CERTON provides DO-254 design assurance for Rockwell Collins RTA-4218 weather radar

MELBOURNE, Fla., 27 April 2016. Engineers at the Rockwell Collins Design Assurance Center (DAC) in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, relied on CERTON in Melbourne, Florida, to provide DO-254 internal audit oversight for Technical Standard Orders (TSO) approval for the RTA-4218 Weather RadarAirborne Electronic Hardware (AEH).

CERTRON provides direct internal oversight on several DO-254 AEH programs, including the recent RTA-4218 Weather Radar that achieved TSO approval of the complex hardware. Two separate field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) were independently audited by CERTON as part of the Rockwell Collins DAC.

The DAC is a proactive group of systems, software, electronic hardware, and quality engineering subject matter experts put in place by Rockwell Collins to increase the probability of external audit success on their safety-critical engineering projects. Rockwell Collins Design Assurance Center (DAC) engineers are responsible for working with the engineering design and development teams throughout the development lifecycle to provide quality-focused technical and process oversight for product developments.

RTCA/DO-254, Design Assurance Guidance for Airborne Electronic Hardware is a document providing guidance for the development of airborne electronic hardware, published by RTCA Inc.

The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) in Washington oversee Technical Standard Orders (TSO), a minimum performance standard for specified materials, parts, and appliances used on civil aircraft. “When authorized to manufacture a material, part, or appliances to a TSO standard, this is referred to as TSO authorization. Receiving a TSO authorization is both design and production approval,” according FAA officials. “Receiving a TSO Authorization is not an approval to install and use the article in the aircraft. It means that the article meets the specific TSO and the applicant is authorized to manufacture it.”

“The SOI audits are major milestones on avionics programs. The probability of success improves with good planning documents and a team that understands their role in executing the approved plans,” says CERTON President and CEO Tim Stockton. “CERTON independently audits the process, outputs, and artifacts against these plans and objectives providing real-time feedback for continuous improvements during the lifecycle as part of the Rockwell Collins DAC.”

Over the past decade, CERTON has established an identity of safety‑critical certification solutions in the aerospace, medical device, and transportation industries. CERTON has internally developed tools and exclusive technology designed to streamline approvals of safety-critical systems, software, and complex hardware. These competitive advantages allow CERTON to minimize the time-to-market of customer products while providing a Firm‑Fixed Cost to its customers. CERTON provides expertise in all phases of systems, software, and complex hardware product design life cycles to support rapid approval of safety-critical customer products.