In the aerospace and defense industry, if you plan to do business with most aerospace manufacturers and suppliers then it is essential your company be compliant and registered AS9100. This standard, published by the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE), is a comprehensive quality management system for the aerospace industry. Based on ISO 9001, this system ensures safe and reliable aviation, space, and defense products and processes.
AS9100 is endorsed by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), U.S. Department of Defense (DoD), and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). To become certified and remain AS9100 certified, a certifying third party will conduct annual audits to ensure your organization is compliant with the SAE standard.
If you are currently AS9100C certified, you may be aware of the requirement for all companies to be certified AS9100D by the deadline of September 15, 2018. When preparing to transition from AS9100C to AS9100D, you should be addressing the revisions and additions that are present in the new standard.
AS9100 is based on ISO 9001 and revision from AS9100C to AS9100D includes the full text of ISO 9001:2015. With aerospace businesses operating in ever-changing world with increasingly complex environments, these key changes below highlight the differences between C and D versions. These revisions allow integrations with quality management systems like ISO 9001 and are expected to enable the industry to better serve their customers and create a consistent foundation for the future.
Key changes to AS9100D:2016
- Product Safety – has been added in carefully selected areas. A definition of Product Safety is “standards relating to the design and manufacturing of consumer products to ensure they do not represent harm or hazards to persons or damage to property.” With the importance of safety acknowledged throughout the aerospace and defense industry, AS9100D includes requirements to address product safety considerations throughout a product’s life cycle.
- Human Factors – are added as a consideration in Nonconformity / Corrective Action. Recognizing that human factors like as physical fitness, stress, fatigue, distraction, communication, and attitude play an important part in determining the causes of nonconformity, AS9100D includes requirements to review certain elements during the root cause analysis. This enables prompt corrective actions so problems do not recur.
- Risk-based Thinking – To get the best result, we all automatically conduct risk-based thinking. Engaging in risk-based thinking through the company’s entire quality management system ensures that prevention is part of the strategic and operational planning.
- Counterfeit Products – New requirements to prevent counterfeit parts that are unauthorized copies, substitutes or modified parts deliberately attempting to imitate a specific genuine part of an original equipment manufacturer (OEM) or authorized manufacturer. These are addressed through training, obsolescence monitoring, set controls for acquiring parts, establishing traceability of parts and components, and verification methods.
- Configuration Management – has been clarified and improved considerably to address stakeholder needs.
There are many benefits to implementing the revisions of AS9100D. As the new standards are executed, they will improve the safety and reliability of products and the processes that produce them. The manufacturer and supplier will improve customer satisfaction establish a methodology of continuous improvement.The revision ensures a focus all along the supply chain and should require fewer unique customer documentation requirements. One of the most important reasons an AS9100C company should be addressing the revisions preparing for AS9100D is that after September of 2018 all AS9100C will no longer be valid.
Duotech is certified AS9100D and ISO 9001 and has begun the transition to AS9100D. This standard provides guidance more in line with Duotech’s risk management and key performance measurement philosophy. Better metrics do not alone make for a better experience, but rather are predicated upon the actions resulting from the most accurate data possible.
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References
https://www.sae.org/iaqg/projects/9100-2016-key-changes.pdf
https://www.nsf.org/newsroom_pdf/isr_as9100_transition_guide.pdf
https://www.cognidox.com/2015/06/iso-90012015-how-to-apply-risk-based-thinking-to-quality-processes-part-ix/
