A certificate that does not match the marking, a marking that looks altered, a part from a source nobody can trace: each is a suspect part until the evidence says otherwise. The path is fixed by your counterfeit parts prevention plan (D03), and it differs from ordinary nonconformance in three ways:
- It is quarantined apart, on a locked shelf, with the documents, packaging and photos kept with it.
- It is never returned to the supplier while suspect, so it cannot re-enter the supply chain. Credit is settled separately.
- It may need reporting beyond the customer, as the plan and the contract set out.
The board opens a case (D20) and keeps it at Pending while the supplier and, where possible, the manufacturer are asked for the evidence. The traceability register (D05) answers the containment question: which work orders did this heat or lot feed, and what about earlier receipts from the same source? If the evidence clears the part, the board releases it on that evidence and records why. If not, the part stays suspect or is confirmed counterfeit, and it is kept or made unusable as the investigation and any authorities require.
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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.