At CCS, we’re committed to providing our customers with quality pressure, temperature, and flow management solutions. This is why we value our AS9100 certification, which we’ve actively held since 2003. Read on to learn more about the importance of quality management standards, as well as key benefits and requirements needed for certification.
What Does ISO Mean In Quality Management?
The International Organization for Standardization (also known as ISO) is the world’s largest non-governmental body of international standards. They offer best practices for a variety of businesses, helping organizations boost performance while protecting everyday consumers and their communities.
Because it was established through general consensus, ISO standards aim to exceed challenges related to international trade. The basis for all Quality Management Systems (QMS) is ISO 9001. However, our AS (aerospace) Quality Management System expands on this baseline set of requirements.
What Is AS9100?
According to the American Society for Quality, AS9100 is the international QMS standard for the following industries[1]:
- Aviation
- Space
- Defense
Periodically, these standards are revised to improve the effectiveness of the QMS. The most recent update in 2016 (Revision D) changed to a more customer-focused system with additional efforts on managing risks in design, processes, and meeting customer requirements.
The essential elements of AS9100 include:
- Setting leadership goals and oversight
- Evaluating the performance of processes
- Planning and implementing processes for design and production
- Ensuring documentation is in place to guarantee the results from planning
- Implementing Improvements for underperforming areas
At CCS, we take pride in having certifications in both AS and ISO systems. We also provide employee training on how these standards are applied in each department, giving customers the quality they deserve.
Why Is AS9100 Certification Important?
For organizations that manufacture their own products, sales and customer satisfaction are essential. Businesses get QMS certifications to demonstrate their ability to consistently deliver goods or services that meet customer and legislative expectations. Although the AS9100 standard helps industries measure, evaluate, and improve their systems, there are many other perks that come with certification.
Benefits Of AS9100 Certification
Based on resources from the International Organization for Standardization, QMS certifications can benefit businesses by[2]:
- Ensuring Confidence: When our customers know we are certified by a reputable agency, they recognize we are committed to overseeing our systems in order to ensure their satisfaction.
- Market Requirements: Aerospace customers mandate certification to be a qualified supplier in the industry.
- Improving Customer Experience: Because the standard is focused on the customer, certification improves the experience the customer has with CCS throughout the order process, from quoting, ordering, delivery, and product performance in the field. It can also increase the chances of the customer buying other products and services in the future.
- Improving Confidence in Service: Establishing processes with feedback ensures that the customer has confidence they are buying a tested, reliable product with long-term history and value.
- Enhancing Process Performance: Reviewing the business processes can help identify areas of weakness and make improvements, resulting in fewer product or delivery issues.
- Increasing Revenue: Ensuring you make high-quality products prevents unnecessary costs for internal rework or scrap and external product returns or recalls.
- Strengthening Employee Engagement: Good internal communication prevents everyone from working on different agendas or goals.
- Refining The Decision-making Process: Organizations can catch problems early on, which helps them avoid making the same mistakes in the future.
How We Ensure Quality For Our Customers
CCS has developed hundreds of switches and sensors for our customers–ranging from industrial, aerospace, and defense industries. Each device that we build is compliant with the needs of the client.
However, we don’t rely on quality alone. Process governance is another important aspect of product fulfillment. In short, process governance refers to how we manage standards, policies, and guidelines that work towards a common goal. We support our process governance with our AS9100 accreditation, which has been awarded for over 18 years. Maintaining the certification requires us to make ongoing improvements in our systems, employee training, and operating procedures.
Are you interested in learning more about our certification? Contact us directly or visit our certification resource center for additional reports.
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