Background
To do business in aerospace today you need to comply with AS9100, the international standard for aerospace quality. AS9100 includes the requirements of the ISO 9001:2008 Standard plus additional requirements imposed by the aerospace industry. AS9100 places additional emphasis on structured design and validation methodologies, configuration management, and identification and traceability.
The International Aerospace Quality Group (IAQG) is the lead organization responsible for revisions. The first draft of the AS9100 revision was developed in July 2007 after considerable inputs from stakeholders, and a coordination draft was sent to all stakeholders in November 2007. The IAQG 9100 Team met in April 2008 to address all comments. The formal ballot draft was released in May, and although the actual launch date is uncertain, we believe it will be during the second quarter of 2009, perhaps even in March.
The IAQG 9100 team consists of eighteen members representing Americas, Europe, and Asia-Pacific IAQG Sectors. Among the various stakeholders are: Civil aviation authorities, defense and space industry and authorities, certification/registration bodies, trade associations and IAQG member companies.
Transitioning to AS9100C
Transition details are still being finalized. We expect that both revisions will remain current for about 2½ years. IAQG, however, has proposed a maximum thirty month implementation schedule from date of publication. During the first six months the primary thrust will be to develop auditor training. The challenge for the next twelve months will be to train the Certification Bodies and auditors. This suggests that the earliest opportunity for organizations to be registered to the new Standard (early adopters) will be about six months from publication.
During the subsequent twelve months all organizations that have not opted for early adoption will need to upgrade to the new Standard at their next surveillance audit or recertification. So, it appears that the maximum allowed time to upgrade will be thirty months from publication, and any certifications that are still to AS9100B will no longer be valid. Actual transitioning requirements will be available at or around the time AS9100C is officially released.
Overview of the Changes
We have been able to keep abreast of changes to the Standard based on the work of the IAQG Technical Committee. Revision C changes include expansion of the scope to include "Aviation, Space and Defense," changes to the design specification, greater focus on planning and project management, and additional emphasis on risk management and mitigation. Keep in mind that ISO 9001:2008 changes have also been incorporated.
Additionally, two new terms will be introduced-special requirements, and critical items. Special requirements are those identified by the customer or determined by the organization that have high risks to being achieved. Critical items (e.g. processes, characteristics, parts, software, etc.) are those having significant effect on product realization and use of the product.
These changes present new challenges to those working to the AS9100 Standard. For example, emphasis on risk management serves to reduce liability and costs associated with "escapes," as well as to obviate costs associated with remediation (that might also include litigation). Essentially it requires organizations to establish a process for managing risks to achieving customer, statutory and regulatory requirements.
Other implementation benefits include measuring, analyzing and improving product quality and on-time delivery performance, and the formal monitoring of customer satisfaction data and trends. Also, improvement plans will be needed to ensure continual improvement. Understanding and embracing these changes will better position your organization for growth and profitability.
The Path Forward
As we get closer to the official launch date, we will be more prescriptive and have a play-by-play game plan for the transition. This is a good time, however, to evaluate the overall effectiveness of your current quality management system. If you are not measuring on-time delivery performance and customer satisfaction trends-do so and don't wait.
If you want to brush-up on project management and be better prepared to address the new clause (7.1.1), ISO 10006:2003 QMS-Guidelines for Quality Management in Projects can be used as an information resource on how to apply project management using ISO 9001's principles and structure.
In addition, we encourage you to visit the official IAQG website www.iaqg.org, for additional information. And if you come across any articles by L.L. "Buddy" Cressionnie, read these. He is the Americas lead for the IAQG 9100 Team. Visit the SAE International website as well at www.sae.org for related useful information. Just click on "aerospace." 
