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Explore our wide catalogue of standards covering every aspect of the aerospace industry. From quality management systems and data security standards, to test methods for specific components, our aerospace standards will support your business in meeting its regulatory, safety and reliability requirements, and ensuring reliability throughout your aerospace supply chain.

Aerospace standards are shaping the future

Learn how standards can improve your aerospace organization

What are the key benefits of aerospace standards?
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What are the key benefits of aerospace standards?

Every aspect of aerospace industrial activity is affected by standards. It would be impossible for the industry to operate without them. The aerospace industry demands quality at every stage. It is underpinned by strict requirements for safety and reliability. The complex technologies and systems necessary for aerospace are often developed through collaborative relationships in this highly connected sector. Given the global nature of the industry, there are well-established links between continental aviation bodies and agencies. Perhaps not surprisingly, in such a safety and quality-critical sector, standards are deeply embedded in aerospace manufacturing and supply chain partnerships. They provide crucial benefits to organizations in the sector that adopt them; both competitively and with regards to growth and cost efficiencies as we shall go on to explore. Achieving aerospace supply chain confidence The first major benefit to any aerospace business of adopting standards is that they help compliance with legislative and regulatory requirements. The aerospace supply chain relies on standards to function. Standards are the closest thing to a guarantee of quality that supply chain partners can give and receive. Even the smallest component will be produced to specific standards, and manufacturers are audited by supply chain customers on an ongoing basis, through routine site visits and production data interrogation, to ensure that these standards are maintained. For organizations working with supply chain partners, the common use of agreed standards is essential. It’s the fundamental basis for consistent quality and means every business all understand exactly what is expected when undertaking supplier audit visits. BSI can help with your supply chain intelligence through standards, including valuable information for companies to help anticipate, quickly respond to, and avoid supply chain disruptions. The implementation of risk management standards, such as the BS ISO 31000 can be used throughout the life of your Aerospace organization and can be applied to any activity, including decision-making at all supply chain levels. Using quality standards in your organization’s processes, such as the AS 9100 series, will enable you to maintain and improve product safety levels and make international trade significantly more effective. Strict compliance also helps you to avoid costly product or component recalls if certain requirements are not met. Continual improvement and certification maintenance are critical for an industry that demands the best in quality and safety. Collaborative relationships in the aerospace industry Collaborative working is essential in the modern aerospace industry. Using industry-wide quality standards allows businesses to make efficiency gains and eases communication with partners. For example, where there is a need to develop or adopt complex solutions through its supply chain, working together to optimally manage cost and risks associated with delivery and transition into operation. Implementing standards such as BS EN ISO 9001 Quality management system, BS EN ISO 27001 Information security management system, and BS EN ISO 45001 Occupational health and safety management system across your organization will drive quality, efficiency and ensure compliance with key regulations. They will also aid communication with your industry partners and different aviation bodies. Standards benefit businesses by helping them to manage key collaborative relationships whether that’s for a project with a single entity, or for multiple partnerships across complex operations. It provides an important framework to plan and embed collaborative best practices. Better collaboration means key industry players can more easily share their knowledge and insights to overcome challenges. This is critical in an industry with such complex and highly technical systems. Supporting the adoption of emerging aerospace technologies With technology within the industry advancing at a rapid pace, never has the role of standards been so vital. Standards drive organizations to be resilient and adapt in order to stand the test of time. Standards organizations have a significant part to play in helping aerospace businesses keep abreast of technological innovations, as well as the timely development and provision of best practices and standards in several major areas, including: The interoperability of machines and data – establishing the kind of information to be recorded and in which format Improved use of data and the adoption of data-centric business models – enabling more informed engineering and strategic decision-making Design in a connected environment – more collaborative models of design IP governance and security - making decisions using others’ data, and ensuring data ownership is clear Assurance for digital models and digitally manufactured product Today, BSI lead the way in exploring best practice for Smart Cities, The Internet of Things, Unmanned aircraft vehicles, and digital manufacturing - enabling your aerospace organization to be better equipped when facing the challenges of tomorrow. Today, BSI lead the way in exploring best practice for Smart Cities, The Internet of Things, Unmanned aircraft vehicles, and digital manufacturing - enabling your aerospace organization to be better equipped when facing the challenges of tomorrow. Experience the benefits of standards today. Add all these key aerospace standards to your collection. Discover BSI Knowledge Want to access and manage the standards you need to support your aerospace business - all in one place? With a BSI Knowledge subscription, you will have the flexibility and visibility to manage the essential standards you need to work confidently and optimize your supply chain. Build your own custom collection of standards, or opt for access to our GBM30 Aircraft & Aerospace engineering module and keep up-to-date with any relevant changes to your standards strategy. Request to learn more.Read more
How innovation standards are shaping the future of aerospace
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How innovation standards are shaping the future of aerospace

