The first article starts at order review. Three questions get answered for every order: what does the order require, does the job need a first article, and how much of one. The Trigger screen in D07 asks every trigger as a question, with a written answer for each, including the No answers. The Summary reads the answers and suggests a scope; the decision, and the reason, are the quality engineer's.
What we read on the order
| On the order or contract | What it changes |
|---|---|
| First article clause (AS9102, the customer's own format, or both) | The forms, the fields, and where the package goes |
| Approval before shipment | A hold point on the traveler at packing |
| Source inspection or witness | The first article date is agreed with the customer |
| Approved special process sources | Which platers, heat treaters and test labs you may use |
| Key characteristic or critical item requirements | Which characteristics need values, capability or extra records |
| Record retention | How long the package is kept |
| A shorter lapse period than two years | When a reorder triggers a first article |
Once a first article is needed, D07's planning checks cover the thirty-one things that must be true before the part is made, in seven areas: requirements, the production process, characteristics, measurement, materials and processes, people, and schedule and records. Each gets an owner and a due date at one planning meeting, one to three weeks before the first article run.
Ballooning the drawing
Ballooning is where most first articles are won or lost. We follow four rules, and write the convention on the ballooned drawing itself:
- One balloon per requirement. A note that states three requirements gets three balloons.
- Every sheet, every view, every note, including general notes, flag notes and the title block's general tolerances and finish where they apply.
- A fixed order: clockwise from the title block on each sheet, dimensions first, notes after.
- Balloons are never renumbered. A new revision maps old numbers to new before anyone measures.
The FAI plan log
D07 also holds a shop-wide log of every first article, full and partial, from trigger to the customer's decision. It is the list the weekly launch review reads (chapter 15): what is planned, late, waiting for a package review, or waiting for the customer.
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A management aid, not certification or a registrar audit. Using it does not by itself show conformity to AS9100D or any other standard, and your customers' requirements may add to it.
Clause numbers refer to AS9100D (SAE AS9100 Rev D) unless another document is named. The standards' text is not reproduced here: use your own licensed copy.
Aegis Insights are our own guidance, labeled wherever they appear: how we approach this work, not a requirement of any standard or customer.