AS9102C First Article Inspection Guide

First Article Inspection (FAI) is a planned, documented verification activity. It does not replace process control, recurring inspection, customer approval, or other contract requirements. AS9102C states that its requirements complement rather than replace customer, statutory, and regulatory requirements.

What AS9102C FAI does—and does not do

1. Release the FAI baseline before the supplier quotes it

• Identify part number, name, drawing and model revision, and the governing order of precedence.
• Provide applicable specifications, customer quality clauses, key-characteristic definitions, and approved deviations.
• Define material, condition, traceability, special processes, functional tests, and required approvals.
• State whether the required result is a full FAI, partial FAI, delta review, customer format, or another documented requirement.
• Name the customer function authorized to review, reject, accept, or conditionally accept the submission.

When requirements conflict or the buyer has not defined the controlling source, the supplier should stop and obtain written direction rather than choose a convenient interpretation.

2. Define the package instead of saying only “FAI required”

AS9102 documentation is commonly organized around three accountability areas. The exact forms, electronic system, attachments, and customer additions must be confirmed for the order.

3. Plan characteristic verification before machining

Review each design characteristic for an appropriate, capable, and authorized verification method. Resolve:

• balloon or characteristic numbering and treatment of repeated, reference, note, and specification requirements;
• datum simulation, access, orientation, restraint, temperature, and surface-condition assumptions;
• CMM, hand-gage, optical, surface, thread, contour, test, or certificate evidence;
• customer-mandated methods, source inspection, witness points, or independent laboratory work;
• how inaccessible or destructive characteristics will be verified and approved;
• how nonconforming results and approved dispositions link to the report.

Do not promise that every requirement will be measured on a CMM. The drawing, specification, process, geometry, uncertainty, and customer requirement determine the suitable verification route.

4. Confirm that the article represents the required production path

The buyer and supplier should agree which manufacturing conditions must be represented, including:

• production location, equipment, operation sequence, workholding, and numerical program;
• production material and approved sub-tier special processors;
• tooling, gages, inspection programming, and test equipment;
• cleaning, preservation, marking, packaging, and other product-realization steps;
• assembly-level or lower-level detail-part FAI references when applicable.

If a prototype, development sample, or alternate route does not represent the required production process, label it accurately and obtain customer direction before treating it as the FAI article.

5. Review changes for full or partial re-accomplishment

Design, manufacturing source, process, method, location, tooling, numerical program, material, or lapse-related changes may require a documented review and full or partial FAI under the governing requirements. The exact trigger and affected scope must come from the current standard, contract, and customer procedure.

• The buyer identified the change and the last accepted FAI baseline.
• Engineering and quality determined the affected characteristics and supporting evidence.
• The required full or partial scope is documented before production release.
• Unchanged characteristics retain traceable reference to the accepted baseline when permitted.
• Customer notification or approval requirements are closed in writing.

6. Put the complete FAI scope in the quote

State whether the production lead-time clock begins at PO, final technical release, material availability, customer approval, or another event. A target date without dependencies is not an executable FAI plan.

7. Review the submission as evidence, not paperwork volume

1. Confirm the report identifies the correct article, revision, scope, and manufacturing context.
2. Reconcile material, special processes, tests, lower-level references, and certificates with the contract.
3. Trace every applicable characteristic to a requirement, verification method, result, and disposition.
4. Resolve omissions, conflicts, and nonconformances through the authorized customer process.
5. Issue written acceptance, rejection, conditional action, or production-release direction through the responsible authority.

A complete-looking package is not accepted merely because every field contains text. Review correctness, traceability, applicability, and open actions.

AS9102C FAI is not automatically federal first article testing

The Federal Acquisition Regulation describes first article testing and approval as a contract mechanism used to determine whether a contractor can furnish a product conforming to contract requirements. FAR approval is the contracting officer's written acceptance of the test results. If a solicitation or contract invokes federal first article testing, follow that requirement and its clauses; do not assume an AS9102C package alone satisfies it.

Authoritative references

• SAE International — AS9102C standard record
• IAQG — 9102 First Article Inspection Requirement and support materials
• Acquisition.gov — FAR Subpart 9.3, First Article Testing and Approval

Scope an FAI package with Procut-CNC

Procut-CNC can quote AS9102-format FAI documentation when required by the released package and customer flow-down. The quote confirms characteristic scope, inspection methods, supporting records, review assumptions, capacity, and timing. Procut-CNC is not yet AS9100D or ISO 9001 certified; current quality-system status and supplier-review evidence are available through the qualification process.