Aerospace Industry
The highly regulated aerospace sector has exacting demands and controls that ensure the safety and reliability of aircraft, equipment, materials, services and operations. This means that they are heavily reliant on suppliers with effective management systems. In fact, many purchasers of aerospace equipment require suppliers to be certified to AS 9100, AS 9110 or AS 9120 as a condition of supply.
With the aviation industry constantly under scrutinized for passenger safety, suppliers into the aerospace industry face a common challenge to ensure that every product supplied is safe and fit for purpose. Those products must be of a consistently high quality and take into account their environmental impacts through out their production and continued lifecycle.
There are also regulatory requirements and the associated disruption caused to a business through multiple audits by customers looking to ensure the quality of their supply chain. All of the above needs to be done whilst keeping development times and costs to a minimum.
The entire aerospace supply chain, from manufacturers’ to stockists has an impact on people and the environment. Sustainability, quality and continuity are key to the aerospace supply chain. The leading aerospace companies are looking to build safer planes with lower running costs whilst conscious that the emissions of planes will continue to be monitored once delivered to an airline under the European Union Emission’s Trading System (EU ETS).
Benefits
The adoption of standards and decision to engineer sustainability will have far reaching benefits including:
- Ensures inclusion on the Online Aerospace Supplier Information System (OASIS) database
- Certification of an organization to the AS9100 series enables you to go on the OASIS, providing the benchmark for certified aerospace companies
- Licence to trade
It is often a requirement of aerospace industry primes that you have implemented a quality management system. It also independently demonstrates that you have an operation management system accepted by the aerospace sector
- Encourages international growth and sales
The global nature of the standard allows for commonality throughout the industry, allowing increased trade and co-operation
- Saves time
Potential reduction in second party system audits
- Risk Management
Ensures compliance with a system supported by regulatory authorities that helps to mitigate your risks
- Raises brand reputation
By demonstrating the operation of globally accepted quality standards using common language to improve understanding of quality requirements
- Reduces waste
By helping to improve processes and remove the variation in quality
- Increases market opportunities
Helps to demonstrate excellent levels of traceability throughout the supply chain and remove uncertainty encouraging clients to choose you over a competitor
- Facilitates continual improvement
Regular assessment will ensure you continually use, monitor and improve your processes
Improving your organisation – Help from BSI
Standards provide the tools to help you understand and address the people, planet and profit elements of developing sustainably and the tools to bring these systems together to ensure a balanced and enduring approach.
Standards for sustainable development in aerospace
The standards that are applicable to the aerospace industry include:
Plus other product related standards for building products such as windows, doors, roofing, cement and concrete, masonry, wastewater and drainage products, waterproofing materials, flood defence products, polymeric pipes, plumbing and heating products, timber and board products, glass, ceramic tiles and road products.
Help from BSI
BSI can help you by:
- Providing guidance documents and publications to help your understanding of these standards
- Providing training courses ranging from a one day introductory course to a five day lead auditor course and courses in business improvement tools such as Six Sigma and Lean to help you train your staff and facilitate the behavioural changes needed to improve performance
- Directing you to reputable consultants through our Associate Consultants programme
- Conducting a gap analysis to assess how well you are progressing in implementing the requirements of the above standards
- Providing you with a software solution to managing your management systems through our Entropy Software tool
- Testing and certifying your products to the standards that define product specifications
Being able to prove that you meet product specifications and the requirements defined for management systems and products can mean the difference between you and your competitors. BSI can give you better access to markets through:
Third party assessment and certification
Third party assessment and certification is the independent assessment of an organization’s implementation of a management system standard and the issue of a certificate of registration. This certificate can then be used to demonstrate your compliance to these best practice standards to managers, customers, shareholders, regulators and employees.
For further information on the assessment and certification process for each management system standard is contained on the relevant product page.
Product testing and certification to the CE mark and the Kitemark
Many products are now expected to meet national, European and international specifications. Indeed, manufacturers may not be able to sell their goods in the UK unless they can demonstrate they meet these standards.
Kitemark
The Kitemark is the best known, most trusted and recognised quality certification mark in the construction sector and has been so for many decades. Products displaying the Kitemark help customers and specifiers to identify quality, reliable products and at the same time gives manufacturers an advantage over their competitors. The Kitemark is also accepted in several countries outside the UK, where it is held in high regard as a quality mark. This means you could save considerable time and cost in getting your products to market – perhaps ahead of your competitors.
CE marking
BSI offers complete CE marking services. CE marking for products falling under this Directive is a legal requirement for manufacturers wishing to sell or transport their products in Europe.
For further information on Kitemarking and testing services see our testing pages:
http://www.bsigroup.com/en/ProductServices/
Why choose BSI?
- BSI is a world leader in Standards, assessment, certification, verification and testing
- We have a worldwide network of assessors with management systems assessment experience at your disposal
- Our ability to undertake complex, multi-national, multisite, process-based assessment work is second to none
- BSI has the capability, specific strengths and knowledge to assess management systems
- By choosing BSI, certified organizations will be able to use and benefit from BSI’s logo, which holds UK Superbrand status and the Kitemark logo – the best known, most trusted and recognised quality mark
Field International
“Quality and reliability are critical values for the aerospace industry. In an environment where the mistakes or failure of products or services can have serious consequences, it is essential for us to have a robust framework in place to help reduce risks and continue to provide quality products and a good service to our customers.” Adrian Gauden, Quality Manager
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