It is important to determine and justify whether performance against each requirement is guaranteed by design, guaranteed by statistical process performance or guaranteed
by test or inspection. The worst case scenario is that defects are being produced and you cannot detect them.
Process validation ensures that a process consistently produces a product that meets its specifications. It is an important component in the design, prototyping and manufacturing process and one, if done correctly, that can save a considerable amount of time, money, rework and resources. The key to a successful process validation is a thorough understanding of the cable assembly requirements, suitable production materials and components, the manufacturing process, which includes adhering to recognized standards, cable assembly and measured test data (e.g., insertion and return loss, temperature and structural durability either through test-to failure or similarity with previous assemblies) and fiber optic cable assembly installation (including proper cleaning, testing, tie downs and clamping). An appropriate method to understand the process is through process mapping [5].
A process map, as shown in Figure 5, is used to document efficacy and to identify waste. Generally recognized metrics for fiber optic infrastructure include physical attributes at the cable assembly level including end face quality, such as end face geometry, apex offset, radius of curvature and fiber height, as well as optical performance for the cable assembly such as insertion and return loss.