Yards Moving Forward - GL Group

Better Training for Greater
What significance does the certification of suppliers have in the aerospace industry? To
what extent and how thoroughly are the production processes and operations in the companies
examined to safeguard the required technical safety of the products? These questions
and more were answered by Jens Rogge, Lead Auditor at GLC, within the scope of a press
conference with more than a dozen Hamburg journalists
In September 2005, Germanischer Lloyd Certification (GLC)
was accredited by the German Association for Accreditation
(TGA) for the certification of aerospace supply companies
according to the EN 9100 standard. Since then, GLC has
been offering its services for examining of the quality
standard as per EN 9100 to all national and international
suppliers of the European, American and Asian aerospace
industries. This standard calls for the effective monitoring of
the functional and physical product characteristics over the
entire life-cycle, amongst other things with a configuration
management system, and ensures the continuous traceability
of raw materials, processes, tools and personnel qualifications.
ISO 9100 provides proof of competence of all suppliers,
traders or service providers who are already delivering to the
aviation industry or wish to do so in future. Besides the documentation
of production, the communication with customers
or authorities and the risk analyses for the introduction of
new technologies are also reviewed. With certification to EN
9100, contractors qualify themselves for inclusion in the
international OASIS database (Online Aerospace Supplier Information
System), which is maintained by the International
Aerospace Quality Group (IAQG).
This database is used by manufacturers in the aerospace
industry to select their suppliers, vendors and service providers.
Compliance with the very stringent safety and quality
requirements imposed on the aircraft manufacturers is monitored
by the national aviation authorities as well as the International
Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), a specialized
agency of the UNO, according to criteria and regulations that
have been harmonized worldwide. The manufacturers bear
full responsibility for the quality of the aviation equipment;
this obligation also covers the quality of products in their entire
supply chain.
After this organizational overview had been presented, an
important question was posed: Who monitors the auditors?
This was answered by Jens Rogge by referring to the Interna-
54 nonstop 3/2006
tional Aerospace Quality Group. The IAQG was founded in
December 1998 and its members consist of 58 of the world’s
largest OEMs (original equipment manufacturers). Thirdparty
certification was established as an essential element in
the qualification of suppliers. The IAQG formulates the standards
according to which the companies in the aerospace
industry are audited and certified; it also defines the procedures
for the worldwide accreditation of certification organizations,
for the auditing and certification of companies, and for
the training, qualification and authentication of auditors.
With the aid of its regional sub-organizations, namely AAQG
(Americas Aerospace Quality Group – for the American continent),
EAQG (European Aerospace Quality Group – for
Europe) and APAQG (Asia Pacific Aerospace Quality Group –
for Asia and the Pacific regions), the IAQG monitors the accreditation
and certification processes all over the globe.
“In aviation, absolutely nothing may
be left to chance.”
In Europe, the CBMCs (Certification Body Management
Committees) are responsible for implementation of the IAQG
requirements on the national level. The CBMCs are located
within the national industrial federations of the aerospace
industry; in Germany, this is the German Aerospace Industries
Association (BDLI). The certificates and auditor approvals
(authentication) that are accepted by the CBMCs are
recognized in the worldwide IAQG network. Within the scope
of the global certification activities in the aerospace industry,
suppliers and their customers are therevor given worldwide
certainty regarding their planning and actions.
At GLC, several staff members are specialized in aerospace
factories and companies. This new area of activities is
headed by Jens Rogge. As a mechanical engineering graduate