In recent years, the aerospace sector has faced a period of opportunity and rapid technological innovation. Innovative technologies and manufacturing processes are being developed on a seemingly constant basis and manufacturers are reaping the benefits as aerospace companies look for niche suppliers to help expand their supply chain. In order to shape the future of this sector, the regulatory system is also evolving to improve safety and quality best practices and address some of the key challenges facing the industry. These include the transition to cleaner aircrafts the huge task of embracing digitization, and the rise in the use of unmanned aircraft systems (UAS). Going Green Whilst fossil fuels are still an important part of aviation, the rapid evolution of alternative battery technologies and advances in electrification are set to change the future of aircraft propulsion. In 2020, Airbus even revealed three concepts for the world’s first zero-emission commercial aircraft which could enter service by 2035. These concepts each represent a different approach to achieving zero-emission flight, exploring various technology pathways and aerodynamic configurations, and would rely on hydrogen as a primary power source. In order to rise to these challenges, the aerospace industry will require significant infrastructure changes to meet the needs of day-to-day operations. The implementation of standards will be key to meet these ambitious objectives with increased adoption of technology, digitalization, and mechanisms that encourage the use of sustainable fuels and the renewal of aircraft fleets to allow airlines to retire older, less environmentally friendly aircraft earlier. Eco-design in this sector also requires further thinking about the full life cycle from the design stage to the end-of-life. Standards are guiding businesses on how to manage the cycle and benefit from legislative compliance, reduction in resource usage, wastage, and cost-saving whilst improving their organizational profile and brand reputation: • BS 8887-1:2006 specifies requirements for technical product documentation for the manufacture, assembly, disassembly, and end-of-life processing (MADE) of products. • BS 8887-220:2010 specifies requirements for the process of remanufacturing. It lists the steps required to change a used product into a new product, with at least equivalent performance and warranty of a comparable new replacement product. • BS 7000-2:2015 is a guide to managing the design of manufactured products. It deals with every stage of the design process from product concept through to delivery, use, and end-of-life processing. • BS EN IEC 62430 specifies requirements and procedures to integrate environmental aspects into the design and development processes of electrical and electronic products. We understand the challenge aerospace businesses are facing to adopt innovative technologies. Our tailored BSI Knowledge subscription service provides flexibility, access, visibility, and control over the standards and insights your team needs to achieve this objective. With over 3,000 aircraft and aerospace engineering documents available in our pre-built GBM30 module, finding the right standards for your business needs just got easier. Request to learn more. Increasing Digitization With increased digitization across the entire Aerospace sector, we will also see not only efficiencies in operation but a need for a very different skill set. Technicians will be using VR to better visualize a problem and find the best solution while an aircraft is in flight or find a more efficient way to assemble by “stepping inside” or viewing the aircraft from multiple angles. Add to this the need to remove the trusted paper manual, understand if components are failing or have been poorly installed, or if further training is required, and it’s clear to see traceability is key to information resilience. Being able to call up relevant data by the simple swipe of a finger on a handheld device, and data to be as quickly transmitted back to a single Common Data Environment (CDE), will become more critical. However, much of the vast quantities of data will need to be kept secure. This will be done by standards, which, when implemented, will set a stringent protocol for organizations looking to protect their data. Only then can the digitization of aerospace fully flourish and continue to grow. The Rise of Unmanned Aircraft Systems Commercial, state, and defense applications for unmanned aircraft systems, or, as they are more commonly referred to drones are growing rapidly. As well as widespread photography and surveillance tasks, drones and their accompanying control software are being developed to provide rapid response assistance for emergency medical services. They are also used to detect latent disease in fields of crops for farmers and assess the cleanliness and state of repair of the outside of office tower blocks. The industry has been rapidly expanding in recent years and there are many new entrants to the marketplace. Several airlines are already using drones to detect surface damage, thus reducing the time taken to inspect each aircraft and freeing up technicians for other tasks. To shape this future development, standards will be created so that the industry can use them to set quality benchmarks around safety and reliability. Standards are needed to address UAS flight performance, to make sure drones can operate safely under any environmental conditions. For example, to ensure that batteries do not fail when exposed to certain air temperatures. Also, many drones are connected to the internet to send or stream data. Therefore, the development of drone software security standards will be vital to protect against the potential for hacking; both in terms of taking control of the UAS and accessing the data which it may be streaming online. Quality standards, such as the AS/EN 9100 series, will also have a powerful influence on the future development of the UAS industry from a commercial point of view. In time, as new standards are created implemented by manufacturers, consumers will be able to see which drones are certified to safety and quality standards (and are applying best practices) and which ones are not. Drones represent an exciting and positive development for society going forward, comparable with the rise of both the automobile and aeronautical industries of the last century. Standards will help to ensure that the sector has the protocols to enable them to safely realize this enormous technological potential. Shop aerospace standards to drive your organization’s performance by clicking here.
Standards for building resilience in the aerospace industry
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Standards for building resilience in the aerospace industry

