AS9100

AS9100 is a widely adopted and standardized quality management system for the aerospace industry. It was released in October, 1999, by the Society of Automotive Engineers and the European Association of Aerospace Industries.

AS9100 replaces the earlier AS9000 and fully incorporates the entirety of the current version of ISO 9000, while adding requirements relating to quality and safety. Major aerospace manufacturers and suppliers worldwide require compliance and/or registration to AS9100 as a condition of doing business with them.

History

Prior to development of AS9100 standards for Quality Management Systems, the U.S. military applied two specifications to supplier quality and inspection programs, respectively, MIL-Q-9858A, Quality Program Requirements, and MIL-I-45208A, Military Specification: Inspection System Requirements. For years these specifications had represented the basic tenets of the aerospace industry. However, when the U.S. government adopted ISO 9000, it withdrew those two quality standards. Large aerospace companies then began requiring their suppliers to develop quality programs based on ISO 9000.