AS 9000 was first published in August 1997 and was written with input from a number of large aerospace prime contractors including Lockheed Martin,Northrop Grumman and GE Aircraft Engines and was written against the clauses of ISO 9001:1994.
In late 1999, the first revision of AS 9100 was published by The Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE International) with input from the American Aerospace Quality Group (AAQG) and support from the International Aerospace Quality Group (IAQG) and the Society of British Aerospace Companies (SBAC).
The current version of AS 9100 aligns the standard with ISO 9001:2015 and has extra requirements regarding Regulatory Compliance and the following aerospace-sector specific requirements:
As a result, ISO 9001:2015 is totally encompassed within AS 9100 with these additional requirements applied specifically addressing aviation safety concerns. It is also the only standard which considers the role of the Regulatory Authorities and so many of the “add-ins” are directly traceable to FAA Regulations FAR Part 21 (Certification Procedures for Products and Parts), Part 39 (Airworthiness Directives) and Part 45 (Identification and Registration Marking).
However it must be remembered that AS 9100 remains complementary to contractual and applicable law and regulations. Any business implementing an AS 9100 compliant quality system must ensure the additional requirements of their customers, regulatory agencies (FAA, JAA etc) and local, state and national laws are referenced within the systems documentation.
There is now a family of the AS 9100 Standards applicable to different areas of the aerospace industry which includes the following
AS 9101 - Quality System Assessment (the checklist corresponding to AS9100 rev D
AS 9102 - Aerospace First Article Inspection Requirements
AS 9104 - Standard for overall control of Aerospace Scheme
AS 9110 - Requirements for Maintenance Organisations
AS 9120 - Requirements for Stockists and Distributors
Implementing AS 9100 will motivate staff by defining their key roles and responsibilities. Cost savings can be made through improved efficiency and productivity as product or service deficiencies will be highlighted. From this, improvements can be developed, resulting in less waste, inappropriate or rejected work and fewer complaints. Customers will notice that orders are met consistently, on time and to the correct specification. This can open up the market place to increased opportunities. An additional benefit due to the standardised processes and procedures is the reduction in multiple expectations due to the consistency in verification.
