What Is an AS9100 Quality Management System?
An AS9100 quality management system applies ISO 9001-based quality-management requirements together with additional controls developed for aviation, space, and defense organizations. It helps an organization manage risk, product safety, configuration, suppliers, production, nonconformance, performance, and continual improvement through defined and auditable processes.
AS9100 Explained
AS9100 is a sector-specific quality management system standard for organizations involved in aviation, space, and defense products and services. The 9100-series standards are developed through the International Aerospace Quality Group (IAQG) and published through regional standards bodies.
AS9100 incorporates the ISO 9001 quality-management framework and adds aerospace-focused requirements. An organization uses the standard to establish, implement, maintain, evaluate, and improve the processes needed to meet customer, statutory, regulatory, and internal requirements.
Review the official IAQG 9100 resources for the current published standard, clarifications, guidance, and revision information. ISO provides a separate official overview of ISO 9001.
Always verify the applicable revision and customer requirements
Aerospace standards and customer requirements change. Organizations should obtain the authorized standard, monitor IAQG and certification-body transition information, and review customer-specific clauses instead of depending on an internet summary as a substitute for the applicable requirements.
Who Uses an AS9100 Quality Management System?
AS9100 is used throughout the aviation, space, and defense supply chain. Certification may be required by a customer or pursued to demonstrate that the organization’s QMS has been independently assessed against the applicable standard.
Manufacturers
Precision machine shops, fabrication and assembly companies, electronics manufacturers, special processors, and component manufacturers.
Supply-chain organizations
Distributors, suppliers, contract manufacturers, outside-process providers, and organizations providing production-related services.
Aviation, space, and defense providers
Organizations involved in design, development, production, maintenance, repair, support, or other applicable aerospace activities.
Applicability depends on the organization’s products, services, customers, contracts, and position in the supply chain. Certification does not replace product-specific regulatory approvals or contractual obligations.
AS9100 and ISO 9001: What Is the Difference?
ISO 9001 provides a broadly applicable quality-management framework. AS9100 incorporates that foundation and adds or expands controls needed for the aviation, space, and defense supply chain.
| Area | ISO 9001 | AS9100 aerospace emphasis |
|---|---|---|
| Industry application | Applies across industries and organization types | Designed for aviation, space, and defense organizations and their supply chains |
| Operational risk | Uses risk-based thinking throughout the QMS | Adds explicit operational risk-management expectations for applicable processes |
| Product safety | Addresses conformity and applicable requirements broadly | Adds specific product-safety planning, control, awareness, and communication expectations |
| Counterfeit parts | No aerospace-specific counterfeit-parts framework | Adds prevention controls appropriate to the product and supply chain |
| Configuration management | Controls changes and documented information | Adds explicit configuration-management controls for product and service conformity |
| External providers | Controls externally provided processes, products, and services | Adds aerospace supply-chain expectations, including flow-down and provider oversight |
| Performance | Evaluates QMS performance and customer satisfaction | Places additional emphasis on product conformity and on-time delivery performance |
Key AS9100 Quality Management System Requirements
The standard follows the management-system structure used by ISO 9001 while adding aerospace requirements throughout. The following summary is intended to explain the major business processes, not reproduce the standard.
Organizational context and leadership
- QMS scope, processes, interested parties, and organizational context
- Leadership accountability, quality policy, responsibilities, and customer focus
- Process ownership and responsibility for QMS performance
Planning and risk
- Risks and opportunities affecting intended QMS results
- Measurable quality objectives and plans to achieve them
- Controlled changes to the quality management system
- Operational risk controls appropriate to aerospace activities
People, infrastructure, and information
- Resources, infrastructure, work environment, and organizational knowledge
- Competence, training, awareness, communication, and ethical behavior
- Creation, approval, revision, access, retention, and protection of documented information
Operational controls
- Contract and requirements review
- Design and development when applicable
- External-provider and purchasing controls
- Production, service, identification, traceability, preservation, and release
Aerospace-specific operational controls
- Configuration management
- Product safety
- Prevention of counterfeit parts
- Control of production-process changes and temporary transfers
- Control of equipment, tools, software programs, and special processes when applicable
Evaluation and improvement
- Monitoring, measurement, analysis, customer satisfaction, and process performance
- Internal audit and management review
- Control of nonconforming outputs
- Corrective action and continual improvement
Product Safety, Counterfeit Parts, and Configuration Management
These areas are among the most recognizable aerospace additions to the ISO 9001 foundation. Their implementation should be proportionate to the organization’s products, services, risks, responsibilities, and contractual requirements.
