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.
