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Latest status of AS9100 revision C

The AS9100 revision C standard was released in January 2009 but to date, no companies have been registered to it. This holdup can be attributed to a delay in the release of the accompanying AS9101D standard (checklist). This new checklist will take the place of the AS9101C checklist your auditor currently uses which merely breaks down the current revision of the AS9100 standard into question form.

Whereas the current revision of the checklist encourages the auditor to verify compliance of a process to the applicable aerospace standard requirements, the new checklist will require the auditor to verify the effectiveness of a process. This simple concept actually represents a monumental shift in the way an auditor is required to document the results of an aerospace audit and necessitated a whole new mindset and presented new challenges for the team assigned to design the checklist

Since both the new and the old versions of the AS9101 standard are used worldwide, all stakeholders within the sectors of the International Aerospace Quality Group (IAQG) are involved in its evaluation. The stakeholders are allowed a period to communicate concerns and comments about the standard which are then in turn evaluated for relevance and applicability.

The above mentioned process often takes place over a period of months and can cause long delays. Owing to the fact that the AS9101 D checklist rewrite is considerable and will take on a totally different look when compared to the current checklist, the feedback within the aerospace community has been significant pushing back its release to a date yet to be determined.

Since the AS9100C standard is tied to the AS9101 D checklist, the general consensus within the aerospace industry is that it will not be before the 1st quarter of 2010, at the earliest, before any company can be registered to the requirements of the AS9100 C standard.