Practical Quality Control
55 Years of Applied Expertise
Quality documentation should help people do better work.
The Responsible Quality Authority Standard
This Practical Quality Control resource is the culmination of Frank’s 55-year career. Frank’s most sincere desire is to provide the “Rubber-Meets-The-Road” technical documentation required for the success of just about any business.
Frank’s career began in 1969 as a Lead Technician for Edcliff Instruments (Monrovia, CA), where he was inspired to become a quality expert. After many years in the trenches with intensely direct Customers, he served as Quality Manager for KIM and Associates, then as the Responsible Quality Authority (RQA) for mission-critical projects at Eagle-Picher Technologies — including the NASA Gravity Probe B (Einstein Mission) under Contract NAS-8-39225, as well as programs for Hughes El Segundo, ESA, and KARI South Korea.
Frank redlined, approved and co-authored proposals, contracts, engineering/production drawings, procedures, specifications, and work instructions. He produced, directed, developed and managed resources and operations, including product travelers and work/training activities, such as soldering, crimping and welding, integrating GD&T and welding symbols on engineering drawings — and the digital QMS with functions such as configuration management and action item advance-notification controls. Frank translates that 55-year pedigree into practical, editable MS Office and paperless solutions for massive companies, small/medium sized businesses, and one-person shops.
Eagle-Picher Technologies (CAGE 50120) produced two 35Ah Super NiCd™ batteries according to quality protocols under the RQA oversight of Frank Elias for integration into the LMMS Einstein Mission spacecraft.
The Post-Columbia Proving Ground (2003)
Frank’s legacy was forged in the 1980s and cemented in the high-stakes post-Columbia era of 2003. When NASA mandated a top-to-bottom quality scrub of the Gravity Probe B mission, Frank didn’t just survive a 36-finding SAC audit — he used it as a catalyst to bridge legacy specs into the modern era. This “Zero Defects” discipline is the foundation of every practical solution offered here, honed through years of hands-on production inspection and corresponding Customer buy-offs at Eagle-Picher Technologies.
NASA Gravity Probe B Mission Gallery
Technical Archive: Sequential documentation of the Einstein Mission, including buy-off and shipping configuration (Images 192–551).
Super NiCd cell pack assembly — precision TIG welding of electrode terminals. Frank was the AWS Certified Welding Inspector (CWI) to visually test (VT) every joint.
Einstein Mission spacecraft battery S/N 01 — left side view.
Battery 01 — front angle view.
Battery 02 — NASA Contract NAS-8-39225.
End view — mounted to environmental testing fixture, wired with sensors.
Verified traceability: spacecraft battery marking — CAGE 50120, LMMS P/N 8A01445-101.
Eagle-Picher project engineers and Customers examining an Einstein Mission battery.
Lead quality technician and Customers examine LMMS P/N 8A01445-101.
Lead quality technician and Customer discussing buy-off — flight battery #1 of 2.
Customers admiring the workmanship of an Einstein Mission battery.
Final acceptance — Customers examining the battery and environmental test chamber.
Buy-off team reviewing the Final Acceptance Data Package — item 9 of 13 Baseline Categories in the Frank Elias Configuration Definition Data Package (CDDP), defining full product history for the Einstein Mission batteries.
Environment controlled, vibration dampened packaging container with temperature and shock sensors and data recorder — Frank Elias PPP&M instructions.
Secured for transport: NASA-certified flight battery ready for delivery with integral shipper handling and receiver MIPs as part of Frank Elias PPP&M instructions.
Historical documentation photos are provided to preserve the technical heritage of the Einstein Mission. If you are pictured and wish for your likeness to be redacted, please contact us.
Learn more about the Einstein Mission at:
Gravity Probe Mission on the Earth Observation Portal.
