Aerospace Standard » IMS International LLP Blog

OASIS Administrators

Dec 182012

If organisations are already certified to AS9100, AS9120 or AS9110 they would have recently received an email from the IAQG regarding the OASIS Database and your administrators. They requested that all administrators log in to prevent themselves being removed during the clearing process of inactive accounts.

Many organisations did not login and now their account has been shown as inactive, their customers have also been notified if they had them on their watchlist. This is also preventing Certification Bodies from doing any work on their account such as upload reports. This would result in them becoming removed from the scheme due to non-maintenance of the OASIS Database.

In order to remove this you need to login to the OASIS database, if you have forgotten your password then there is a link to request it to be sent to your email address. Certification Bodies do not know these and have not got access to them, if you are having problems you need to contact the IAQG directly, their number is on the website. https://www.sae.org/?PORTAL_CODE=IAQG&WORKAREA=FORGOTPASSWORD .

Internal Audits-Aerospace Scheme

AS9100, Tools of the Trade 1 Response »

Dec 152012

It has recently been brought to the attention of IMS that there are concerns within the aerospace industry regarding organisations internal audits, especially taking into account organisations certified to AS9100, AS9120 and AS9110.

There are various points within the Aerospace Scheme standards that refer to ensuring the Management System takes into account customer and regulatory requirements (4.1-The organisation’s quality management system shall also address customer and applicable statutory and regulatory quality management system requirements) is an example. This implies that when applying the management system requirements the organisation needs to include customer and regulatory requirements.

One of the concerns being identified is that the internal audit plans and processes are not identifying applicable customer and regulatory requirements and being audited accordingly. Many organisations are performing their internal audits against the Aerospace Standard clauses but not considering the other standards which may be applicable to them. As an example, the internal audits should review compliance with customer specifications which may be referenced within contracts. This could also include CAA, EASA and FAA requirements etc. The “note” within the internal audit clause states “Planned arrangements include customer contractual requirements” when making reference to the internal audit plans.

With this in mind, IMS Auditors will be reviewing internal audit plans in greater detail to ensure that customer, regulatory and statutory requirements have been planned and audited sufficiently. Auditors will need to see that the Audit Plan/Schedule covers all requirements and the internal audit records cover the above.

AS9100, AS9120 & AS9110- Management Commitment

AS9100 1 Response »

Sep 062011

According to clause 4.2.2.1 of AS9101, a top management interview is now mandatory during on-site audits. This needs to happen for every audit or once per year if multiple visits are performed each year.

Top Management is defined as a person or group of people who directs and controls and organisation at the highest level.

This is going to lead to a big change for many organisations who historically have not been involved with the Certification Audits.

Top Management will be interviewed to evaluate certain criteria as defined within AS9101 clause 4.1.2.1 and will include an awareness of the policy and objectives, top management commitment and actions taken to address issues when not meeting customer performance expectations.

Organisations need to ensure that Top Management is available during all on-site audits, this can be via telephone or video conference if face to face is not possible.

AS9100 and AS9120 Pre-Audit Activities

AS9100, Tools of the Trade No Responses »

Sep 012011

Organisations applying the new revisions of AS9100 and AS9120 will notice that they are being required to provide a greater volume of information prior to any on-site activities being performed.

Auditors (internal and External) are less likely to be effective if they have not performed suitable planning for the on-site audits. Planning will assist the auditor to keep the audit focused during the on-site audit and provide a true “process-based” audit.

Some of the additional information required (as per AS9101) by IMS or any other CB prior to the on-site audits being planned and performed will include:

The revenue for aviation, space, and defense industry, as a proportion of the total revenue;
the number of employees working for aviation, space and defense and the total workforce; and
identification of the major (e.g., top five) aviation, space and defense customers.

The above information will be used to help the auditor plan their audit and focus on the key areas of the organisation, thus providing a more effective audit. There is no benefit to the organisation or their clients by focusing the audit within areas which could potentially have the least impact to the risks of the business, clients or aerospace industry.

If Boeing is your top customer, the auditor will focus their audit on the orders processed for them and the controls you have in place throughout that process.

Some organisations have questioned why we require the information stated above and we hope that this blog has clarified the reasoning behind this. An update will be required on an annual basis to ensure the auditor continues to focus their efforts in the right direction.

The IMS Form (AS9100 and AS9120 Supplemental Questionnaire) used to provide this information can be found on the IMS Website.

Process Control Tools

AS9100, Tools of the Trade No Responses »

Aug 312011

AS9101 clause 4.3.2.2 requires the Certification Body Auditor to ensure clients provide the necessary information and documentation for review, including the following:

Quality Manual;
Description of processes showing their sequence and interaction, including the identification of any outsourced processes;

Note 1: The processes can be depicted in various ways [e.g., process maps, turtle diagrams, SIPOC method (breakdown of supplier, inputs, process steps/tasks, outputs, customer), octopus].

Organisations shall be required to provide this information during the stage 1 assessment or a document review for the auditor to review and use as the basis for the audit plan. There is no defined method for depicting this information but some common tools are detailed within Note 1 or organisations can create their own.

Whatever tool is used, the organisation must ensure that the process approach which has been defined within a previous blog is being utilised [i.e. inputs, process, outputs).

The auditor is also likely to produce their own tools for use, these can also be used as part of your own internal audit process.

Some of the tools used by the IMS auditors can be downloaded from the IMS Website.

AS9100 and AS9101 Frequently Asked Questions

AS9100, Tools of the Trade No Responses »

Aug 292011

Due to the release of the new revisions of AS9100 and AS9120 the International Aerospace Quality Group (IAQG) have published a number of Frequently Asked Questions Documents.