Product safety
Identify and control activities that can affect product safety, assign responsibilities, communicate relevant information, report events, and maintain appropriate awareness.
Counterfeit-parts prevention
Apply sourcing, verification, traceability, reporting, quarantine, and disposition controls appropriate to the risk of counterfeit or suspect counterfeit parts.
Configuration management
Identify and control product configuration, revisions, approved changes, status information, and consistency between requirements, design, production, and delivered product.
AS9100 Documented Information and Objective Evidence
AS9100 does not require every organization to use the same document hierarchy or software. The organization determines the documented information needed to operate its processes and demonstrate results, subject to the standard, customer, statutory, regulatory, and internal requirements.
Examples may include:
- QMS scope, process interactions, policies, objectives, and assigned responsibilities
- Customer and contract-review records
- Design, configuration, risk, and change-control records when applicable
- Supplier approval, purchasing, verification, and performance information
- Production planning, routers, work instructions, inspection plans, and acceptance records
- Material, lot, serial, operator, process, and inspection traceability
- Employee competence, training, qualification, and authorization evidence
- Measuring-equipment calibration, verification, and out-of-tolerance evaluations
- Nonconformance, disposition, corrective action, audit, and management-review records
AS9100 Supplier and Purchasing Controls
Aerospace organizations remain responsible for the conformity of externally provided processes, products, and services. Supplier controls should reflect risk, past performance, product criticality, customer requirements, and the consequences of failure.
- Define criteria for supplier evaluation, selection, monitoring, and re-evaluation
- Use an approved-supplier process appropriate to the purchased item or service
- Communicate technical, quality, approval, change, traceability, record-retention, and right-of-access requirements
- Flow applicable requirements through the supply chain
- Verify purchased product and outside processing based on risk
- Monitor supplier quality and delivery performance
- Control supplier nonconformance and corrective action responses
Internal Auditing, Management Review, and Improvement
Certification is not maintained by preparing records only when an auditor arrives. The organization must monitor its processes, evaluate results, conduct internal audits, review QMS performance, address nonconformities, and improve the system throughout the certification cycle.
| Activity | Purpose | Typical evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Process monitoring | Determine whether processes achieve planned results | Objectives, measures, trends, product conformity, delivery, and customer feedback |
| Internal audit | Evaluate conformity and effective implementation | Audit program, scope, criteria, evidence, findings, reports, and follow-up |
| Management review | Evaluate QMS suitability, adequacy, effectiveness, resources, risks, and improvement | Inputs, performance data, decisions, assigned actions, and completion records |
| Corrective action | Respond to nonconformity and prevent recurrence by addressing causes | Containment, cause analysis, actions, verification, effectiveness, and closure |
How to Implement an AS9100 Quality Management System
Implementation should be based on the organization’s actual processes rather than a collection of generic procedures. The effort and sequence will vary, but the following framework is commonly useful.
- Confirm scope and objectives. Identify sites, products, services, exclusions, customers, regulatory obligations, and the reason certification is being pursued.
- Obtain the applicable requirements. Review the authorized AS9100 standard, customer-specific requirements, contracts, and relevant statutory and regulatory obligations.
- Map current processes. Identify process owners, inputs, outputs, interactions, resources, measures, risks, controls, and retained evidence.
- Perform a gap assessment. Compare current practices and records with applicable requirements and prioritize gaps by risk and implementation effort.
- Design and document controls. Develop or revise procedures, forms, responsibilities, workflows, approval rules, and record-retention practices.
- Implement and train. Put the controls into operation and ensure personnel are competent for their assigned responsibilities.
- Collect operating evidence. Run the processes long enough to evaluate results, trends, records, nonconformities, and effectiveness.
