Tag: as5553

New ARP 6178 released on Fraudulent/Counterfeit Electronic Parts; Tool for Risk Assessment of Distributors

Today we’re going to follow up on our previous blog on AS 5553, “Counterfeit Electronic Parts; Avoidance, Detection, Mitigation, and Disposition.”  SAE has just released a new Aerospace Recommended Practice ARP 6178, “Fraudulent/Counterfeit Electronic Parts; Tool for Risk Assessment of Distributors.”

Dated 12/19/2011, it’s applicable to all organizations that procure electronic components from sources other than the original component manufacturer.  ARP6178 is especially useful for assessing distributors that sell electronic components without contractual authorization from the original component manufacturer.

With the obvious dangers inherent in using counterfeit electronic components, manufacturers need any and all tools at their disposal for identifying and avoiding the use of non-compliant parts.  SAE has been actively working with industry on this topic for a number of years now and these new documents are the result of those efforts.

All current SAE standards, and many obsolete ones, are available from Document Center Inc. via our website, www.document-center.com.  Or consider contacting us by phone (650-591-7600), fax (650-591-7617) or email (info@document-center.com).  Our staff can assist you in identifying, purchasing, and maintaining the standards you need to protect your business from the liabilities associated with non-conformance to best practices and current standards.

The AS-5553 helps manufacturers avoid using counterfeit electronic parts

The SAE standard AS-5553, Counterfeit Electronic Parts; Avoidance, Detection, Mitigation, and Disposition, was released in 2009 to help manufacturers avoid the use of counterfeit components.  With electronic component fakes posing an increasing threat to U.S. manufacturing, from military to medical devices, the standard supports processes geared to counterfeit avoidance and discovery.

The problem of counterfeit parts is plaguing both the military and private sector.  U.S. customs has seized 5.6 million counterfeit chips between November 2007 and May 2010, with untold millions getting though anyway.  As reported by the San Jose Mercury this month, 3,868 counterfeit incidents  were reported in 2005 where the military and its suppliers found bogus electronics. By 2008, that number had risen to 9,356.

AS5553 is designed for use by aerospace and military manufacturers and contractors.  It provides uniform requirements, practices and methods to mitigate the risk of receiving and installing counterfeit electronic parts.  Of course, no standard can guarantee that counterfeit components will be avoided, but the document does provide a framework for minimizing risk.

As such, the SAE G-19 committee developed a set of requirements, practices and methods geared to provide benchmarks for parts management, vendor management, procurement, inspection and test evaluation and of course, what to do when counterfeit parts are discovered.

Both NASA and NAVAIR have adopted the use of this standard already.  And studies this year by the Department of Commerce and by the GAO (Government Accounting Office) have again pointed out the vulnerability of the military to “knock-off” electronic chips.

Military contractors and others should be proactive in developing defensible and effective practices for avoiding the use of fakes in commercial products.  Bogus electronics pose a real threat to the population at large and to the military in particular.

You can buy a copy of the AS-5553 from Document Center Inc. on our website at www.document-center.com, or by email at info@document-center.com, phone at +650-591-7600 or by fax at +650-591-7617.  The document is in stock for immediate shipment.

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.