What is AS9100 and ISO 9001?
AS9100 and ISO 9001 are an incorporated set of standards developed and released by the non-governmental groups SAE International, formerly known as the Society of Automotive Engineers, and the International Organization for Standardization, or ISO, in order to ensure the creation of safe, reliable, and quality products and services world-wide.
Where It Started
In 1946, delegates from 25 countries met at the Institute of Civil Engineers in London and created the ISO in order to facilitate the international coordination and unification of industrial standards. Since then, the ISO has expanded its membership to representatives from 162 countries and 788 technical bodies in order to develop and modernize standards to guarantee the best in products and services.
Getting Focused
In 1997, a group of American aerospace suppliers and customers came together in the agreement that the ISO didn’t address their specific needs and requirements. Entities including the DoD, NASA, Boeing, Lockheed Martin, and other major aerospace companies joined the Society of Automotive Engineers and created AS9000, a system that built on the standards set by ISO 9001 and focused them to bring out the best and most efficient parts of aerospace manufacturing. While AS9000 met the needs of American companies, the standards were later reworked to meet the needs of the aerospace sector internationally and released by each participating country’s aerospace association or standards body as AS9100.
Through the consensus of leading experts in the aerospace industry world-wide, these standards are created, updated, and upheld in order to make the industry as safe, reliable, and efficient as possible.