AS9100 D - Verification of purchased product - Sheet metal and aluminum extrusion stock

[Ffitz64]

We purchase sheet metal and aluminum extrusion stock and we accept the material at incoming based on the supplier c of c. Our AS auditor says that does not satisfy the requirement of the standard. The auditor says our receiving or incoming inspector must review the materials composition sheet and verify that the composition meets the requirements for that material. If we are delegating inspection to the supplier, why would we not approve the materials based on their c of c? This seems like an overreach on the part of the auditor.

 

[Sidney Vianna]

As discussed in this forum, numerous times, CoC's can be extremely unreliable and untrustworthy, depending on the material source. And the process many organizations have in place to issue CoC's is, in many cases, totally dysfunctional, with an underling never even realizing what they are signing and the purpose of it.

From https://www.sae.org/iaqg/organization/auditor_guidance _9100_2016.pdf : Utilization of test reports during verification to confirm product requirements have been met e.g. evaluation of test report data (performance values, material properties, chemical composition, product attributes, functional characteristics etc.)

So, this "guidance material" implies that the CoC's should be verified, indeed. Further, the same guidance material supports the AS9100D requirement of validation of test report accuracy when raw material has been identified as a significant operational risk e.g. proving that test report data meets product requirements by conducting sample validation activity such as functional testing, performance testing, destructive testing, laboratory analysis of test specimens etc. , which is above and beyond the checking of CoC's.

And, by the way, delegation of approval to a supplier has to be FORMALLY conducted. Reliance on supplier CoC is NOT the same as supplier delegation. Check the thread @ AS9100 Interpretation - Delegation of Verification Activities to the Supplier

 

[Eredhel]

Did they call out a specific section for the non conformance? Would 8.4.2 Note 2 come into play here?

"NOTE 2: Verification activities can include:
− review of objective evidence of the conformity of the processes, products, and services from the external provider (e.g., accompanying documentation, certificate of conformity, test documentation, statistical documentation, process control documentation, results of production process verification and assessment of changes to the production process thereafter);"

Edit:

The last part of Note 2 lets us know there is a little more to it btw:

"When the organization delegates verification activities to the external provider, the scope and requirements for delegation shall be defined and a register of delegations shall be maintained. The organization shall periodically monitor the external provider’s delegated verification activities.

When external provider test reports are utilized to verify externally provided products, the organization shall implement a process to evaluate the data in the test reports to confirm that the product meets requirements. When a customer or organization has identified raw material as a significant operational risk (e.g., critical items), the organization shall implement a process to validate the accuracy of test reports."