Warrendale PA — SAE International has released the latest revision to AS9110, the quality management system standard for aircraft maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) organizations. This latest version is Revision B, and replaces the previous version originally published in 2009.
As of April 26, the document is only available in hardcopy form via mail or fax; electronic download is not yet available.
The standard may be ordered by visiting this link: http://standards.sae.org/as9110b.
The AS9110 B standard represents a minor amendment, adding only “definitions and clarification of existing requirements to resolve interpretation issues, and incorporate editorial corrections.” It is not expected to include any new requirements.
Readers and organizations are warned that registrars, trainers or consultants offering specific training on AS9110B ‘s”new requirements,” or stating that additional training is required, may not be marketing their services accurately. At press time, it was not expected that any additional effort on the part of AS9110A certificate holders would be required to update to Rev B at a later date. If this changes, Oxebridge will publish the requirements accordingly. (See update below.)
Oxebridge regularly reported on a similar problem facing the standards community after the release of ISO 9001:2008, which add any new requirements to the previous 2000 edition of that standard, yet registrars and training organizations nevertheless sold “upgrade” courses and services to unsuspecting users.
Registrars are not yet accredited to audit to the Rev B standard, and their auditors will likely have to undergo a brief training upgrade before being able to audit to the standard.
UPDATE 04/30/2012: A review of the standard discovered some minor new requirements. For a complete list, click here.
Christopher Paris is the founder and VP Operations of Oxebridge. He has over 35 years’ experience implementing ISO 9001 and AS9100 systems, and helps establish certification and accreditation bodies with the ISO 17000 series. He is a vocal advocate for the development and use of standards from the point of view of actual users. He is the writer and artist of THE AUDITOR comic strip, and is currently writing the DR. CUBA pulp novel series. Visit www.drcuba.world
