QREBS

QREBS is a technological acronym describing the values of Quality, Reliability, Efficiency, Burden, and Safety for any manufactured object found within Charted Space.

• Objects vary widely in quality and usefulness. This variation gives seemingly identical objects a variety of positive and negative attributes. The QREBS system details these differences.

Description (Specifications)

Long ago, the Imperial Naval Depot System worked out means for not only classifying the technological levels of manufactured goods, and standard codes to name an object, but also the other qualities and characteristics of any manufactured item. This system, the QREBS System is used throughout the Third Imperium and beyond.

QREBS stands for:

• Quality
• Reliability
• Efficiency
• Burden
• Safety

History & Background (Dossier)

Tech Level Stages: A Tech Level shows devices that an industry with available tools can manufacture, maintain, and use. Tech Levels are an inexact approximation: they shade into earlier and later TL's. Such gradations are expressed as Stages.

Tech Level Stages describe locations in the long term cycle of technological development. For example:

Technology Level Stages

#	Stage	TL Mod	Timeliness	Remarks
1.	Experimental	-2	Theoretical research and development item. May not work. Unreliable. Far ahead of its time. Not mature technology.	Experimental is handmade by inventors excited about the potential of a new technology, usually one-of-a-kind, and often dangerous and unreliable.
2.	Prototype	-1	Prototype of applied research and development item. Somewhat ahead of its time. Immature technology.	Prototype is the first step before early mass production. There are perhaps a dozen examples of any one prototype.
3.	Early	-1	Market test item in early manufacturing. Slightly ahead of its time. Premature technology.	Early is the first mass-produced design, before the technology has been completely refined.
4.	Basic	+/- 0	Early and older version of contemporary technology	Basic is a cheaper, bulkier, less-featured version of the standard item.
5.	Standard	+/- 0	Newer and more miniaturized version of contemporary technology	Standard is the version with the expected features for the technology when it is mature and stable.
6.	Alternate	+1	Manufactured item using different resources or components. Often in response to a shortage or boycott.	Alternate is a rethinking of the application of technology, often emphasizing different results or outputs.
7.	Improved	+1	Manufactured item in its next variation taking advantage of learned lessons and customer feedback.	Improved is the implementation of additional features.
8.	Modified	+2	Manufactured item that has become more specialized to suit what is often a niche market or specialized end user. New application of applied technology. Economy of scope.	Modified is a specialized version created in response to specific needs.
9.	Generic	+2	Manufactured item that has become cheaper due to improved technology, production efficiency, manufacturing effectiveness, economies of scale, economies of density, etc.	Generic is an equivalent to the standard version produced at lower cost using higher tech level manufacturing capabilities.
10.	Advanced	+3	Deluxe or luxury item, often with improved capabilities, ergonomics, or luxury prestige features.	Advanced has significant capabilities added.
11.	Ultimate	+4	The ultimate technological evolution of an item taking advantage of long periods of use and development. Last possible stage before a new technology supersedes it.	Ultimate implements significant improvements learned over the life cycle of the product.
12.	Beyond Ultimate	+5	These items are more capable than the technology of the user society can independently produce. This may be a reverse engineered artifact from a more advanced society. Far ahead of its time. Not mature technology. Will soon become an experimental item (Stage #1.) as the adopting society attempts to learn from it. Potentially very dangerous.	Beyond Ultimate is a new technology.

Technology Adoption Life Cycle

After millennia of study, sophont technology adoption and development is known to regularly follow stages under most conditions.

Technology Adoption Life Cycle

#	Name	Tech Lifecycle	User	Remarks
1.	R & D	Feasibility & Development	Innovators / Experimenters	More educated, more prosperous and more risk-oriented users.
2.	Introduction	Ascent / In vogue	Early Adopters / Gamblers	Younger, more educated, tended to be community leaders, less prosperous.
3.	Growth	Early Stabilization	Early Majority / Maturity	More conservative but open to new ideas, active in community and influence to neighbors.
4.	Maturity	Late Stabilization	Late Majority / Maturity	Older, less educated, fairly conservative and less socially active.
5.	Decline	Descent / Obsolescence	Laggards / Saturation	Very conservative, had little capital, oldest and least educated.

References & Contributors (Sources)

This list of sources was used by the Traveller Wiki Editorial Team and individual contributors to compose this article. Copyrighted material is used under license from Mongoose Publishing or by permission of the author. The page history lists all of the contributions.

• Marc Miller. T5 Core Rules (Far Future Enterprises, 2013), 190-196.
• Traveller Wiki Editorial Team
• Author & Contributor: Lord (Marquis) and Master of Sophontology Maksim-Smelchak of the Ministry of Science