21st century supply chains (SC21) > Certification and Quality Improvement > Common standards for certification

SC21 objectives

The SC21 expectation is that all members will gain certification to AS/EN9100 (or applicable standard) and that this shall be flowed throughout the supply chain.

Customer Expectations

Certification to AS/EN9100 and Nadcap is increasingly becoming an international customer contractual requirement and is often used as a discriminator during supplier selection.

What is the AS/EN9100 Standard?

It specifies quality management system requirements for the aerospace & defence industry and is the model for quality in design, development, production, installation and servicing in the industry.

The highest quality and standards in production are of critical importance to the UK aerospace and defence supply chain. Certification and quality management audits have emerged as the methods of ensuring safety and reliability standards are met. A company supplying to more than one company could face numerous quality audits and checks to satisfy each customer, this results in unnecessary audit duplication. SC21 companies have agreed to cut the number of audits through the recognition of quality system certification based on international standards. UK supply chains that have achieved AS/EN 9100 and Nadcap approval for special processes where applicable, will not receive further quality system audits from customers who are part of SC21. Companies with AS/EN 9100 approval have experienced significantly reduced levels of auditing compared with those that have not achieved approval.

The AS/EN 9100 standard was originally developed as the recommended quality system standard for aerospace by the International Aerospace Quality Group (IAQG), and is fully supported by all the major aerospace prime manufacturers world wide. To achieve this standard a company needs to obtain independent approval from an accredited third party certification body. These organisations are covered by an industry oversight programme administered in the UK by the SBAC, with experienced quality audit professionals from UK industry undertaking the oversight audits. The UK scheme is in turn subject to oversight as part of an international process directed by the IAQG. Companies formally registered to AS/EN 9100 are entered onto an international database, identified as the Online Aerospace Supplier Information System (OASIS), with more than 1000+ UK aerospace sites already registered.

What is the Nadcap Standard?

The internationally recognised Nadcap system of special process audits is the recommendation for special process assessment. A growing number of major primes are now requiring Nadcap approval(s), which is overseen by the Performance Research Institute (PRI), based in the US with an office in the UK, using experienced special process professionals. Processes covered by this approach include:

Chemical Processing
Coatings
Composites
Distributors
Elastomer Seals
Electronics
Fluid Distribution Systems
Heat Treatment
Materials Testing Laboratory
Non Destructive Testing
Nonconventional Machining and Surface Enhancement
Sealants
Welding

With other special processes being progressively added