Doing Business with Boeing

First Article Inspection planning requirements

The following Quality Management System (QMS) elements are essential to comply with existing First Article Inspection (FAI) requirements of AS9100, AS9102 and D6-51991:

  1. Define the activities to be performed throughout the FAI process and identify the responsible organizations for those activities.
  2. Ensure adequate resources are provided to complete FAI activities on the first production delivery parts and meet on-time delivery.
  3. Ensure competency of all personnel performing First Article Inspection activities.
  4. Define QMS health measures to ensure continued effectiveness of FAI planning and performance.
  5. Determine design characteristic inspection methods, sequencing and recording of results to support FAI.
  6. Verify all design characteristics will be accounted for throughout the manufacturing process.
  7. Extract DPD design characteristics both implicit and explicit (when utilizing Model Based Definition engineering) not fully defined within 2D drawings.
  8. Determine need for and suitability of any designed tooling or qualified tooling to be used for product verification.
  9. Ensure use of customer approved sources and materials, when required.
  10. Ensure manufacturing planning and purchase documents call out the correct specifications and sources.
  11. Identify and document in-process inspection/verification results necessary to demonstrate the conformity of products to their requirements, including requirements defined within process, material and finish specifications required for product realization.
  12. Determine objective evidence to be included with FAI Report for each design characteristic, including process, material and finish specification requirements.
  13. Evaluate the need to perform a full FAI or a partial FAI in the event of changes that invalidate the original results (e.g., engineering changes, production process changes, tooling changes – see AS9102 4.6). This process must include documented information describing the results of the review of changes, the person(s) authorizing the change, and the decision to perform a full FAI or a partial FAI.
  14. Ensure timely corrective actions are implemented to complete FAI.

First Article Inspection (FAI) Hardware

See AS9102 “Aerospace First Article Inspection Requirement” for hardware First Article Inspection (FAI). Boeing has adopted AS9102 as its supplier requirement for applicable purchased hardware FAI, as flowed by the purchase document. AS9102 is an International Aerospace Quality Group (IAQG) developed standard published through the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE). AS9102 forms, guidance, and training are available through the IAQG website: http://www.sae.org/iaqg. Additional Boeing training on AS9102 interpretation and application can be found within the Boeing Supplier Portal/My Learning/Search under course SQ000058. Copies of the AS9102 standard are available through the SAE website: http://www.sae.org.
Note: Existing hardware FAI records created prior to an AS9102 flowdown are not required to be updated to meet the standard. However, the current FAI process and any subsequent partial or re-accomplishment records shall be compliant.

First Article Inspection (FAI) Software

See AS9115 “Quality Management Systems - Requirements for Aviation, Space and Defense Organizations - Deliverable Software” for software First Article Inspection. (Note: AS9102 does not apply to software.) Boeing has adopted AS9115 as its supplier Quality Management System (QMS) requirement supplement for applicable purchased software, as flowed by the purchase document. Requirements for FAI of software are embedded in AS9115 under the Control of Production and Service Provision. AS9115 is an International Aerospace Quality Group (IAQG) developed standard published through the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE), and is available through the SAE website: http://www.sae.org

Boeing First Article Inspection (BFAI)

Boeing First Article Inspection (BFAI) is a Boeing supplier surveillance process which provides for the verification of a supplier’s FAI, including physical verification of individual characteristics as deemed necessary by Boeing, to ensure all engineering, design and specification requirements have been fulfilled. The potential for BFAI is flowed via the purchase document, and performed when deemed necessary by Boeing. Detailed information as to supplier obligations in support of BFAI can be found in the applicable purchase clause.