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New AS 9101 – Quality Management Auditing

SAE’s AS 9101, “Quality Management Systems – Audit Requirements for Aviation, Space, and Defense Organizations” has been updated. The new 2016 Revision F (to replace revision D from 2014) is available now from Document Center as a hard copy or for PDF download. This document is designed to guide aerospace industry users through the audit process for the requirements laid out by AS 9100.

To ensure the quality of their services, aerospace and defense buyers and suppliers must have a system in place. The requirements of this system were determined by various Standards-Developing Organizations (SDOs). These include the International Standards Organization (ISO), the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC), and the International Aerospace Quality Group (IAQG).

In order to enforce conformity with these standards, various certifying bodies are charged with the task of auditing. AS 9101 walks the user through the entire auditing process from basic information to specific tips and requirements. This includes a terms and definitions section to help avoid confusion caused by the language used in the document.

Following this is an extensive section describing and outlining every facet of auditing and reporting. This includes information on audit activities, planning, conducting audits, reports, specific requirements, and nonconformity management. It also describes a variety of different types of audits. Appendices A and B provide an acronym log and an extensive selection of auditing forms.

If you are interested in picking up a copy of the new AS 9101, contact us at Document Center. You can visit our webpage (www.document-center.com) to browse for this standard or any other SAE standard you may need. Here is the order page for the AS 9101.

Questions and concerns can be directed to our friendly staff. You can contact us by phone (650-591-7600) or email (info@document-center.com). With our vast knowledge of the world of standards, we’re sure to be able to help you out. Make us your Standards Experts!

More Quality Updates – EN 9101 for Aerospace

EN 9101, “Quality Management Systems. Audit Requirements for Aviation, Space, and Defence Organisations,” has been updated! The new 2015 Edition has been adopted for use in the European Union and is available now from Document Center Inc. We’ll find that there’s a number of national editions, some released and some pending. And we’ll discuss the status of the U.S. Edition of the standard (AS 9101) as well.

Why are EN 9101 and other similar standards being revised? The 2015 Edition for ISO 9001 is prompting modifications of the “children” standards that are tailored for specific industries like aerospace. Basically this means that the changes to the ISO 9001 now will trickle down through the many variants that have been generated for targeted audiences.

Which editions of the EN 9101 2015 Edition are available? Currently the BS EN 9101 2015 Edition is published. It’s available in paper format for $318.00. The SS EN 9101 2015 Edition is available in both paper and pdf format, priced at $162.82 a copy. The DIN EN 9101 2015 Edition is not released yet.

What about the AS 9101? The U.S. publication of this standard is under revision right now. The committee is working on a new Revision F which will replace the current Revision E from 3/2014. There is no firm date when the new release will be available.

Want to get a copy of any of these editions? Head directly to www.document-center.com and order from your authorized distributor, Document Center Inc. You’ll contact our staff directly for the purchase of the SS EN 9101. You can reach them by phone (650-591-7600) or email (info@document-center.com). Here’s the order page for the BS EN 9101. Other editions will show up in our catalog as they are updated.

Stay tuned! There are sure to be other standards in the ISO Quality set that will be updated as well, now that the ISO 9001 2015 has been released. If you’d like to have a spot to review the situation, check out our ISO 9000 store at ISO9000.document-center.com. All the ISO quality standards are listed, including information on the latest revision. It’s an easy way to see what the status of your quality standards are. And ordering any new editions is a snap!

Remember, Document Center Inc. has been helping standards users like you since 1982. Make us your Standards Experts!

Top Quality Standards for the Aerospace Industry

Our Top Quality Standard for the Aerospace Industry is the AS-9100, Quality Management Systems – Requirements for Aviation, Space and Defense Organizations. It is the successor document to the first Aerospace Quality Standard, the now obsolete AS-9000. The current Revision C dated in 2009 will replace the previous Revision B in July 2012.

SAE International states that the document “specifies requirements for a quality management system where an organization a) needs to demonstrate its ability to consistently provide product that meets customer and applicable statutory and regulatory requirements, and b) aims to enhance customer satisfaction through the effective application of the system, including processes for continual improvement of the system and the assurance of conformity to customer and applicable statutory and regulatory requirements.”

The next Quality Standard is the AS-9110, Quality Management Systems – Requirements for Aviation Maintenance Organizations. This is the standard for certification for Maintenance groups. Built on the foundation of ISO-9001, the additional aviation maintenance industry requirements, definitions and notes are highlighted in the text of this standard.

And the final certification standard in the series is the AS-9120, Quality Management Systems – Requirements for Aviation, Space and Defense Distributors. Again, the document is based on the ISO-9000, with deviations in the text highlighted for use by distributors.

Next on our list is the AS-9101, Quality Management Systems Audit Requirements for Aviation, Space, and Defense Organizations. This essential standard provides you with the requirements for the actual audit. It is the guide by which a certification process will be judged.

We should also mention AS-9003 at this point, Inspection and Test Quality System. SAE International states, “This document contains the minimum requirements for supplier Inspection and Test Quality System. It is emphasized that the quality system requirements specified in this standard are complementary (not alternative) to the contractual and applicable law and regulatory requirements.”

Another standard in this series is the AS-9006, Deliverable Aerospace Software Supplement for As9100a. However, as the AS-9100 Revision A is now obsolete, this document is not useful for new projects.

And the last standard we need to reference in this list is AS-5553, Counterfeit Electronic Parts; Avoidance, Detection, Mitigation, and Disposition. With the quality concerns that arise from the use of sub-standard component parts, this standard is essential to the manufacture of safe products.

At the time of this post, draft documents are under review for the AS-9110, AS-9003 and AS-5553 Standards.