AS 9100 Aerospace Management System – Manufacturers
What is AS 9100 and who is it for?
AS 9100 is the international management system standard for the aviation, space and defence (AS&D) industries. It’s part of a series of standards, operated by the International Aerospace Quality Group (IAQG), that includes AS 9110 (Aerospace Quality Management – maintenance) and AS 9120 (Aerospace Quality Management – stockists and distributors).
The standard was first published in 1999 and was last updated in 2016 to ensure continued alignment with ISO 9001, the quality system standard upon which it is based, but with additional requirements designed to address safety, reliability and regulation specifically within the AS&D industries.
AS 9100 is intended to help suppliers, manufacturers and service providers, wherever they may be in the supply chain and whatever their size, to demonstrate that they operate to high levels of safety and quality – factors of paramount importance in this complex, fast-paced and competitive industry.
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What are the benefits of AS 9100 certification?
AS 9100 requires organizations to take a high-level strategic view of every aspect of their organization, inside and out, with quality management and continual improvement as the key drivers. It equips Aerospace businesses of all kinds with the know-how and understanding to reduce risk, build greater resilience, and grow market opportunity on a global scale.
Organizations certified to AS 9100 claim the following benefits:
- Ability to demonstrate their organization’s commitment to continuous improvement.
- Greater cost-effectiveness.
- Improved product, process and service quality.
- A prerequisite to supply to some major aerospace manufacturers.
- Improved risk management.
- A more engaged and motivated workforce.
Although not a regulatory requirement, AS 9100 is supported – and frequently specified – worldwide by aviation authorities, governmental organizations and global industry prime contractors.
What are the requirements of AS 9100?
To achieve certification, organizations must demonstrate they meet the requirements of all AS9100 clauses. These clauses – which address an organization’s context, leadership, planning, support (resources), operation, performance evaluation and improvement – effectively provide a framework that supports the integration of the management system.
It’s important to note that the standard isn’t prescriptive, making it easier for organizations to adapt it to their specific needs and achieve improvements that are sustainable. This flexibility extends to the ‘quality manual’, which doesn’t have to be a manual in a traditional sense, although it can be, but instead can take the form of a video, intranet, or any other medium through which an organization is able to demonstrate, communicate and manage its compliance.
An organization’s context is an important clause that requires the examination of its entire ecosystem in relation to the AS 9100 quality management system, including its supply chain, customers, and other stakeholders. This includes, for example, assessing how the quality of external suppliers is managed and ways in which it might be improved.
Support of leadership at the highest level of an organization is necessary in achieving and maintaining AS 9100 certification. In practice, this means appointing a management representative with responsibility for overseeing quality management and ensuring that the requirements of the system are integrated, and that policies and objectives align with the strategic direction of the organization.
What are the steps to obtaining AS 9100 certification?
The route to AS 9100 certification starts with buying a copy of the standard. There are then five key steps to follow:
- 1
Read and understand the standard
To solidify understanding of the standard and understand what’s required to implement it within your organization. You might wish to undertake some training on the standard. - 2
Take action
A gap assessment will help to ascertain the readiness of your organization with regard to implementing AS 9100. You may already meet several – even all – of the requirements, or you may have work to do. Since AS 9100 is based on ISO 9001, our ISO 9001 online gap assessment tool could give you an initial indication of your organization’s progress towards AS 9100 certification. - 3
Choose a certification body
When you’re confident you have implemented any changes needed to meet the requirements of AS 9100, you’ll need to arrange for your organization to be audited. This will require appointing an accredited, independent third-party certification body such as NSF, who will carry out the audit and inform you if you have been successful or if there is still work to do. The audit duration can vary depending on factors such as an organization’s complexity and the number of employees. - 4
Receive audit recommendation
Should any minor nonconformities be identified during the audit process, you will be notified of a specified time period in which these will need to be addressed, and evidence of the work done to rectify them submitted to the certification body. Once all the requirements of the standard are met, the auditor will make a recommendation for certification. - 5
Certification is granted
Earning AS 9100 certification is a major achievement that can open up significant opportunities for an organization. It’s therefore important celebrate and communicate the achievement to all stakeholders.
You will also be listed on the Online Aerospace Supplier Information System, (OASIS), database, managed by the International Aerospace Quality Group (IAQG), that serves as a centralized repository for data related to companies certified under the AS9100 series of standards.
Continual improvement is at the heart of AS 9100 certification. As such, certification follows a three-year cycle of annual audits and a recertification audit at the end of the three-year period. If successful, certification will be granted for another three years, and the accompanying annual audit cycle will recommence.
Why choose NSF for AS 9100 certification?
As an ANSI National Accreditation Board (ANAB) accredited third-party certification body, NSF issues thousands of certificates. Through our participation in IAQG events, we remain engaged and informed on the creation and maintenance of the auditing and oversight standards for the aerospace industry. Our experts have many decades of experience in helping organizations to successfully navigate the requirements of quality management system standards such as AS9100 and the AS91XX series.
We work hard to provide outstanding customer service and take pride in the high scores we receive in our client satisfaction survey.
What is an Integrated Management System?
AS 9100 is based on ISO 9001 (quality management). As such, it follows the same structure of this and other management system standards. This structure is known as Annex SL. Adopting a consistent structure ensures that management systems can be more closely aligned and integrated, helping to deliver efficiencies in an organization integrating two or more management system standards. At NSF, we can support you in the implementation of multiple standards such as ISO 14001 (environmental management) or ISO 45001 (occupational health and safety management). Contact us for more information about the benefits of an integrated management system.
