Resources

How to pass your first AS9100 audit

Your first AS9100 certification audit comes in two stages. Stage 1 is mostly a document review: does your system exist on paper, and is it ready to be audited? Stage 2 is the real thing. The auditor walks the floor, samples records and talks to your people to see whether the system works.

1. Run your system for a few months first

Auditors need records, not intentions. Aim for at least two to three months of real records before Stage 2: inspection records, nonconformances, corrective actions, calibration, training, supplier performance. A system that started last week looks like one.

2. Do a full internal audit and a management review

Both are required before certification, and both are among the first things the auditor asks for. Audit every process at least once, write up real findings (an internal audit with zero findings is a red flag), and close them with corrective action. Then hold a management review that ends with decisions and actions, not just slides.

3. Know your scope and your risks

Be ready to explain what you make, for whom, which clauses don't apply and why, and the risks you've identified (operational risk, not just a generic risk register). Aerospace auditors pay particular attention to product safety, counterfeit parts prevention, FOD, configuration management and first article inspection.

4. Prepare your people

Auditors interview operators. Everyone should be able to answer three questions: what's the quality policy in your own words, how do you know you're doing the job right, and what do you do when something's wrong.

5. Treat findings as normal

Most first audits produce some findings. Minor nonconformities need a corrective action plan; majors must be closed before certification is granted. Answer with real root cause, not "retrained operator".

General guidance, not legal advice. Standards are referenced by name only. Written by Matt Norman, Norman Quality Tools (Veteran-Owned & Operated).