AMC1 21.A.139(d)(2)(ii) Production management system

CAA ORS9 Decision No. 40

VENDOR AND SUBCONTRACTOR ASSESSMENT, AUDIT AND CONTROL — PRODUCTION ORGANISATION APPROVAL HOLDER THAT USES DOCUMENTED ARRANGEMENTS WITH OTHER PARTIES FOR THE ASSESSMENT AND SURVEILLANCE OF A SUPPLIER

(1) General

The production organisation is required by point 21.A.139(d) to demonstrate that it has established and maintains a quality management element that enables the organisation to ensure that each item produced conforms to the applicable design data and is in a condition for safe operation. To discharge this responsibility, the quality management element should have, among other requirements, procedures to adequately carry out the assessment and surveillance of suppliers.

The use of other parties, such as a consulting firm or quality assurance company, for supplier assessment and surveillance does not exempt the production organisation approval (POA) holder from its obligations under point 21.A.165. The supplier assessment and surveillance, corrective action and follow-up activity conducted at any of its supplier’s facilities may be performed by other parties.

The purpose of using another party cannot be to replace the assessment, audit and control of the POA holder. It is to allow an element (i.e. the assessment of the quality management element) to be delegated to another organisation under controlled conditions.

The use of other parties to perform supplier assessments and surveillance should be part of the production organisation quality management element and fulfil the conditions of this AMC.

This AMC is applicable to a method whereby a POA holder has a documented arrangement with another party for the purpose of assessing and/or surveying a POA’s supplier.

(2) Intentionally left blank.

(3) Conditions and criteria for the use of other parties to perform supplier assessment and surveillance

  1. The POA holder should include the use of other parties for supplier assessment and surveillance in the POA holders’ quality management element of the production management system to demonstrate compliance with the applicable requirements of Part 21.

  2. The procedures that are required for using other parties for supplier assessment and surveillance should be consistent with other procedures of the POA holders’ quality management element.

  3. The procedures of the POA holder that uses other parties to perform supplier assessment and surveillance should include the following:

    1. Identification of the other party that will conduct the supplier assessment and surveillance.

    2. A listing of suppliers under surveillance by the other party. This listing should be maintained by the POA holder and made available to the CAA upon request.

    3. The method used by the POA holder to evaluate and monitor the other party. The method should include the following as a minimum:

      1. verification that standards and checklists used by the other party are acceptable for the applicable scope;.

      2. verification that the other party is appropriately qualified and has sufficient knowledge, experience, and training to perform its allocated tasks;

      3. verification that the frequency with which the other party carry out surveillance of the suppliers is commensurate with the complexity of the product and with the surveillance frequency established by the POA holder’s suppliers control programme;

      4. verification that the assessment and surveillance of the suppliers is including on-site surveillance activities that are conducted by the other party; and

      5. verification that the other party has access to the applicable proprietary data to the level of detail necessary to survey suppliers functions.

      Where the POA holder uses another party accredited by a signatory to the European cooperation for Accreditation (EA) Multilateral Agreement and works in accordance with an aviation standard (e.g. EN 9104 series of requirements) that describes requirements for the assessment and surveillance by the other party, items (ii) and (iv) shall be deemed to be complied with.

    4. A definition that states to what extent the other party will conduct surveillance of the suppliers on behalf of the POA holder. If the other party partly replaces surveillance by the POA holder, the POA holder should identify the functions that will continue to be surveyed by the POA holder.

    5. The procedures used by the other party to notify the POA holder of any non-conformity that is discovered at the supplier’s facility, and of the corrective action and follow-up.

  4. The POA should make arrangements that allow the CAA to make investigations in accordance with point 21.A.8, to include other party activities.