AS9100 - Aerospace Certification: Explained!

Defense, aerospace, and aviation are the world’s most regulated industries. The qualification requirements for suppliers in these sectors include the compliance requirements of quality management systems, such as AS9100, AS9110, or AS9120. From design and manufacturing to operations and maintenance, all aerospace organizations will find the standard helpful for their regulatory, safety, and reliability requirements.

For aerospace products, compliance requirements focus on processes and services’ safety, quality, and reliability. To clearly define their expectations for aerospace suppliers, participating aerospace OEM companies considered several additional requirements to ISO 9001 to meet the complex and unique needs of the aerospace industry, from commercial aviation to defense.

There is a synergy between the requirements within AS9100 and those contained in applicable regulations and contracts. The documentation of a quality management system that adheres to AS9110 must also include references to customers’ specific requirements, aviation regulatory agencies in countries, and local, state, and national laws.

AS9100 is recognized by the aerospace and aircraft industries as a tool for improving quality and on-time delivery.

AS9100 Certification: What is it?

A QMS is certified with AS9100 when it has been independently reviewed against the AS9100 standard requirements by a third-party certification body. If you are certified, your customers know that they don’t need to audit your QMS independently since an independent party has already audited it against the AS9100 requirements and has certified compliance with it. When you complete the AS9100 certification audit, the certification body will issue a certificate, which you can use as objective evidence to meet the standard.

What is the significance of AS9100?

There are specific requirements for the aerospace industry, and the QMS must include these requirements. As an aerospace supplier, you need to demonstrate your commitment to quality, not only to be sure that you meet these aerospace-specific requirements but also to improve your business’s efficiency and enhance customer satisfaction. Using an AS9100-compliant QMS can help you do that. In addition, your customers will feel comfortable knowing that everything is handled correctly if you manage, control, and audit your processes and have an external certification body verify that your QMS meets the requirements.

AS9100 was written as an international standard for aerospace quality management systems based on seven quality management principles considered essential to make a QMS work. You base your QMS on these principles to make your customers happy. Certification by AS9100 is itself one of the enormous benefits, as certified companies must be a part of the Online Aerospace Supplier Information System (OASIS) maintained by the IAQG. In this database, which is searchable, you can find information about companies, their products, and contact information for purchasing. You can use this to select your supplier or to monitor your supplier. The aerospace industry uses OASIS to find suppliers, so it is a free marketing tool for your company.

What are the steps to become AS9100 certified?

You must implement AS9100 requirements before you can undergo certification audits. Therefore, using a QMS is crucial because it will allow you to perform the following tasks before certification:

Internal audits: Your internal audit process allows you to determine whether your processes are following the planned arrangements and, if not, to identify the root cause of any problems. It can expose and address weaknesses within your QMS.

Management reviews: To ensure a QMS is being implemented effectively and efficiently, management must review the system in its commitment. It then assigns resources accordingly.

Corrective action: If your QMS encounters a problem during use, you need to find the root cause of the issue and take action to prevent it from happening again.

What are the Stages of the AS9100 Certification Process?

There are two stages to the certification process:

Documentation Audit (Stage one) – The auditors will review your QMS documentation and determine whether it complies with AS9100.

Related Article: Importance of Documentation in Quality Management

Certification Audit (Stage two) – This step involves auditing employee files and interviews with this company’s employees to ensure your QMS processes give results that match each process’s plans.

Both the stages can be easily managed by using a integrated quality management system.

What is the average time to get AS9100 certified?

For calculating AS9100 certification costs, you must consider how long it will take to implement the system before you can undergo the audit. AS9100 certification takes different amounts of time for various companies. For example, it may take longer to implement a QMS if it includes design and development aspects.

In addition, a complicated configuration management system, the implementation of counterfeit part management systems, and product safety regulations contribute to the lengthening of the implementation time in an aerospace company. Using a gap analysis tool that compares your existing systems and processes with the requirements of AS9100 can help you determine what it might take to implement AS9100 within your organization.

How does AS9100 benefit organizations?

Being AS9100 certified could mean multiple benefits for organizations because it:

• Helps align business key processes to the industry-proven best practices.
• Demonstrates your organization’s commitment to delivering quality products and services consistently.
• Ensures that your quality management system is up to global aerospace standards.
• Enhances your prospects for new markets / new customers around the world.
• Provides robust design processes for organizations responsible for the design to meet safety and reliability demands in the Aerospace industry.
• Streamlines supply chain controls, which are essential to successful purchasing.
• From planning, purchasing, and manufacturing through shipment, each step of product realization is controlled to deliver a product that meets customers’ requirements.
• Defining requirements for product validation before shipment as part of the product monitoring and measurement process.
• Reduces the number of 2nd and 3rd party audits.
• Promotes continuous improvement by providing independent feedback.
• Increases customer satisfaction.
• Reduces inefficiency and waste within an organization.
• Improves business processes and operational excellence.
• Stabilizes processes and improves their consistency.

Define AS9100 Quality Management System?

AS9100 is described as a “Quality Management System.” An organization’s Quality Management System consists of policies, processes, documented procedures, and records that define how products, services, and methods are carried out. Quality assurance is only one aspect of QMS. AS9100 provides guidelines for creating an Aerospace QMS that ensures that you don’t miss any essential elements because you need to customize the QMS to fit your company’s needs.

Which is the Most Reliable Quality Management System?

Qualityze EQMS Suite is one the most reliable AS9100 quality management system.

Built on the most powerful and secure cloud platform, Qualityze has configurable workflows and intuitive interface to help organizations align their business processes with industry best practices and compliance standards. It also provides organization better flexibility, security, and accessibility to manage quality data across all their business units. Check out all the amazing capabilities at Qualityze by requesting a free demo.

For more information on Qualityze smarter quality solutions, you can directly get in touch with our success team by either calling on 1 877 207-8616 or emailing us at info@qualityze.com. We will be there to assist you.