AS91XX: 2016 Certification Body Auditor Non-Conformances

AS91XX:2016 Certification Body Auditor Non-Conformances – Infographic

SimpleQuE President, Jim Lee, recently attended the joint meetings of the SAE G-14 including Americas Aerospace Quality Standards Committee (AAQSC) and Americas Aerospace Quality Group (AAQG) in New Orleans.  The summit provides access to the committees that create the aerospace standards and guidelines with the high level players in the industry including Space and Defense.

Of interest to many companies are Certification Body audits and the areas where most non-conformances are written.  The Traditional NC chart on the left shows the typical audit non-conformances certification body auditors are finding with the AS9100, AS110 and AS9120 audits to the new standards. These are the top 10 major and minor findings by clause.  The right side displays the high risk and concern areas that NASA, DCMA, FAA, and the Original Equipment Manufacturers (i.e. Boeing, GE, Rolls Royce, Northrup, Raytheon) see as supplier problem areas.

The Risk Area chart shows that the certification body auditors are writing fewer findings against these problem areas affecting the major customers.  However, all of these concern areas have new requirements in the new AS standards.  Jim Lee advises, “It should be noted that certification bodies are training their AS auditors to focus on these industry identified risk areas.  It is not yet clear whether the AS suppliers were well prepared for these new requirements, or the certification body auditors were not auditing as deeply or effectively against these new requirements.  Be prepared for greater focus and scrutiny on future AS audits in these areas.”