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On January 15, The International
Aerospace Quality Group (IAQG) released a revision to AS9100, the
quality management system (QMS) for the aviation, space and defense
industries. Although it came as a surprise to many (even us), the new
requirements are intended to make significant improvements in quality
and reductions in cost—throughout the value stream.
Its trajectory will also traverse on-time delivery performance, the
formal monitoring of customer satisfaction trends, and formal plans to
ensure continual improvement—all are mission critical. IAQG’s mission is
to dramatically raise the on-time, on-quality delivery (OTOQD)
performance across all three business sectors.
Transitioning to AS9100C
Transition details are still being finalized. We expect that both
revisions will remain current for over 2½ years. IAQG has proposed a
maximum thirty month implementation schedule from date of publication.
Unfortunately, it’s not quite that simple. The reason is because
AS9101D, the Quality Management Systems Assessment Standard, has not yet
been approved.
This Assessment Standard is currently being revised in order to simplify
it, and to make it easier to facilitate a value-added, process-based
audit. Changes are expected to be rather significant. And it isn’t until
this sister Standard is approved that the approximate six-month
development period (for sanctioned courseware to train third-party
auditors on the revised standards) can even begin.
If the AS9101 Standard is released in the next several months (Q1 or
Q2)—and if it takes about six-months to develop sanctioned training
materials—it probably will be Q4-2009 or Q1-2010 before any
certification body can audit to the AS9100C Standard. So, third-party
auditors can’t do anything until the AS9101 Standard is also launched,
and the sanctioned training materials are released to the certification
bodies.
Once the Assessment Standard has been released, the primary thrust of
the first six months will be to develop auditor training materials. The
challenge for the next twelve months will be to train the certification
bodies and auditors. This suggests that the earliest opportunity for
organizations to be registered to the new Standard (early adopters) will
be about six months from publication of AS9101D.
During the next twelve months, all organizations that have not opted for
early adoption will need to upgrade to the new Standard at their next
surveillance audit or recertification. So, it appears that the maximum
allowed time to upgrade will be thirty months from publication of
AS9101D (not AS9100C), and any certifications that are still to AS9100B
will no longer be valid. Detailed transitioning requirements will be
available at or around the time AS9101 is officially released.
Overview of the Changes
Some of the changes to AS9100C include:
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Expansion of scope to include aerospace, aviation and defense (land-
and sea-based systems for defense applications)
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Inclusion of all changes to ISO 9001:2008
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Risk
management
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Project
management
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Configuration management
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Critical
items and special requirements
The IAQG will provide and post on
their website (www.iaqg.org)
AS9100C deployment support material. This will include Frequently Asked
Questions, and an AS9100 revision overview presentation.
The Path Forward
This is a good time to evaluate the overall effectiveness of your
current quality (business) management system. If you are not measuring
on-time delivery performance and customer satisfaction trends—do so, and
don’t wait. This is no time to procrastinate—it just makes good business
sense.
Also, obtain a copy of the AS9100C Standard. Copies can be purchased
from your national standards body, ANSI, in the United States, at (www.ansi.org),
the International Organization for Standardization (www.iso.org),
or from the American Society for Quality (www.asq.org).
Remember, this standard includes ISO 9001:2008 QMS requirements and
specifies additional aerospace, aviation, and defense QMS
requirements—shown in bold, italic text.
One last thought. AS9100C provides the framework for a fundamental
business model. It is the foundation from which to build a competitive,
customer-centric enterprise. If you think it’s just another standard
that can be taken lightly—think again. It makes a strong business case.
And that translates to improved business results, and a sustainable
competitive advantage. It’s a matter of survival!
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