Establishing a Common Language for Aerospace Quality
Published .
Applicable Standards
AS9102Related
- AS9100
- AS13100
Topics
- fai
- as9102
- training
- definitions
- terminology
- supplier-development
- qms
- documentation
A prime contractor's quality engineering team observes a high rejection rate for First Article Inspection (FAI) reports submitted by multiple suppliers. The rejections are not for dimensional nonconformances on the part itself, but for recurring errors in how the FAI forms are completed. This indicates a systemic issue rather than an isolated manufacturing problem.
Investigation reveals that the suppliers' personnel have a fundamental misunderstanding of core terminology defined within the AS9102 standard. For example, standard catalog measurement equipment was incorrectly listed as 'Designed Tooling', reference dimensions were improperly included as requiring results, and process source non-conformances were not documented on the correct forms.
Key Takeaways
- The inconsistent and non-compliant FAI packages required rejection and extensive clarification between the customer and suppliers.
- This resulted in administrative churn, delayed part approvals, and consumed significant engineering resources to correct documentation that was fundamentally flawed due to terminological confusion.
- Investigation reveals that the suppliers' personnel have a fundamental misunderstanding of core terminology defined within the AS9102 standard.
Best Practice
Organizations must ensure that personnel generating and reviewing quality documentation share a common, accurate understanding of key terms defined in governing standards like AS9102. Providing access to standards is insufficient; proactive training, creating shared terminology references, and performing knowledge checks are critical to prevent systemic documentation errors and costly rework.
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