Merits and Demerits of an AS 9100 Integrated Management System

When you are implementing an aerospace Quality Management System (QMS) using the requirements of AS9100, you may find that you are integrating a lot of support processes for your QMS that work alongside the main processes to supply merchandise and services.

This may lead you to look at these support processes and notice that they're the same as those utilized in alternative management systems, such as an Environmental Management System (EMS) using ISO 14001:2015 or an Occupational Health & Safety Management System (OH&SMS) using OHSAS 18001. Because these support processes are common to many ISO standards, you may consider integrating more than one management system for your company, but that can leave you unsure of the benefits and limitations that may result.

So, is it a good idea to implement an Integrated Management System (IMS), with one master set of policies and procedures to address several aspects of your company at the same time, such as quality and environmental protection? Will you gain advantages from quite one management system working together, or would an AS 9100 Certification cause additional damage than good? Below are some advantages and disadvantages of an AS 9100 Certification that you should consider before proceeding.

Advantages of an AS 9100 Certification for Aerospace Industries

As has already been mentioned, many common processes exist in all management systems. These processes contain the same requirements in all ISO management system standards. This will include determining the context of the organization, identifying interested parties, management of documented information, handling competency requirements, performing internal audits and management review, and many others. With this long list, it is easy to see that if the process is the same, you do not need extra resources to maintain more than one management system for these common processes.

Additionally, many of the advantages of all management systems are similar.

Just as with a QMS or EMS, you can use the AS 9100 Certification to form higher selections supported facts, increase process efficiency, improve your company image, and make improving a habit among your employees. These benefits can be gained by specializing in one management system, or by looking further to many management systems integrated.

If you're planning to improve your client satisfaction, why not conjointly improve your environmental performance as well?

Disadvantages of an AS 9100 Certification

So, many good things can come from integrating more than one management system, but are there any drawbacks? The answer is – there may be.

Probably one of the biggest problems that can come with an Integrated Management System can be a lack of focus.

This can be particularly problematic if you're attempting to implement the wants of quite one management system at the identical time.

If you're attempting to juggle the QMS needs that concentrate on improving client satisfaction with the EMS needs for enhancing environmental performance, you'll be able to quickly confuse individuals as they try to understand all of the various changes you are putting into place.

Another problem can be a lack of resources when you have more than one management system in place. While the process for continual improvement is also an equivalent for all management systems, you will still get to have objectives for improvement in place for every management system you implement.

This means that you will need resources to plan and win quality objectives, environmental objectives, IT security objectives, etc. While you may choose to have three quality objectives for a QMS, this may become impossible if you add further objectives that need to be met for each additional set of management system requirements.

For instance, if your QMS goals are to improve on-time delivery, contract review time, and mistakes in production, you will have enough resources.

However, you will not have enough resources out there to additionally address further enhancements in your environmental performance.

Especially if setting and achieving objectives is new to your organization, this large A variety of objectives could become overwhelming for your staff.

In short, generally, it will be helpful to have one management system to specialize in and obtain right before you complicate things for your staff.

Is an AS 9100 Certification right for your business?

This is a question only you can answer, and it may even be the wrong question to ask. It might be better to consider if now is the right time to integrate more than one management system in your business. This question is relevant because many of the disadvantages of implementing an AS 9100 Certification for Customer satisfaction can be overcome more easily if you are simply adding a second management system once you already have one in place that is functioning well.

Rather than rushing ahead, it may be beneficial to put your efforts into implementing one management system first. Then, when you have this in place, you can easily add the additional requirements later. By taking your time, you may provide better enhancements to your company than if you rushed ahead with an additional complicated system, thus assume through your implementation before moving forward.

Remember that any management system is there to provide benefits for your company, thus implement at a pace that works best for you.

For more information about AS 9100 Certification and the role, we can play in your efforts to achieve certification to it, feel free to contact us. To get started with the certification process, you can also request a quote.