Stanford University: Testing Einstein’s Universe
The Art of Gravity Probe B: NASA Image Gallery
Stanford University: GP-B Mission Image Archive
Digital Transformation: Efficient QMS™
Modern auditors expect a 21st-century paperless/digital quality system. However, “going paperless” often carries a prohibitive cost. Frank developed Efficient QMS™ in 2004 for AS9100 aerospace compliance. The application was NSF-ISR certified at Eagle-Picher Technologies in 2007, and is designed for conformity with IA9100 — the forthcoming IAQG renumbering of AS9100. Frank developed eQMS out of a sense of self-preservation to circumvent the “Iron Mountain” storage trap, providing a synergistic package of MS Office docs and paperless eQMS templates.
Whether you are operating under AS9100/IA9100, ISO 9001, MIL-Spec, Nadcap, FAA PMA, Repair Station, AISC, ISO 17020, or critical mission standards like those in NASA Contract NAS-8-39225, these resources will enable you to become the Subject Matter Expert for your Company at 1/100th the cost of typical consultants.
What Makes These Resources Different
Practical. Built from production floor experience, not theory.
Understandable. Written so the people who use them can follow them.
Editable. Provided as working documents, not locked templates.
Organized. Structured around the way quality work is actually performed.
Relevant. Focused on the requirements your organization needs to meet.
Supported. Backed by no-charge phone and email tech support with no expiration.
Our Global Support Anchor
- CONUS & International Support: We provide no-charge phone/email support during your specific Office hours anywhere in the USA, and we schedule support for our overseas Facilitators, even on weekends.
- The “Heritage” Guarantee: If you upgrade from a starter kit to a bare-minimum, lean or complete QMS kit, after your upgrade purchase, we process a refund for the previous purchase—no time limit.
- Zero-Defect Pedigree: Since 2001, our templates have never failed to achieve compliance for our Customer’s quality improvement projects.
Dedicated to the Spirit of Partnership and Legacy of Commitment
Frank’s 55-year career as a Quality Authority began with a different kind of certification. On April 23, 1969, he married Jennifer in a little white chapel in Las Vegas—a marriage that required a note from his Mother and a lifetime of “Until…” logic to sustain.
For 50 years, 6 months, and 13 days, Jennifer was the silent partner in every NASA flight battery, every Apache and Bell helicopter component, and every late-night and weekend on-the-phone brainstorming session. She understood that “the best is barely good enough” wasn’t just a work standard; it was a way of life.
“We outlasted the skeptics who thought we wouldn’t last, and we built a legacy of reliability that remains unbroken.”
For over 50 years, Jennifer (1945–2019) stood by the “Until…” in Frank – supporting the vacation phone calls that built the Zero-Defect systems for NASA and countless other Customers.
“When I promise to help an Owner/Manager navigate an unwelcome flowdown, I’m bringing that same lifetime of dedication to their table.”
The AISC Bridge (Nov 2000)
While observing the EPT waste-treatment year-long facility expansion that started in November 2000, Frank mentored some of the Crew of Martinson Construction, LLC about their desire to explore AISC CSE. Brainstorming introduced Frank to AISC 360 and the simple go/no-go audit checklist at the time, which was soon replaced by AISC 201-06 Steel Building Structures, then updated to 207-16 with regular updates (20, 23, 25) that now require a comprehensive on-site audit of the quality system and production work-activities.
Whether you are building a corner office facing Pikes Peak or a flight battery for a spacecraft, Frank’s ‘Until…’ mandate remains the same: If the documentation doesn’t match the hardware, it needs to be improved.
About Our Demos
Demo PDF documents are REDACTED; that is, PDF demos display text that is obscured to protect our intellectual property. However, the format shown is precisely what you receive in editable MS Office docs (with unredacted text of course). The content of demo docs in our paperless app (eQMS) is reduced by approximately 50% to protect proprietary media.
Purchased documents can be downloaded immediately after completion of an online transaction — look for the zip file link. We also send a transaction receipt by email that provides a backup download link.
Feel free to use documents for your Company’s improvement project according to license terms and conditions. We don’t impose restrictive DRM User-limitations.
Tailor downloaded documents to display your business name and logo by replacing the word “your” with applicable Company info using your favorite app.
Terms and conditions for use of our practical quality control downloads
The 55-year heritage behind every kit is documented in the Heritage Registry.