AS9100 interpretations / consulting

[chris m]

Good afternoon,

 

Does anybody out there, preferably in the Northeast, but not necessarily, have a really solid AS9100 / ISO9000 consultant?

 

We are AS9100 certified and are struggling with how to handle space, aviation, and defense customers that want commercial-ish product; our default response is to create all kinds of work for ourselves and document away any money that we could have made on the project. Our customers want lower pricing, and we need to make some money, so we're looking for a critique of how we are interpreting the standard, provided by someone who does this for a living.

 

Thanks in advance.

 

C

[chris m]

ttt

[chris m]

ttt

[Newbeeee™]

Chris,

You seem a very switched-on guy. I would get the AS spec and read it a couple of times thoroughly and focus on the mandates.

Remember, you only have to comply to these.

Then look at your own processes and go from there.

[chris m]

Yeah, I have a copy and have read it a bunch of times, but there is a boatload of room for interpretation and that's what we're struggling with.

[ERIC14779]

Were ever the standard says the organization "Will" or "Shall" those are things you must do....

 

the rest is however you think will best help you company......

 

at least that is what our internal auditing instructor told us...

[crazy^millman]

Plain and simple. Do what you say. Say what you do. Be able to prove what you say. Be able to prove what you do. Be able to show paper work that supports that you do what you say. Be able to audit all of that and you are good.

 

Funny our Quality Expert at one place put in our quality manual for DPD/MBD that all files from Boeing will be Validated using our Model Validation Software. Auditor said okay I want to see where you check every email and every thing you every got from Boeing. The Quality Expert flipped a lid about it. See thing is do what you say say what you. We will run every file that requires the DPD/MBD validation check through the Validation Software as needed. Have a process to log it, check it and prove it. You are done. Way to many quality experts have no idea what it takes to make parts. Too many manufacturing experts have no idea what it takes to check a part. Find someone with the right balance and they will help you come up with the perfect system your shop needs. KISS (Keep It Simple Stupid) really applies to any AS9100 system. Not the make is so hard to understand and difficult to do that you put yourself out of business that a lot of places fall into.

 

HTH

[chris m]

 

 

Plain and simple. Do what you say. Say what you do.

 

Ron, I appreciate your comment, and I respect your opinion, but I do not agree with this statement in the case of AS9100. There are requirements that need to be met; the HOW and the WHEN they need to be met is our major problem. 

 

About 90% of our issues come in the flowdown of quality requirements to sub-tier suppliers; this is a grey area in our opinion and we're looking to have someone shine a light on it. If we interpret the standard in the strictest sense, which we tend to do, the cost of many purchased items becomes ridiculous, and some items are simply impossible to procure in a compliant fashion. Our contract review is becoming better at rejecting quality clauses invoked by customers in the order acknowledgement process, but the customers don't like this, so we're trying to figure out if we're pi$$ing them off unnecessarily.

 

C

[Newbeeee™]

Chris,

I haven't got a copy of 9100, but can you post (or email me?) the wording for the purchasing sections your questioning. 

We have an external QA assessor who looks after us, and I can put it by them if you wish.

[chris m]

Thanks; I will see what I can round up

[ERIC14779]

are you talking only about section 7.4 ??