The Nadcap program – which oversees critical process accreditations of suppliers in the aerospace industry – has published two new Audit Criteria, covering investment casting and sand casting. Led by the Nadcap Metallic Materials Manufacturing (MMM) Task Group, the Audit Criteria have been developed with experts from original equipment manufacturers (OEM) companies and casting suppliers involved in the Nadcap program. Audits using the new criteria can now be scheduled. Suppliers which become accredited typically see improvements to critical and quality processes, and cost savings through reduced defects and lower scrap rates. Accreditation validates that suppliers are complying to the highest standards of quality, which in turn raises their profile within the aerospace industry and increases business opportunities.
MMM task group lead, staff engineer Dr Richard Freeman of the Performance Review Institute (PRI), said: “This is an exciting opportunity for casting companies around the world to become accredited to these casting processes, support their OEM customers, and raise their profile even further in the aerospace industry sector.” PRI administers the Nadcap program and supports task groups that are focused on 23 different technical commodities, each of which is chaired by industry professionals from aerospace OEMs who subscribe to the Nadcap program.
Nadcap is an industry-managed approach to conformity assessment for the aerospace industry that brings together technical experts from both Industry and government to establish requirements for accreditation, accredit suppliers, and define operational program requirements. This results in a standardised approach to quality assurance and a reduction in redundant auditing throughout the aerospace industry. www.p-r-i.org/nadcap/