June 14, 2019 Industry Forum Blog Companies within the Aerospace industry have long since recognised that although they compete to gain market share, they also share common challenges. In the past they have created differing techniques and methods to try and achieve the same results. To address this, the aviation, space, and defence industry established the International Aerospace Quality Group (IAQG) for the purpose of achieving significant improvements in quality, delivery, safety, and reductions in cost, throughout the value stream. This organisation includes representation from companies in the Americas, Asia/Pacific, and Europe. One of the more tangible results of the group’s activities is the release of a number of industry recognised standards. AS9102 is the Aerospace standard which seeks to standardise First Article Inspection (FAI) process requirements to the greatest extent possible and can be used at all levels of the supply chain by organisations around the world to provide a consistent process and documentation requirements for verification of aviation, space, and defence products. This standard was revised in October 2014. When reading the above, the phrase “standardise FAI process requirements to the greatest extent possible” strikes fear into the hearts of the Aerospace supply chain. In reality, there has not been a lot of agreement on what is required in support of a FAI report (FAIR), hence why many organisations add further requirements to those listed within the standard. With the introduction of AS9145, the Aerospace sector standard for APQP/PPAP, these additional requirements are now being standardised within the 11 PPAP elements. The trend is now starting for organisations to go back to basics and define their FAIR process around the requirements of AS9102, and seek to gain supporting information from the PPAP file. There is an increasing trend to drive improved, increased accountability for FAIR submission quality towards their supply base and to incorporating any additional requirements within the PPAP file. Industry Forum are pleased to announce the availability of a number of training courses in support of the techniques and methods required within AS9145 APQ/PPAP, which support FAIR and also provides the training foundations on the requirements for AS9102: AS9145 APQP and PPAP Essentials (2 day) AS9145 APQP and PPAP Practitioner (5 day)