It is recommened that you download these documents as there are a number of clarification points within these documents which will help to further explain not only the requirements of the standard but also the requirements and purpose of the AS9101D document.

The FAQs are free to download from the IMS website and are written by clause which makes them more user friendly. The auditors will also use these during the audits as an aid.

Recruiting AEA and AA Aerospace Auditors

AS9100, News No Responses »

Aug 292011

IMS is experiencing high growth within the aerospace industry and require some additional sub-contract auditors for the AS9100 and AS9120 standards.

If you are interested or know of anyone who would be interested then please contact IMS through the contact details on our website.

FAA Approves Production of Boeing 787 Dreamliner

AS9100, News No Responses »

Aug 272011

Its many years behind schedule and Millions of Dollars over budget but it looks like the Boeing 787 Dreamliner is finally about to take off. The Dreamliner is approximately 50% composite which is relatively new technology when applied to the aerospace industry and probably a large factor in the delays to the aircraft.

I wonder if Boeing get in trouble for late deliveries as I know their suppliers get in trouble?

At an event at Boeing’s facility in Everett, Washington, Administrator Babbitt presented Boeing executives with two certificates for the design and production of the Boeing 787 Dreamliner with Rolls-Royce engines.

“Today’s achievement could not have been possible without the professionalism and dedication of the FAA team involved in the certification,” said Administrator Babbitt. “The engineers, inspectors and flight test pilots all worked diligently to ensure our high safety standards were met.”

Boeing made its initial application to the FAA on March 28, 2003 and the program was launched in April 2004. The first 787 rollout ceremony was on July 8, 2007 at Boeing’s Everett assembly factory. The airplane first flew on Dec. 15, 2009, and the six flight test airplanes have since accumulated more than 4,645 flight hours, with approximately 25 percent of those hours flown by FAA flight test crews. More than 200,000 hours were logged by FAA technical experts who were involved in the type certification of the 787.

The airplane will use 20 percent less fuel and produce less noise compared to similarly sized airplanes. It was designed and manufactured by suppliers and partners around the world and integrated at final assembly. The 787 incorporates many capabilities of the nation’s Next Generation Air Transportation System, or NextGen.

The European Safety Agency (EASA) also issued a same day validation of the FAA Type Certificate of the 787.

EASA Issues Type Certificate for Boeing 787 Dreamliner

AS9100, News No Responses »

Aug 262011

The European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) issued on Friday 26 August 2011 to Boeing a Type Certificate for the Boeing 787-8 aircraft. This EASA certificate recognises that Boeing has demonstrated compliance to the EASA Type Certification Basis with applicable airworthiness and environmental requirements.

When handing over EASA type-certificate to Boeing, Patrick Goudou, EASA Executive Director said: “This is a great achievement. I am particularly proud of the dedication and efficiency demonstrated by EASA certification teams in dealing with new certification challenges such as the use of composite material which account for more than 50% of the aircraft’s primary structure”.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and EASA worked closely together during the certification of the aircraft, the FAA being the primary authority for all American designs, and EASA the validating authority. Boeing received the FAA Type Certificate simultaneously at a joint ceremony organised Friday in Seattle.

Type certification is a prerequisite to the first delivery to airline customers. The Boeing 787-8 has now completed all certification requirements prior to its entry into service later this year with the Japanese Airline All Nippon Airways (ANA). The first European airline to operate the Boeing 787-8 will be Poland’s national carrier LOT with the first delivery expected in March 2012.

The Boeing 787-8 can carry between 210 and 250 passengers over a distance of 7,650-8,200 nautical miles (14,200-15,200 km). Its in-service record will now be monitored through continuing airworthiness activities.

Above information is courtesy of EASA.

AS9101 Audit Requirements for Aviation, Space, and Defense Organisations

AS9100 No Responses »

Aug 222011

The new Aerospace standards are now in full swing and organisations are begining to be assessed to the new versions of AS9100, AS9120 and AS9110 (2009 versions).

Many users of the old standards will be familiar with the AS9101 checklist and some organisations used this for their internal audit processes. The AS9101 document has been revised and is now an integral part of any organisations aerospace management system and careful consideration needs to be given to its use. Although it is not a mandatory document to be used internally, organisations seeking approval to any aerospace standard needs to be aware of its contents as there are significant requirements built into the AS9101 document which need to be complied with in order to gain certification.

One of the major changes within the standards is the requirement to audit by process rather than clause based auditing. Organisations need to ensure that they are performing effective internal audits by using the process approach to not only verify that the system is in compliance with the standard requirements but to also ensure that inputs and outputs to each process is defined and the process interactions are being controlled. Further information on process based auditing will follow in subsequent blog updates.

Processes need to be identified and controlled, there are no defined methods for this but tools such as process flowcharts, turtle diagrams and SIPOCS are commonly used.

You will find within the AS9101 document a form called the Process Effectiveness Assessment Report, commonly known as the PEAR. This is a tool which will be used by the Certification Body and can be used by organisations if they wish. It will help organisations to identify the processes within their system, the monitoring and measurement requirements within that process and to establish if that process is effective. Organisations can be compliant to the requirements of the standard but the process can be ineffective if it is not meeting the monitoring and measurement results required by the system or customer requirements.

There are many requirements built within the AS9101 document which need to be complied with and Certification Bodies will be requiring a significant amount of information to aid in the planning of the audit prior to any auditing activities taking place.

Older Entries

March 2013
M	T	W	T	F	S	S
« Jan
				1	2	3
4	5	6	7	8	9	10
11	12	13	14	15	16	17
18	19	20	21	22	23	24
25	26	27	28	29	30	31