Aerospace Standard 9100 (AS9100) is the standard covering a QMS within the aerospace industry. For anyone who works with key clients such as airlines, NASA or the U.S. Department of Defense, AS9100 certification is a standard certification requirement.
Revision D (AS9100D) will impact countless aerospace manufacturers of all sizes, whether they are rewiring a cockpit panel or building a new airplane from scratch. While companies knew this requirement was coming, given the original release date was set for 2014 and the standard was finally released two years later, the delay doesn’t diminish the importance or the pressure that companies are facing to transition to the revised standard.
If you don’t want to lose your AS9100 certification, you must be in compliance by September 2018, which is right around the corner. If you’ve been procrastinating, you should know that the impact of these changes will go beyond technical compliance—and they are kind of a big deal.
For those that may be affected, we’ve compiled some of the most important points around AS9100D.
“AS9100 Revision D helps enhance a certified organization’s ability to meet customer requirements and satisfy expectations,” says Gene Morrison, Intertek Business Assurance’s global aviation, space, and defense program manager. “It accomplishes this not only through a focus on risk-based thinking, but also by providing a consistent foundation for business systems of all sizes and complexities.”
So, in theory, the changes were made by the framers of the standard to improve customer satisfaction, but the focus on accountability also ensures more rigorous safety protocols. With many of the new requisites, organizations need to vigilantly incorporate risk-based thinking at every step: determining the factors that could cause its processes and its quality management system to deviate from the planned results and put preventive controls in place to minimize the potential negative effects before they arise.
Unlike previous standards, AS9100D specifically addresses the management of counterfeit parts. In many cases, manufacturers may be unaware counterfeit parts are being sourced, but the FAA estimates that of the 26 million parts installed on airplanes each year, 2 percent are likely counterfeit, and the use of substandard parts can create a huge risk to the safety of an aircraft.
To help prevent the use of counterfeit parts, AS9100D makes the following recommendations (among others):
While there are several new and revised areas of AS9100 that will come with Rev D, as well as much more specific language and terms which you will need to adhere to, here are nine “big” changes that you should be aware of:
To meet the challenges of todays global demands, value chains, and the requirements put forth to continue to do business in the best way possible, your manufacturing company must continuously evolve its standards. OEMs will need to be more diligent about their suppliers and the quality of products, requiring more oversight and management of data. ACDi is currently AS9100D certified and is helping companies in the aerospace industry achieve their electronics manufacturing initiatives.
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