SimpleQuE Aerospace Quality Industry News: Latest AAQG Updates

Keeping up with the latest news in aerospace quality, Jim Lee reports on the Americas Aerospace Quality Group (AAQG), Registration Management Committee meeting held in Orlando this January. Here is his summary with important information for AS certified aerospace and defense suppliers.

Changes to note:

• The aerospace industry is beginning to adopt the automotive APQP and PPAP processes, but has tailored it to low volume, long life cycles, and high levels of regulation.  AS9145 for APQP and PPAP is now being required for the suppliers of: Airbus Group, Boeing, GE Aviation, Raytheon, Spirit Aero, Rockwell Collins, Textron, Honeywell, Hensoldt, Lockheed Martin, Safran Group, UTC, Bombardier, Eaton, Embraer, Oshkosh, Rolls Royce, Woodward, MHI, Parker Aerospace, and L3Harris.  This is not intended to be a comprehensive list, but you can see the adoption among major aerospace customers flowing down these requirements. (Note: simpleQuE offers customized onsite A9145 training and workshops.)
• A new standard AS9018 is being fast-tracked for the interaction process for customer identification of major nonconformances. The Online Aerospace Supplier Information System (OASIS) database for AS certified companies allows customers to report significant supplier problems which will require the certification body to follow up with feedback to all interested parties.  This process will be defined in this standard, which is currently covered in AS9104/1 section 14.
  • Nadcap will also begin reporting major supplier issues in OASIS
  • DCMA is doing this now, and is having the certification body auditors close out the DCMA findings
• AS9104/1 is going through a major revision.  This covers the entire certification process and the requirements for:
  • accreditation bodies,
  • certification bodies (issuers of AS certificates) and their auditors,
  • audits and reports, OASIS database, and more.
• If a company is on a 6-month audit cycle the surveillance audit days are cut in half with audits conducted every 6 months instead of annually.  An audit cycle consists of the full surveillance audit days, so by the 2^nd recertification, the certification body auditor must be changed out.
• New requirements limit a certification body auditor to conduct no more than 6 consecutive audits at a client, before having to change to a new auditor.

• If an auditor audits for 2 years, a different auditor performs the 3^rd audit, then the original auditor returns, the 6 consecutive audit cycle is broken and the count restarts.  We anticipate some certification bodies may take this approach with some clients to keep an auditor with a client longer.
• AS is going to follow automotive to start requiring advance performance data prior to the auditor coming on site to evaluate risks and plan the audit based on performance data, which may increase audit time.

Statistics:

• AS certificates in the U.S. are just over 9,300.
• The average number of nonconformances per audit is 1.7
• One in ten audits contain a major nonconformance

Don’t forget that all AS certificates are coming due for recertification in the next 18 months.  Recertification audits are double the amount of time of a surveillance audit, and will audit the full AS standard. Are you ready for your recertification audit? Nervous about having all the latest AS requirements addressed in your quality system and internal audits the last 1 ½ years?  Let us perform your next internal audit with certified AS auditors to ensure you’re ready.