- Conduct internal audits. Audit the QMS and its processes using competent, objective auditors.
- Complete management review. Evaluate performance, risks, resources, customer feedback, audit results, and improvement needs.
- Correct identified problems. Address findings and verify that corrective actions are effectively implemented.
- Select an accredited certification body. Confirm scope, timing, auditor competence, and certification requirements.
- Complete the certification audit process. Prepare for the applicable readiness and certification audit stages and respond to any nonconformities.
What Happens During AS9100 Certification?
Third-party certification is performed by an eligible certification body, not by a software vendor. The exact process depends on the organization, accreditation scheme, scope, sites, and certification body, but generally includes application and planning, readiness review, certification audit, corrective action for identified nonconformities, a certification decision, and continuing surveillance audits.
- The certification scope and applicable sites are established
- Auditors evaluate documented information and implementation
- Processes are sampled through interviews, observation, and objective evidence
- Nonconformities must be corrected and accepted under the applicable rules
- Surveillance and recertification activities evaluate continued conformity and effectiveness
An organization should confirm current certification and database requirements with its certification body and the official IAQG resources.
How Software Can Support an AS9100 QMS
Software can centralize workflows, responsibilities, approvals, due dates, related records, and retained evidence. It is most useful when it reflects the organization’s approved processes instead of becoming a separate system that employees maintain only for audits.
Common applications include:
- Contract and customer-requirement review
- Document and configuration control
- Employee training, competence, and qualification records
- Supplier, inspection, nonconformance, and disposition records
- Corrective action, task assignment, verification, and effectiveness review
- Calibration and measuring-equipment control
- Internal auditing, management reporting, and performance trends
Software is not AS9100 certified
Certification applies to the organization’s quality management system within its approved scope. A software application may support the processes and evidence used by that QMS, but purchasing software does not establish conformity, guarantee certification, or replace implementation and auditing.
Database Providers offers an Integrated Quality Management System built with an open-source Microsoft Access front end and an Access or SQL Server backend. The application can be configured to support approved manufacturing quality workflows while your organization retains responsibility for its QMS.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does AS9100 stand for?
AS9100 is the commonly used designation for the quality management system standard developed for aviation, space, and defense organizations. It is part of the international 9100-series framework coordinated through IAQG and published by regional standards bodies.
Is AS9100 the same as ISO 9001?
No. AS9100 incorporates the ISO 9001 quality-management foundation and adds requirements and emphasis for aviation, space, and defense, including areas such as operational risk, product safety, counterfeit-parts prevention, configuration management, and aerospace supply-chain controls.
Who needs AS9100 certification?
Certification is commonly pursued by organizations in the aerospace and defense supply chain and may be contractually required by customers. Each organization should determine applicable requirements based on its customers, products, services, markets, and regulatory obligations.
Does AS9100 apply only to large aerospace companies?
No. Organizations of different sizes and supply-chain positions may implement AS9100, including small precision machine shops and specialized suppliers. The QMS should reflect the organization’s scope, complexity, risks, products, services, and responsibilities.
What is the difference between AS9100 certification and compliance?
An organization may implement requirements or claim conformity under appropriate circumstances, while accredited third-party certification involves an independent audit and certification decision for a defined scope. Customer contracts may specifically require certification rather than an internal assertion of conformity.
How long does AS9100 implementation take?
The timeline depends on organizational size, locations, process maturity, available personnel, existing ISO 9001 certification, documentation, operating evidence, customer requirements, and identified gaps. A realistic plan should allow time to implement processes, collect evidence, audit the system, complete management review, and correct deficiencies.
Can Microsoft Access and SQL Server support AS9100 quality records?
Yes. A properly designed Access front end with an Access or SQL Server backend can manage controlled quality records, workflows, permissions, traceability, reporting, and related evidence. The organization must still validate that its configuration and procedures satisfy its applicable requirements.
Does QMS software guarantee AS9100 certification?
No. Software can support workflow control and objective evidence, but certification depends on the organization’s implemented quality management system, process effectiveness, audit results, corrective actions, and the certification body’s decision.
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