Configuration Management
Knowing exactly what was built, from what, and to which revision is fundamental to safety and to fleet replication.
One source of truth for the as-built machine
Configuration management (CM) is the discipline of controlling and recording the exact configuration of a system: which design revision, which components, which materials, which software version. Without it, a first-of-a-kind machine cannot be reliably reproduced, and problems cannot be traced to a cause.
What CM controls
- Design baselines and every controlled change against them.
- The as-built record: serial numbers, material certificates, test results.
- Software and firmware versions in control and safety systems.
- Interfaces, so a change on one side of an interface is reconciled with the other.
Why it is decisive for FOAK to BOAK
The whole learning premise of FOAK-NOAK-BOAK depends on knowing precisely what the first unit was, so that changes can be attributed and improvements carried forward. Configuration management is also a safety and security matter: an uncontrolled change can defeat a safety analysis, and an unrecorded software version can hide a vulnerability. For a defense counterpart, rigorous CM is evidence that the program can replicate a capability faithfully rather than build a series of one-offs.
CM sits under the quality-assurance umbrella and feeds directly into traceability and supply-chain assurance.