Specifications & Standards

Specifications

Specifications (often informally referred to as specs) refer to an explicit set of requirements to be satisfied by a material, design, product, or service. If a material, product, or service fails to meet one or more of the applicable specifications, it may be referred to as being out of specification.

A specification is a technical standard, a technical specification may be developed by various kinds of organisations, in both public and private sectors.

Standards

A defence standard is a document that establishes uniform engineering and technical requirements for military-unique or substantially modified commercial processes, procedures, practices, and methods.

There are different types of defence standards: interface standards, design criteria standards, manufacturing process standards, standard practices, and test method standards.

United States defence standards, often called a military standard, "MIL-STD" or" MIL-SPEC", are used to help achieve standardisation objectives by the U.S. Department of Defence, the UK uses "DEF-STAN" to set similar standards across its military.

Glossary of Terms

The below acronyms are commonly found when working with aerospace specifications, and can often indicate the specification owner, or the type of product or process covered.

• AIMS – Airbus Specification (often related to an associated IPS Specification)
  
• IPS – product specific Airbus Specification, commonly associated with an AIMS Specification (for more information, follow this link)
  
• AIR – Direction Technique des Constructions Aeronautiques (French)
  
• DEF STAN – UK Ministry of Defence (MOD) Defence Standard
  
• MIL-PRF – US Military performance specification, superseding older MIL-A
• MIL-C– etc specifications
  
• DHMS – De Haviland Material Specification
  
• BMS – Boeing Material Specification
  
• BAMS – Bombardier Specification
  
• WHMS – Westland Helicopters Material Specification
  
• DCSEA – Direction Centrale du Service des Essences des Armees (French Military)
  
• SAE AMS – Aerospace Material Specification owned by the Society of Automotive Engineers

Joint Service Designations

Joint Service Designations (JSD) are used in the British Ministry of Defence (MOD) to classify and identify products that are used across the Army, Navy and Air Force. These codes, beginning with a two or three letter identifier, followed by two or three unique numbers, can be broken down into different families of product:

• OC Compounded Oils are blends of mineral and vegetable oils only.
  
• OEP Extreme Pressure Oils are gear oils containing additives which enhance their ability to withstand extreme gear tooth pressures.
  
• OF Fatty Oils are straight vegetable oils.
  
• OM Mineral Oils are straight mineral oils or those containing additives intended to improve their performance.
  
• OMD Heavy-Duty Engine Oils are mineral oil and synthesised hydrocarbon based lubricants containing detergent or dispersant additives primarily designed for use in internal combustion engines.
  
• OX Fluids are specialised mineral oil and synthetic fluid based lubricants, hydraulic fluids and damping fluids not covered by other designations and may contain water/glycol.
  
• XG Greases are made using thickeners such as those based on calcium, clay or lithium. They may be based on mineral oils, vegetable oils or synthetic fluids and can contain additives such as solid lubricants to improve their performance.
  
• ZX Specialities are lubricants, damping fluids and compounds designed for specific applications.
  
• PX Corrosion Preventives are used primarily for the prevention of corrosion to metal equipment and are easily removable.
  
• AL Fluids are used for engine thrust augmentation, anti-freeze protection, de-icing, cooling, cleaning or similar miscellaneous applications and are mostly water soluble.

Joint Service Designations are linked to a corresponding UK Defence Standard (DEF STAN), and more information can be found in the Ministry of Defence Standard 01-5.