The aerospace industry continues to expand year on year. As a sector that has planned for the long-term, with production cycles spanning decades, the industry needs to be more agile than ever as a result of disruptors such as the impact of COVID-19, cyber-attacks, increased digitization, and seismic political events. As a result, aerospace organizations need to ensure they are resilient and forward-thinking. Costs must be sustainably reduced without compromising on safety, and supply chains need to be more responsive. The ability to produce safe and quality products, whilst protecting your people and the environment remains at the heart of this. Let’s explore how to increase resilience within your aerospace organization, face these challenges, and thrive. What is organizational resilience? According to BS 65000:2022 (essential reading for guidance on organizational resilience), organizational resilience is the ability of an organization to anticipate, prepare for, respond and adapt to incremental change and sudden disruptions in order to survive and prosper. BSI’s model for Organizational Resilience can be distilled into three fundamental elements: product excellence, process reliability and people behaviours: • Product excellence – no matter where you are along the supply chain, do your products /services meet market requirements and customer needs? Do they comply with the relevant market regulations? To be truly resilient and ensure customer satisfaction you need to be agile, continually innovate, and differentiate your offering. • Process Reliability – Consistent, reliable, and robust processes are crucial for an aerospace organization to remain resilient. Business-critical processes in areas such as quality, health and safety, environmental management, business continuity management, and information security must be robust and compliant both within the organization and throughout its supply chain. • People Behaviours – Aerospace organizations must manage interactions with customers and supply chain partners on ethical and social responsibility issues and when managed well there’s a positive effect on the brand’s reputation. People must be trained and have the right skills. Employees must understand the needs of the client, be motivated to make continual improvements, and innovation encouraged. This helps keep morale, wellbeing, and retention high. We work with organizations around the globe to help them become more resilient by embedding habits of excellence in each of these three elements. Download our pocket guide to learn more about organizational resilience. Improve aerospace operational resilience With increasingly complex supply chains that span the world, it’s important that you can demonstrate your commitment to quality and on-time delivery. Implementing globally recognized standards will help mitigate the risks of failure in the supply chain, boost customer satisfaction and make your organization resilient. The world’s most widely adopted quality management standard is BS EN ISO 9001, used by organizations from all sectors and of all sizes to boost customer satisfaction. Most major aerospace manufacturers and suppliers worldwide require certification to the BS EN ISO 9000 series as a condition of doing business with them, and organizations that achieve certification will be listed on the Online Aerospace Supplier Information System (OASIS) database. Based on BS EN ISO 9001 there are three main standards in the series, each one relevant to organizations delivering certain activities: • BS EN 9100:2018 Quality management systems – Requirements for aviation, space and defence organizations. This is covers activities including, design, development and manufacture. It can also cover repair but only of an organization’s own product. • BS EN 9110:2018 Quality management systems – Requirements for aviation maintenance organizations. This covers MRO activities of whole aircraft, components, and systems. • BS EN 9120:2018 Quality management systems – Requirements for aviation, space and defence distributors. This has been developed to apply to stockists and distributors of aerospace and/or defence parts. Improve aerospace information resilience With new technologies and trends such as the Internet of Things (IoT), increased connectivity, and the predicted growth in the use of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), safeguarding information is crucial. A resilient aerospace organization needs to manage its information— physical, digital and intellectual property—throughout its lifecycle; from source to destruction. By adopting information-security-minded practices, your staff and stakeholders are still able to gather, store or access the information they need securely and effectively. You also need to protect your security infrastructure. These standards can help you achieve that: • BS EN ISO/IEC 27001 - an excellent framework to help organizations manage and protect information assets so they remain safe and secure. BS EN ISO/IEC 27001 helps organizations continually review and refine how this is done, not only for today but also for the future. • BS EN ISO/IEC 27017 - extending many of the controls established and implemented with BS EN ISO/IEC 27001 as well as some additional ones, BS EN ISO/IEC 27017 protects the information stored and/or shared via cloud-based services. • BS ISO/IEC 20000 series - IT services need to be cost-effective, reliable, consistent and efficient. This balance can be achieved with BS ISO/IEC 20000 series whether IT service management is internal or outsourced. It brings organizations up to ITIL standards so that IT services deliver exactly what’s needed. Contact BSI today to find out how our services can help build supply chain resilience within your organization. Discover BSI Knowledge As challenges and disruptions continue to arise, having instant access to the latest aerospace best practices is crucial for ensuring your resilience to them. Our tailored BSI Knowledge subscription service provides flexibility, access, visibility, and control over the standards and insights your team needs to overcome issues, such as supply chain instability. Build your own collection and keep updated with any relevant changes to your standards strategy. Request to learn more.
The importance of quality management standards in the aerospace industry
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The importance of quality management standards in the aerospace industry

