Re: FAI Help
We are subcontracting out all manufactured items (PCB & machined parts). We will be doing only functional testing on the PCB here. We are being required to fo a FAI on the assembled/tested PCB & machined parts. What do I need to provide for the FAI? Will coc's from the subs be sufficient or do they need to provide all records?
Your help is greatly appreciated.
I understand and sympathize with your angst over FAI when doing outsourcing in an aerospace environment. (Just look at the problems Boeing is having with outsourced processes!)
I have had a number of clients go through similar anxiety. I usually counsel
- stay calm
- do personal examination or hire trusted agents to examine the processes at EACH outsourced supplier to get assurance the supplier can be trusted to deliver CONSISTENT quality the same way, every time, especially including the supplier's FAI and continuing in-process and final inspection practices.
- perform periodic evaluation of the suppler to assure the processes are as good as or better than the initial evaluation.
That said, a certificate of compliance is NOT the same as a full layout First Article Inspection. If you do not have personnel in your operation with the knowledge and instrumentation to perform such an FAI, you have only two choices:
- you must be satisfied the supplier is trustworthy and capable of performing the FAI and demand a copy together with the tagged sample which was inspected (for future reference in event of future "suspicions.")
- you must hire a competent third party to perform such an FAI on your behalf (you still keep the tagged sample for future reference)
Note an FAI is slightly different from "first piece" inspection, but the distinction may be lost on some folks so get a clear definition of which dimensions, attributes, and even functions shall be inspected as part of the FAI - this is part of the Contract, the Control Plan, the Inspection Plan, and, of course, Contract Review, in which you assure all parties are capable and have the capacity to carry out the terms of the Contract.