasks e.g. for stress reports)?
> That should be evident by the context of the signature block, but ultimately, the preparer is usually the responsible engineer

What in case of a new document issue?
> That should be evident by the context of the signature block, as well as the documented procedure for creating a document.


Are you responsible for a whole document or for the edited parts/pages of the document only?
> That should be evident by the context of the signature block, but no one is generally listed as being responsible for only a portion of a document or specification.


Are there any general specification for that in aerospace industry?
> Not that I've seen.

TTFN
faq731-376

 

[SAITAETGrad]

While you may interpret it as you wish,

-when you signed "prepared" you made it clear that you produced it
-when you signed "checked" you made it clear you checked it for accuracy
-when you signed "approved" you made it clear that you authorized the release

Now, the real questions are a) what determination of responsibility would the courts hold those people to? Sorry, "we don't define the responsibility that way- no returnzees..." is not going to cut it when the lawyers get involved; and b)what is the opinion of your ultimate boss?

Here is the layout for signatures in a NASA stress report:

Link

 

[DHambley]

The issue of signatures in aerospace, or any industry for that matter is something which an engineer shouldn't take lightly. I have had cases where I refused to put my PE signature on a document becuase it was produced by a commitee and I produced only part of it and I didn't agree with some of the other engineering work. Once I wrote "section x.x prepared by" in from of my name and that didn't make the program engineer happy. ("it's just our standard signature block, why can't you just sign it").
I always think about the engineers at Morton Thiokol who did not agree with the o-ring tests. Would they have put their signature on a test document which they did not agree with?