What is AS9102?
AS9102 is part of the widely adopted AS9100 quality management system for the aerospace industry. AS9102 is the standard that details a first article inspection. In the Aerospace and Defense industry when a new or revised part is produced for the first time, it must be verified to ensure all requirements have been met.
The AS9100 Rev D (Annex C) explains that an FAI document “standardizes FAI process requirements to the greatest extent possible and can be used at all levels of the supply chain by organizations around the world to provide a consistent process and documentation requirements for verification of aviation, space, and defense product.”
AS9102 includes 3 forms: Form 1 Part Number Accountability, Form 2 Product Accountability, and Form 3 Characteristic Accountability. Learn more about creating AS9102 First Article Inspections.
Evolution of AS9102
Original AS9102, published in 2000
- Standardized aerospace FAI requirements
- Became the common form of documentation for supplier FAI
AS9102 Rev A, published in 2004
- Defined what to do and when to do an FAI, but not how
- Improved layout and readability of the standard, eliminating points of confusion
- Provided open fields for company specific non-AS9102 use
AS9102 Rev B, published in 2014
- Enhanced scope & purpose to emphasize the value of FAI
- Separated planning activities from evaluation activity
- Addressed Digital Product Definition (DPD)
- Utilize FAQs to clarify intent and provide examples of complex concepts
AS9102 Rev C, published in 2023
- Improve Alignment with the AS9100 production process verification section.
- Enhances planning, evaluation and re-accomplishment activities.
- Improves FAIR Report (FAIR) Documentation forms.
Differences between AS9102 Rev B and Rev C
There are some changes to the forms, noted below:
Noticeable changes with Form 1 include:
- Field 14– “Reason for Partial” is now “Reason for Full / Partial FAI” and mandatory for all FAIs.
- Field 17– Has been updated from “Part Serial Number” to “Part Type”. The standard instructs individuals to enter whether the part is a detail part, sub-assembly, software, standard catalogue item, or COTS (or equivalent). One important change worth mentioning that is not explicitly called out on the Form is the clarification made within the standard. Revision C now explicitly states: “All BOM parts (e.g., detail parts, sub-assemblies, COTS) that are part of the assembly, identified in field 1, shall be listed in this [Fields 15-18] section.” Many customers required COTS parts to be identified within the Bill of Materials, but now the Standard explicitly identifies the requirement.
- Field 18– The Form’s field name only had a minor change in appearance: “FAIR Number” to “FAIR Identifier”. However, the AS9102 Standard does mention, “If no FAIR identifier is available, input the organization’s identifier for the FAI or approved configuration” We expect customers to request Certificate of Conformance numbers or similar in this field, as opposed to “N/A”.
- Field 19– The former “FAI Complete / FAI Not Complete” flag has been relabelled for clarity to explicitly request “Does FAIR Contain a Documented Nonconformance(s)?”
- Field 19 & 21 – The former Field 19 “Signature” and Field 21 “Reviewed By” have been updated to Field 20 “FAIR Reviewed By” and 22. “FAIR Approved/Reviewed By”. Both fields are intended to be completed by the organization that creates the FAIR, but the AS9102 Standard now states that the individual identified in Field 22 should not be the same individual identified in Field 20.
Form 2 Changes:
- Removal of the signature field (Formerly Field 14)
- Robust language added to the AS9102 Section 1.3 related to Special Processors. The AS9102 Standard now explicitly applies to suppliers performing special process(es) and can be satisfied by the Special Processor creating a FAIR or by documenting the characteristics and results on a detailed CofC.
Form 3 Changes:
- The only significant change is the removal of the signature field (Formerly Field 12)
- Resulting in the re-number of Column 14 to 12.
Want to learn more about AS9102 FAIRs? Get a free AS9102 Rev C template and guide to completing your First Article Inspection
