AS 9100D is a quality management standard for organizations in the aerospace sector (ie. those in aviation, space and defense). It defines a set of quality management expectations that can be found in the following sections:

 

1. Context

2. Leadership

3. Planning

4. Support

5. Operations

6. Evaluation

7. Improvement

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First published in 1997 as AS9000, this standard was renamed and replaced by AS9100 in 1999. It was updated and replaced 5 more times, becoming the sixth edition of this aerospace standard. This standard is designed to help organizations provide products and services that meet customer needs and comply with all applicable regulatory and statutory requirements. Compliance with this standard encourages organizations toward ongoing improvement of the quality and performance of their products and services. Any organization can achieve this objective if it establishes a quality management system (QMS) committed to improving the suitability, adequacy, and the effectiveness of this system. A quality management system (QMS) is a set of interrelated or interacting elements used to formulate quality policies and objectives and to establish processes  needed to ensure that these policies are followed and objectives are achieved.

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AS9100D is based on the ISO 9001: 2015 quality management standard and both are organized in the same way using a similar numbering system. AS9100D = ISO 9001: 2015 clauses + AS&D clauses (AS&D stands for Aviation, Space, and Defense) AS9100D distinguishes between generic ISO 9001: 2015 clauses and those that are specific to the aviation, space, and defense industries. AS9100D can be used by internal and external parties, supplier and customer organizations and internal and external auditors. AS9100D can be used by aviation, space and defense organizations and can be applied throughout the supply chain. It is for use by designers, developers, service providers and post-delivery support in AS&D. This includes maintenance, materials, or spare parts providers for their own products and services. AS9100D can be used by recipients of AS&D products and services and as a customer guarantee that their products and services will continue to meet their needs. It can be used by any customer organization to establish and maintain an efficient and effective approach to product and service delivery throughout its entire supply chain. AS9100D is used by internal and external auditors to assess the efficiency, effectiveness, and adequacy of quality management systems and to evaluate a supplier's performance and conformance.