How To Get an AS9100 Certification

Getting AS9100 certified was an important milestone for Xometry, as it's a certification that is recognized around the world and is a quality management system standard in the aerospace industry. It helps us and other businesses maintain a competitive edge, be more efficient, and satisfy our customers on a greater level. Gaining an AS9100 certification is not just for companies within the aerospace sector — it’s also important for organizations that want to earn new opportunities with the aerospace industry, maintain compliance with the standard, gain market share, and improve their company image and reputation. 

If your company is in the aerospace industry or aims to have dealings with the aerospace industry, getting AS9100-certified is a must. In this article, we’ll guide you through the process of how to do it.

The AS9100 Series and ISO 9001

Before we dive into AS9100, it may be helpful to understand a bit about ISO 9001. Unlike AS9100, ISO 9001 is not industry-specific. It’s an internationally recognized quality management system (QMS) standard that focuses on quality management procedures that are needed for a business to meet the requirements of its customers. Based on the ISO 9001 quality management standard, the AS9100 has some additional requirements for aerospace-specific sectors, which companies must meet in order to get certified. This makes getting ISO 9001 certified, like Xometry is, a good first step since there is quite a bit of cross-over between the two.

AS9100 Certification: The Steps to Success

The image above outlines the primary steps to take in your quest to achieve certification to AS9100. We provide some further details for each step below:

Certification Preparation

First, be certain that all the stakeholders have enough buy-in to follow through with the process. The procedure will need to be overseen by a person or team, so they will need to be appointed. This team or person needs to be familiar with the standard, so getting an up-to-date copy is a good idea, as well as gathering the company’s existing records for assessment.

Performing the AS9100 Gap Analysis

The gap analysis gives you an opportunity to understand where you are currently, and where you need to be in order to get certified. It basically helps you identify any gaps between the AS9100 requirements and the existing processes the business has in place. This will set you up well for implementing any new processes.

Creating an Action Plan

List out everything you need to address, as well as the timeline for when they should be completed. This will help you stay on track and not waste time or effort.

Design and Document Your AS9100 QMS

This step will involve creating audit plans, documenting, and aligning the company’s processes and procedures with the requirements of the AS9100 standards to establish a quality management system (QMS) or revising an existing QMS to comply with AS9100.

Creating Mandatory Documents

Part of the AS9100 certification process requires companies to implement some mandatory processes. Quality policy, quality objectives, and plans, the scope of the QMS, and an implemented process on the control of non-conforming products and services are some examples.

Educating Your Organization

Keeping everyone informed of the process is an excellent next step. You can provide training on the basic requirements of the AS9100 standards and what everyone’s responsibilities are.

AS9100 Implementation

In this step, address all areas of non-conformance that were identified during the gap analysis and put processes in place that help meet the requirements. This step will need to be completed properly and on time to get the certification.

Internal Audit

Trained members within your company will need to conduct an AS9100 internal audit before the actual certification with the certifying body. The records from this audit must be kept because they’ll also be audited during the certification.

AS9100 Certification Audit

This is usually the day that can spark feelings of anxiety. An accredited AS9100 certifying body will come in to evaluate the requirements and make sure everything is in place and functioning properly, according to the AS9100 standards.

Maintaining the Certification

Receiving your AS9100 certification is not all there is to it. You’ll need to maintain the standards going forward. Your company will need to continue adhering to the requirements and have regular audits carried out. Sometimes, to maintain accreditation, companies can apply for AS9100 recertification.

After receiving your AS9100 certification, your company will be able to enjoy all the benefits we mentioned above, granted it continues to stay current and meet the standards.

Disclaimer

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