The aerospace sector has always needed to demonstrate high levels of safety and quality. Delivery of high-quality products is vital to customer satisfaction and if quality falters there can be severe safety consequences. In addition, Aviation, Space & Defence manufacturers rely on vast supplier networks to bring their final product to market and need an effective means of communicating with their vendors. Not only can the implementation of quality management standards help Aerospace organizations achieve these goals, they have many more benefits to businesses which we shall go on to explore. Why is quality management necessary for aerospace organizations? With increasingly complex supply chains that span the world, it’s important that businesses can demonstrate their commitment to quality and on-time delivery. Certification and training to globally recognized standards will help mitigate the risks of failure in the supply chain, boost customer satisfaction and make your organization resilient to industry changes. Implementation of quality management requirements are also necessary to help businesses with the following: Facilitate continual improvement Increase market opportunities Demonstrate traceability throughout the supply chain Increase efficiency to save time, money and resources Ensure compliance with a system supported by regulatory authorities Motivate, engage and involve staff Discover more about the topic of quality management in aerospace. Setting the standard for quality management Regardless of the applicable national regulatory scheme, nearly all certificated aerospace organisations are required to have a quality management system in place. These standards not only assure design, product, and/or service output but also mandate processes of capable management oversight that are proactive. The most common quality management standards applied in the aerospace industry are BS AS EN 9100 and BS AS EN 9110. These standards are in addition to the regulatory requirements applied to the organisation, and when incorporated as part of the organisation’s conditions for regulatory approval, they carry the same authority as said regulatory requirements. The BS AS EN 9100 series of standards The BS AS EN 9100 series of internationally adopted Quality Management System (QMS) standards for the Aerospace industry is operated by the International Aerospace Quality Group (IAQG). Most major aerospace manufacturers and suppliers worldwide require certification to the BS AS EN 9100 series as a condition of doing business with them, and organizations that achieve certification will be listed on the Online Aerospace Supplier Information System (OASIS) database. Based on BS EN ISO 9001 there are three main standards in the series, each one relevant to organizations delivering certain activities. • BS AS EN 9100 Quality management systems – requirements for aviation, space and defence organizations. This is covers activities including, design, development and manufacture. It can also cover repair but only of an organization’s own product. • BS AS EN 9110 Quality management systems – requirements for aviation maintenance organizations. This covers MRO activities of whole aircraft, components, and systems. • BS AS EN 9120 Quality management systems – requirements for aviation, space and defence distributors. This has been developed to apply to stockists and distributors of aerospace and/or defence parts. When management does not take into account, or understand, the requirements of these standards, a broad minefield of potential liability is created. Ignoring quality management standards: The consequences Aside from the vast and serious safety implications and expenses related to poor performance, when an organisation is not in compliance with all of its requirements, it exposes itself to all sorts of liabilities. Regulatory agencies, like BSI, have the ability to revoke or suspend an organisation’s design, production, maintenance and operations certifications, as well as, to impose fines. However, when an organisation is found to be non-compliant to its own self-defined quality management system, skilful and experienced experts may be able to create a roadmap of negligence for a court and jury. To ensure your aerospace organization is working to quality management best practices, add these standards to your collection today. Discover BSI Knowledge BS AS EN 9100 and over 100,000 more internationally recognized standards are available for simple and flexible access with a BSI Knowledge subscription. In your quality-critical industry, our subscription service puts the control in your hands, with traceability to monitor and demonstrate your business's access to standards, and self-serve functionality that enables you to manage your subscriptions, standards, users and content quickly and simply. Request to learn more.

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