AS9100 Rev D – The Major Changes from Rev C

The High Level Structure

The new central tenet of the ISO 2015 and of the Rev D is the High Level Structure (HLS). The truth is, in the absence of the HLS, you may not find it easy aligning policy objectives with your strategy. You may also find it difficult when clarifying the organisational context and making realistic use of the process without the HLS. All of these benefits are now embedded within Rev D, thereby adding real-time value to the aerospace industry.

There is no doubt that the High Level Structure, unlike the preceding management regimes and fashions, comes with all of the recipes for success. Here are the highlights:

• The HLS aims at helping organisations to deliver values, rather than dwelling on their meaningless functional silos;
• The HLS’ process-enabled feature allows it to promote true business growth when combined with a value-driven model. This can be done top-down, bottom-up and end-to end;
• The HLS covers all activities within a framework that is all-inclusive, whether they are automated or not. 

In Revision C, you will find the word “risk” mentioned four times, while in Rev D, the same word was mentioned forty times. Similarly, you can find the same ratio in the 2015 version of ISO; which, of course, is the mode basis for Rev D.

Moving forward

No matter the potential a process-driven approach has to offer, there will always be naysayers. There may also be others who would prefer to stick with the BPM route, with the belief that everything revolves around automation. Eventually, both groups will come to realise their error in reasoning before long:

• Business owners who adhere to the procedure approach will soon lose their market share to competitors who opted for the more impactful process that guarantees effectiveness. If care is not taken, they may soon find themselves clashing with their auditors.
• The automation adherent CEOs will soon discover the fact that humans are indispensable. You cannot rule out the roles of humans. Doing so, especially in an industry like aerospace, with its few transactional processes and many other processes which are highly specialist or manual, will amount to costly mistakes in the long run.

ISO QA Isle of Man can help your business transition to the new standard, contact us today for a free consultation.