How does AS9102 relate to me in manufacturing?

Aaron Hoare Date published: Feb 15, 24

Defining and maintaining a production process that consistently delivers high quality products is vital for manufacturers across all industries. Minimizing errors through a smooth, reliable manufacturing process can reduce waste, expediate timescales and protect the organization’s reputation and relationships with customers.

But few industries have more thorough and robust quality management practices than aerospace and defense. It’s an industry where people’s wellbeing and safety are on the line, as well as mission success – so, poor quality can be a matter of life or death.

As a result, there are several best practices in the aerospace and defense industry that can be valuable in going above and beyond basic quality management in the wider manufacturing space.

One such standard is AS9102. While compliance isn’t legally mandated in any industry, following its clear guidelines can deliver numerous benefits to your operation.

What is AS9102?

This standard is a widely adopted best practice in the aerospace and defense industry, aimed at ensuring and demonstrating that the parts produced exactly match the customer's requirements and designs.

The main component is a First Article Inspection (FAI) and Report (FAIR). Providing a baseline measurement of all production processes, machinery, tooling and documentation used in the manufacturing process, AS9102 helps create a repeatable process that delivers consistent quality.

What does a FAI involve?

To conduct the inspection, you first need to gather all relevant documentation and create an inspection plan, with an itemized drawing to clarify what characteristics the product should be tested for.

Next, you’ll need to conduct an initial production run, documenting the entire process in detail. From this batch, you should select one sample of the product at random. This sample, now your ‘first article’, should be tested and inspected against both the original design drawings and the customer’s requirements.

What information is needed for the report (FAIR)?

If you’re in the aerospace and defense industry, you’ll need to provide specific details in order to comply with AS9102 and gain customer approval. However, if this isn’t your industry and a FAIR is not expected by the client, you might choose to adapt the report requirements to meet your quality objectives.

Typically, you should list all product dimensions outlined in the designs and customer requirements, and indicate which have been conformed to in production – and which haven’t. You should also include all relevant production details, such as the part number, PO number and revision level.

An AS9102 compliant FAIR consists of three standard forms:

Form 1: Part number accountability – used to identify and determine the part being inspected, with in-depth part details.

Form 2: Product accountability – used to document all materials and processes used to produce the first article.

Form 3: Characteristic accountability – used to evaluate and verify the required characteristics against the first article, such as its performance and dimensions.

What are the benefits of complying with AS9102?

Whether completing a FAIR is an industry expectation, or something you’re choosing to adopt, AS9102 compliance can deliver numerous benefits to your organization – from more closely meeting customer requirements to supporting more accurate, efficient Root Cause Analyses.

We explore the full benefits of AS9102, as well as its requirements, in our whitepaper: A guide to AS9102 compliance in aerospace & defense manufacturing.

Download now