Tag: as9100

What ever happened to MIL-Q-9858?

One of our all-time best selling military specifications was MIL-Q-9858, “Quality Program Requirements.”  From 1958 to 1996, the document was a staple of the defense contracting system.  It provided guidance for a quality management system for thousands of companies, large and small, involved in defense work both as a prime contractors and subcontractors.

What happened to MIL-Q-9858?  The document was cancelled with the issuance of cancellation notice 2 on 10/1/1996 and left many companies in a quandary over what to do, since it was withdrawn without replacement.   This means that there is no guidance given regarding what document can be used instead.

In the main, the move has been to use the ISO 9000 series of quality standards in lieu of the old MIL-Q-9858.  ISO 9001 was adopted by the DoD in April 2001, as was the AS9100 in 2002 (for aerospace applications).  This resulted in a sharp uptick in ISO 9000 registrations in the U.S.

What’s the main impact of the cancellation of MIL-Q-9858?  This shift to industry quality standards has allowed the U.S. Department of Defense to move out of the business of certifying quality in it’s supply chain, leaving this work to third party auditors.

Military specifications and standards (both current and obsolete) and industry standards are all available from Document Center Inc.   Use our website, www.document-center.com, or contact us by phone (650-591-7600), fax (650-591-7617) or email (info@document-center.com).  We can assist you with all your standards questions and requirements.

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.