AS 9000 or Aerospace Basic Quality System

AS 9000 (or the Aerospace Basic Quality System) is the aerospace version of ISO 9000. AS 9000 contains ISO 9001 embedded verbatim plus 27 clarifications or qualifiers and 8 notes to the existing twenty elements of ISO 9001. A consortium of aerospace prime contractors worked as a subcommittee (AAQG) under the Aerospace and Defense Division of the American Society for Quality Control (ASQC) and developed the standard. Companies represented on the committee included AlliedSignal, Allison Engine, Boeing, General Electric Aircraft Engines, Lockheed-Martin, McDonnell Douglas, Northrop Grumman, Pratt & Whitney, Rockwell-Collins, Sikorsky Aircraft, and Sundstrand. AS 9000 is now available from the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE). Compared to most other industries, the aerospace sector is considerably more demanding in terms of safety and quality. The standard embodies a significant streamlining of all the current aerospace quality standards. In fact, it has garnered widespread support from diverse industry groups, including prime contractors, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), and the Aerospace Industries Association (AIA). The document has been published by the SAE as an Aerospace Resource Document (ARD) to assure broad and rapid circulation in industry while allowing for interim use and comment.

The Advent of the New Standard

The aerospace industry had long lacked uniformity. Suppliers were inundated with numerous requirements. From the Department of Defense (DOD) through the FAA, to each prime contractor and subcontractor, the multiplicity of unique requirements and interpretations of standards and specifications created a huge burden on the supply base, with little or no value. In such a scenario, standardizing the quality processes seemed the logical step to take. The new AS 9000 document symbolizes an important step towards that goal.

AS 9100

AS 9100 quality systems, the Aerospace Model for Quality Assurance in Design, Development, Production, Installation and Servicing is the international management system standard for the aerospace industry. AS 9100 is an SAE document that is recognized by the aerospace industry as a basic requirement for a quality system. The ISO Aerospace Technical Committee 20 Working Group 11 developed AS 9100 in association with other international groups, including AAQG. AS 9100 contains ISO 9001:2008 in its entirety and builds upon the requirements of AS 9000 as well. It adds nearly 100 additional requirements specific to aerospace to ISO 9001:2008. The standard provides suppliers with a comprehensive quality system for providing safe and reliable products to the aerospace industry. AS 9100 also addresses the requirements pertaining to civil and military aviation needs. AS 9100 has been endorsed by all major Aerospace regulators, including the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD), and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). The members of the Americas Aerospace Quality Group (AAQG) have deployed the standard both internally and externally. So AS 9100 is indeed set to become the global aerospace norm of the future.

Why is it Necessary to Consider Accreditation/Registration to AS 9000?

Accreditation/Registration to AS 9000 will place your organization on the leading edge of quality initiatives. It demonstrates your compliance to the internationally recognized ISO 9000 and the additional requirements of AS 9000. It will definitely give your organization an upper hand to support quality claims by associating with a document endorsed by seven aerospace prime contractors. If the supply base adopts the spirit and intent of AS 9000, they declare their commitment to a process that reduces redundancy while adding real value to the manufacturing process. It is absolutely necessary that the aerospace industry meet customer expectations promptly and at a reasonable cost. Quality at any cost is no longer an acceptable approach or a procedure that will long sustain a company's satisfactory progress. The AS 9000/9100 quality management system's set of compliance requirements can assure cost savings by identifying and defining basic, common and acceptable aerospace requirements.