What is an AS9100D certified manufacturer?

What is an AS9100D certified manufacturer?

At H&S Manufacturing we pride ourselves on being a manufacturer that specializes in precision fabrication. Many manufacturers can boast about their quality with little proof of how or to what standard their quality is upheld. AS9100 certification holds the manufacturer to a higher level of requirements. H&S Manufacturing is an AS9100D certified manufacturer, and we explain more about what that means.

What is AS9100?                                                                                                                      

AS9100 is a standard of companywide certification for implementing a Quality Management System (QMS). This standard comes from the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) for manufacturing companies that produce products for the defense, space, and aviation organizations. Many companies assume that this standard is the same as the ISO 9001:2015, International Organization for Standardization (ISO). AS9100 expands the requirements set by ISO for Quality Management System. Meaning the manufacturer is held to a higher standard for the quality of your products.

The D being added to AS9100 is the revision D which was added as an aerospace standard used by the International Aerospace Quality Group (IAQG). The updated revision from 2016, is to update the goals of the certification to evolve with the needs of the industry.

Why consider using an AS9100D certified manufacturer?

For a manufacturer to become certified requires a lot of work, time, and implementation. Setting these standards in place can take years to achieve. However, these benefit the manufacturer, customer, and end-users. Here are some examples:

Quality-It’s a requirement from AS9100 that your management team implements process improvements. Continually improving your processes as a manufacturer means catching quality issues before they leave manufacturing. Another requirement under AS9100D is counterfeit part prevention where training and controls are taught to catch counterfeit parts. These checks and balances improve process effectiveness leading to better customer satisfaction due to consistent results.

Less Risk-Operational risk management process plan must be in place to become AS9100 certified.  Identifying risk and assigning risk management responsibilities and then taking actions to limit possible risk factors. This will improve your quality and lead time.

Independent Verification- Every year AS9100D certified manufacturers are audited by an independent company, to ensure they are meeting the rigorous standards in place with the certification.

How is the AS9100 certification completed?

Certification happens after an independent third-party audit of the Quality Management System implemented by the manufacturer. The system in place needs to align with the standards of the AS9100D, as well as operations to provide high-quality products to customers. Once it’s been confirmed the manufacturers’ system is compliant, customers don’t have to spend their own research time to verify the manufacturers’ processes.

Before the independent audit takes place, the manufacturer must review its internal Quality Management System and ensure it aligns to the AS9100 standards. Here is what to look out for:

Audit Internal Processes: This will allow the manufacturer to check its processes to see if they meet requirements and if not, the company will fix any issues. The audit will show flaws in the new system put into place, so they are addressed up-front.

Management Audit: The management team can score the internal Quality Management System and make sure each group has its role clearly defined.

Corrective action: Identify the know issues and the plan in place to correct these issues.

Once the internal review and corrections are made it’s time for the independent audit to check for compliance with the AS9100D standards. Then employees are interviewed to ensure the QMS processes match specifications needed for certification.

Finally, once the corrective actions to any concerns are met through the findings of the independent review, the manufacturer is awarded the certification. Now suppliers know the manufacturer can make products, to the standards of the aerospace and defense industry.

Consider H&S Manufacturing for your AS9100D Certified Manufacturer

Precision fabrication is an excellent manufacturing method for various medical devices, defense, space, and aviation industries. H&S Manufacturing has been delivering high precision custom contract manufacturing services since 1968. We rely on the expertise of our manufacturing team and technology to produce exacting tolerances with complex part designs. For more information about the sections of AS9100D, click here. 

Contact us to learn more about our overall capabilities or request a quote today.