Applies to production engineering tasks to ensure a smooth transition from development into production. PEP, a systems and planning engineering approach, assures that an item can be produced in the required quantities and in the specified time frame, efficiently and economically, and will meet necessary performance objectives within its design and specification constraints. As an essential part of all engineering design, it is intended to identify potential manufacturing problems and suggest design and production changes or schedule trade-offs that would facilitate the production process.