Manufacturing standards constantly evolve in response to technical advancements and process innovations. Major industries across the spectrum rely on their specific standards to ensure their suppliers and vendors meet basic requirements for quality and safety. From time to time we get questions about whether Thermal-Vac’s accreditations are relevant to a customer’s project when the customer is outside the aerospace or industries.
What do Nadcap and AS9100 accreditations require?
Thermal-Vac is proud to be Nadcap and AS9100 accredited. The international AS9100 aerospace standard provides the primary base of quality control specific to the aerospace industry. Thermal-Vac’s AS9100 D accreditation is a process-based approach which ensures that the entire company is evaluated regularly. AS9100, developed by SAE International, is an overarching quality control protocol. Compliance with the standard requires a business to not only adopt strict quality processes, but also to embrace an enterprise-wide philosophy of risk-based thinking and commitment to continual improvement.
Nadcap accreditation covers our heat treating services. Nadcap is a program developed by the primes in the aerospace industry to standardize special processes across suppliers. As an industry-driven program, Nadcap reflects the uncompromising standards that are required to successfully heat treat components that will be incorporated into a rocket engine, fighter jet wing, or missile guidance system. In other words, lives often depend on adherence to Nadcap standards.
Thermal-Vac’s accreditations benefit every customer
Thermal-Vac’s success and growth over the years has been driven by our ongoing commitment to finding better ways to do our work. Nadcap and AS9100 standards are essential to our work for aerospace and defense customers, but we are always looking for opportunities to improve processes even beyond what the standards require. And because we follow the same process for every project, we apply the strict quality control of Nadcap and AS9100 whether we’re building rocket engine parts, medical implants, or components for ball-point pens.
Our facility monitoring system offers an example of Thermal-Vac’s obsession with quality. In our 45,000 square foot facility, we have 54 cameras continuously monitoring parts at every phase of their handling. If something goes wrong during a process, the footage from so many cameras allows operators and engineers to study their work. Using visual evidence along with equipment monitoring data, the precise cause of a problem can be found so processes can be improved from that point forward.
An obsession with quality
With quality control practices like these our goal is to optimize outcomes for every project. For some projects, applying the Nadcap and AS9100 standard may seem like overkill. We don’t think so. Every manufacturing job needs to be done the right way, the first time. By applying some of the strictest manufacturing standards in the world, Thermal-Vac gives customers peace of mind. If you have questions about Thermal-Vac’s accreditations, we love to talk about it. Give us a call at (714) 997-2601.
