Audit Results Question - Part Characteristics database - Distribution Company

A

ACEQuality

Hello everyone,

I am yet another Quality Manager that comes and views and learns from this great site. The company that I work for is a small (16 employees) Aerospace Distribution company that has been around 24 years. Our normal business practice is bring in product from the manufacturer or another distributor, then we lable or package it and send it on to our customer.
Upon pressure from our biggest customers (Cessna/Bell) we were certified to the AS9100 REV B//ISO 9001-2000 about 6 years ago. Recerts and survelience audits have all been fine until this week. Our customer came out and went to town on our manual.
The one finding that I want to ask other distributors about is AS9100 8.2.4 states organization shall monitor and measure the characteristics of the product to verify that the product requirements have been met. We basically quoted this from the AS9100 in our manual. The auditor suggested that we should have electronically a database that has the characteristics of every part we deal with. Mind you this is about 7200 different parts. In the past we had just accepted that our supplier had given us the correct part with their cert verifying this, and this has always been fine for the auditors, but now its not.
To me this is almost asking us to re invent the wheel. To actually go in and put characteristics in for all of these parts would take a tremendous amount of time, also adding a check to inspection against these characteristics would add alot of time into the day for recievers thus backlogging the rest of the chain.

My question would be this, how many of the viewers of the forum are distributors, and what have they done to avoid this kind of request?

Thanks!
 

DannyK

Trusted Information Resource
Re: Audit Results Question

You probably receive a certificate and/or inspection report from your supplier.
I would tell the auditor that the only criteria that is required as a distributor is to ensure that the product identification is correct and a visual verification for damage.
 
A

ACEQuality

Re: Audit Results Question

You probably receive a certificate and/or inspection report from your supplier.
I would tell the auditor that the only criteria that is required as a distributor is to ensure that the product identification is correct and a visual verification for damage.

I believe that would be correct on the inspection report, at least from most of our suppliers. I think I just need to re write our manual as it says
" We will monitor and measure the characteristics of the product to verify that product requirements are fullfilled. This is carried out at appropriate stages of the product"

Do you have any ideas how "monitor and measure the characteristics of the product" from the AS9100 be softened up a bit? This sounds as if characteristics have to be measured/monitored.
 
B

BadgerMan

The auditor suggested that we should have electronically a database that has the characteristics of every part we deal with.

The auditor can "suggest" all he/she wants to but until he/she can demonstrate a lack of compliance with the standard or a contractual obligation, it remains only a suggestion. I sounds like your customer is trying to impose a best practice.

Am I missing something?
 
A

ACEQuality

Here is the actual finding
This audit revealed that your company's inspection does not monitor or measure the characteristics of the actual product being received or shipped.


We do as the first replier in this thread said. We inspect part # on part to match document(pack slip). Also we check for physcial damage, but we dont have a database to compare the physicals of the part to.
 
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Randy Stewart

I have something that might help you meet the requirement and not have you chasing your tail.
In Bells' QPS-101 (Approved Process Sources) Section II (Classified Parts Special Controls) they go a long way in defining Special Characteristics.
They call it "Ore to the Door" tracking. They go as far as classifying "there location and visibility are critical characteristics".
I'll attach a PPT (Flight Safety Awareness Training) from Bell on the required Annual Training.
So, my suggestion would be to see about tracking their "critical" characteristics (location &/or visibility) on the so designated parts. It would be some assistance to your customer, it may eliminate a bunch of useless entries and info and by rewording your manual, it meets the requirement.
Take a look at the training, they require all suppliers to go through an annual refresher course. Let me know if it helps. :cool:
 
A

ACEQuality

Did I miss the attachment, or do i need to look elsewhere?
 
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