AS9100D expects production equipment, tools and software programs to be validated before they are released for production, maintained, and checked periodically when they are in storage (8.5.1.1). For a launch that means three things:
- Every new fixture, tool and program is validated before it makes product for release. Usually the first article is the validation for the tooling made for it; say so on a Validation record in E10, with acceptance criteria written before the part is measured.
- Programs are controlled like tooling. The released revision is on the register; old revisions are removed from every control; any edit at the control is a change that needs validation and may trigger a partial first article.
- Customer-owned tooling in storage is checked on a calendar, so it is fit for use when the customer reorders. A reorder after a long lapse may also be a first article trigger.
E10's Maintenance log asks one question after every repair: could the condition have affected parts made before it was found? A machine crash on a launch part is both a maintenance event and a first article trigger.
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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.