Page 28 - MetalForming April 2012

Aerospace Suppliers Take Heed of the Operational Impacts of
AS9100 Rev. C
It’s a busy year for aerospace and defense manufacturers as they deal with increased orders and accelerated schedules for new programs, while also working to meet a tight July 1, 2012 deadline for compliance with aerospace standard AS9100 Revision C.
BY FRANCIS LOUIS CHARBONNEAU AND JOHN LUNDY
Announced early in 2011, the latest revision to AS9100—a standard first introduced in 1999 by SME and the European Association of Aerospace Industries—includes the widest scope of changes ever made to the standard. Of the 15,000 aerospace and defense suppliers certified to Rev. B, less than one-third of them (as of this writing) have completed their Rev. C certification.
Consequences are dire for those companies that do not achieve Rev. C com- pliance by the deadline of July 1, 2012. Aerospace and defense suppliers that fail to comply will be suspended from approved supplier lists, including the Online Aerospace Supplier Information System (OASIS). In addition to losing future business by being removed from such lists, companies failing to comply by July 1 also place their existing business in jeopardy. OEMs face their own consequences if they maintain noncertified companies within their supply chain, so they may choose to change suppliers as needed.
Its wide scope of changes, aggressive deadline and dangerous consequences of noncompliance have made Rev. C a critical area of focus across the entire aerospace and defense industry.
Documentation, Record-Keeping, Process Traceability
Rev. B required that aerospace suppliers maintain documentation of quality records, customer information, production data and more. But, it did not specify how suppliers were to collect or maintain this documentation. Now, Rev. C adds specific requirements related to documentation and record-keeping.
For example, Rev. C requires that documents be stored within a manufacturer’s
Francis Louis Charbonneau is president and CEO, Aerospace Consultants Interna- tional, Grosse Point, MI; 313/310-1179, www.aciaerocert.com. John Lundy is a senior account executive with Plex Systems, Auburn Hills, MI: 248/391-8001, www.plex.com.
AS9100 Rev. C requires that manufacturers be able to immediately produce real-time records and documentation, whenever needed, and bar codes go a long way toward achieving that goal. Aerospace manufacturers can use bar codes, for example, for raw-material traceability, quality and inventory control.
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