Proper maintenance is critical to the ongoing safety of an aircraft, and its passengers and crew. As airlines increasingly depend on outsourced suppliers to oversee the maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) of their aircraft, it is becoming ever more important for the quality management systems of these contractors to be evaluated.
NSF International Strategic Registrations (NSF-ISR), a subsidiary of the public health and safety standards developer and certifying body NSF International, has received accreditation from the ANSI-ASQ National Accreditation Board (ANAB) to audit and register the quality management systems of aircraft maintenance organizations according to AS9110, Quality Maintenance Systems - Aerospace - Requirements for Maintenance Organizations.
AS9110 was developed by SAE International (the Society for Automotive Engineers), in response to growing industry concerns over the ability of contracted suppliers to perform sufficient oversight of aircraft repair stations. Outlining quality management system requirements for the proper maintenance of commercial, private, and military aircrafts, the standard is intended to complement contractual and applicable law and regulatory requirements. AS9110 registration demonstrates that a company’s quality management system consistently meets customer and regulatory criteria.
AS9110 is based on the globally accepted quality management system standard set by the International Organization for Standardization, ISO 9001:2000, Quality management systems—Requirements. ISO 9001 belongs to the ISO 9000 family of standards, which has earned global reputation as the basis for establishing quality management systems and is implemented in 161 countries.
A list of clients that meet all AS9110 requirements will be maintained on NSF-ISR’s website at www.nsf-isr.org.