Quality management in aerospace

Ensure quality assurance in aerospace

Enhancing the understanding of what good looks like in Aerospace

Article

Quality assurance standards for aerospace organizations

What was considered good yesterday may be non-compliant tomorrow. Quality management systems are like anything else in an Aerospace organization. They must be monitored, maintained, and managed by people who know what they are doing. Ignorance is one of the most common reasons for non-compliance regarding the quality management system requirements. While an organization may have been compliant at one time, it may have drifted away as a result of key personnel changes. The consequences of non-compliance are too great to allow the responsibilities of the quality management system to be handed over to individuals who are not familiar with the industry or its quality and regulatory compliance requirements. And compliance concerns are quickly growing. The Aerospace industry has recently taken several big hits, including COVID-19. Many organizations have been forced to lay off personnel. This current ‘brain drain’ is creating a deficit of professional knowledge in the sector which presents a significant risk to staying up to date with industry regulations. As the industry begins to recover towards the end of 2021 and beyond, it is critical that there are professionals and quality assurance initiatives in place to understand industry requirements to ensure compliance. Quality Assurance Initiatives There are several initiatives that Aerospace organizations can implement through the purchase of standards in order to ensure they don’t fall foul of industry compliance regulations. These include; First Article Inspection - First Article Inspection is critical to Aviation and Defence companies as it ensures that a product performs as intended. With an effective quality management software solution, escalation rules can be used for rapid resolution if a non-conformance is found. First Article Inspections can be conducted according to the BS EN AS 9102 standard as well as others. Traceability - Complex manufacturers require accurate reporting to avoid expensive rework and reduce the time and expense of product recalls. With an effective quality management software solution, manufacturers can ensure quality compliance and complete traceability throughout the product life cycle. Supply Chain Management - Managing suppliers through every tier of the supply chain is a critical step to mitigate the growing burden of risk. Quality management standards, such as the BS AS EN 9100 series provide a framework for complete visibility into the supply chain and help hold suppliers accountable for poor quality. They allow Aerospace companies to effectively manage their supply chain to drive down costs and eliminate errors. To discover more about supply chain management within the Aerospace industry, click here. Quality Management Standards: How to Ensure Your Aerospace Organization is Compliant Once you have the necessary initiatives and quality management standards in place within your organization, there are several ways you can ensure continued compliance with the industry regulations: Verify your organization is continuously monitoring changes in regulations, industry standards, and contractual requirements Never accept any purchase order without reviewing it for new or changed requirements Periodically review existing contracts and programs to ensure new or change requirements have not crept in How to Achieve Quality Assurance with Employee Compliance When it comes to being compliant, organizational leadership should never assume that they know in detail what all the requirements are, or that their employees have all the requisite knowledge and skills. As a result, all Aerospace businesses need to ensure the following: Make sure your employees know the regulations and standards that apply to the organization, which includes top leadership Make sure your employees have access to the policies and procedures applicable to their roles and responsibilities sake sure your employees are kept informed of changes to requirements Make sure your employees have the resources they need to meet the requirements Make sure your employees feel empowered to identify problems, without retribution Make sure your organization has the knowledge and skills it needs, if not, go get it There is no doubt that using standards can ensure the quality of your aerospace products, building crucial trust between you and the rest of your supply chain. With a BSI Knowledge subscription, aerospace quality management is at your fingertips with instant access to over 5,000 best practice documents related to the aerospace industry. It 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. Add the key quality management aerospace standards to your collection today.

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.

Key Aerospace Quality Management Standards

Browse or Search our Catalogue of Aerospace Standards

Quality management in aerospace

Ensure quality assurance in aerospace

Quality assurance standards for aerospace organizations

The importance of quality management standards in the aerospace industry

Key Aerospace Quality Management Standards

Trending Topics in Aerospace Quality Management

Supply chain management in aerospace

Innovation in aerospace

Sustainability in aerospace