Quality Clauses

QUALITY POLICY STATEMENT

Alken Industries, Inc. shall strive for the highest attainable standards for our Quality Management System available in the aerospace industry to ensure that we always meet our customer’s requirements for both on time delivery and quality.

Our continuous improvement program, now and in the future, is based upon full compliance with the requirements of ISO9001 and AS9100 A major objective of the Quality System will be to remain competitive while maintaining product quality, delivery and customer satisfaction. Alken Industries, Inc. is a fully recognized world class manufacturing facility with quality remaining synonymous with the Alken name.

Q-Notes are requirements which are applicable to every Alken Purchase Order. This document is to be reviewed and complied with as a flow down requirement from Alken Quality and Purchasing Departments. These notes also flow down customer requirements where applicable, and should be maintained for future reference; however the Alken Website will always reflect the latest revision of Q-Note’s, therefore it is the supplier’s (vendors) responsibility to assure they are always working to the latest Q-Notes published on the website upon receipt of Purchase order.

Q Clause Description

PO Quality Clauses Rev E
Finishing or Testing Heat Treat Hardware Raw Material Outside Processing Outside Machining
Q1 Supplier will be responsible to provide the necessary resources to deliver products that meet all Alken Industries and customer requirements in accordance with the purchase order requirements.
Q2 Suppliers shall implement a Quality System to control product and process quality that meets the latest revision of Alken Industries QA Clauses as specified in this purchase order. The system should include a  company wide process that fosters continuous quality improvement.
Q3 Alken Industries reserves the right to audit the Supplier’s Quality System and Products at any time.
Q4 A Quality Plan must be submitted to Alken Industries for approval, prior to the completion of the FAI. The Quality Plan shall address the sequence of manufacturing, processing and inspection operations that are required and shall include the identification of any sub-tier suppliers that will perform controllers/special processes, including customer designated or approved external providers. PER PO
Q5 Supplier is responsible to implement a process by which all requirements herein are reviewed prior to acceptance of the purchase order.
Q6 Supplier is responsible to maintain control of the latest revision of blueprints, parts list, Mylars, operation sheets, specifications and other such documents as specified in the purchase order.
Q7 Supplier is responsible to destroy all obsolete blueprints, parts list, Mylar’s, specifications and other such proprietary documents prior to disposal.
Q8 During the performance of the purchase order, Alken Industries it’s customer, and/or regulatory agencies, have the right of entry to determine and verify product quality, records and material at any place, including the plant of the supplier at any level of the supply chain. Alken Industries acceptance of such product does not absolve the supplier of the responsibility to provide acceptable product, nor does it preclude subsequent rejection by Alken Industries Customer.
Q9 The Supplier shall flowdown the right of entry provision in any of their subcontracts as well as to the supplier’s supply chain.
Q10 Purchase Orders for Standard Hardware or assemblies that include Standard Hardware (i.e., BAC, AN, NAS, STM, MIL, etc.) are to be satisfied with material of the latest specification revision levels in effect and must comply with all obsolescence / replacement criteria when applicable.
Q11 Items on this Order are for Boeing aircraft use and must comply with all Boeing engineering requirements, including the D-590 and D1-4426 specifications for the particular items ordered at the time of manufacture/procurement http://www.boeing.com/companyoffices/doingbiz/d14426/
Q12 All suppliers must purchase raw materials from prime customer approved sources when applicable, i.e. D1-4426, or other approval listing. Material produced / procured outside the USA always requires the use of customer approved sources.
Q13 All special processes must be currently approved to do so by the Northrop Grumman Qualified Supplier Document ( Oasis) PER PO
Q14 All special processes required by the Purchase Order must be preformed by sources that are approved by the prime customer, and to the latest revision of the applicable process specification.
Q15 Supplier is responsible to maintain control of all Alken Industries supplied material, gauges and tooling. Any such material that is lost, damaged or otherwise unsuitable for the use shall be immediately reported to the Alken Industries buyer.
Q16 Supplier is responsible to maintain control of all Alken Industries supplied material, gauges and tooling. Any such material that is lost, damaged or otherwise unsuitable for the use shall be immediately reported to the Alken Industries buyer.
Q17 When serialization and traceability is required, assigned serial numbers shall be maintained throughout all manufacturing cycles and shall be identified on both parts and all documentation at the time of shipment.
Q18 Copies of all material, processing, testing, chemical and physical analysis certifications must accompany each shipment of  parts as required by the blueprint or applicable specification.
Q19 rocessing, and test certifications must be to the latest revision of the applicable specification.
Q20 Supplier must submit a Certificate of Compliance summarizing all processes and tests performed to the applicable revision along with the name of each facility utilized. Supplier must include the applicable revision of each specification.
Q21 Applicable on initial production part by supplier, a First Article Inspection (FAI) report is required for each dash number. The inspection report shall indicate the actual measurement obtained for each characteristic listed on the blueprint, parts list and Alken Industries manufacturing instructions (when specified on the purchase order). When repetitive dimensions are inspected, (i.e. hole of the same size, web thickness of the same size, ect.) record actual measurement individually, and specify locations. A First Artcle is required when a part has not been in production for a period of two years or longer. PER PO
Q22 At Alken Industries discretion, an Alken Industries source inspector will be present during the FAI. When source inspection is specified, the supplier shall provide at least 48 hours notice to Alken Industries of the date of  performance of this FAI. PER PO
Q23 An Amended FAI report is required for configuration changes, but only for dimensions affected. PER PO
Q24 One hundred percent inspection on all characteristics is required. Use of sampling plans for this inspection is prohibited without Alken Industries prior approval.
Q25 Source Inspection required. Source Inspection shall be coordinated with the buyer prior to delivery. Authorization for shipment shall be indicated by a Alken Industries Source Inspection Stamp on the supplier packing list or C of C. PER PO
Q26 An Inspection Plan must be submitted to Alken Industries, for approval, prior to the completion of the FAI. The Inspection Plan shall address the inspection operations that are required to verify all product characteristics and shall include the identification of all gauges being proposed for use. PER PO
Q27 For all close tolerance characteristics (+/- .001 or .0005). GO and NO GO gauging techniques are not acceptable.
Q28 Inspection equipment utilized must have capability to attain a measurement of ten percent of tolerance being inspected.
Q29 The Supplier shall maintain a system of gauge control in compliance with ANSI/NCSL-Z540-11994 and ISO-10012-1.
Q30 The Supplier and/or sub-tier suppliers shall maintain a calibration system in compliance with ANSI/NCSL-Z540-11994 and ISO-10012-1.
Q31 The inspection status of all products shall be clearly identified throughout the manufacturing process and upon delivery to Alken Industries.
Q32 Supplier shall implement a system for controlling nonconforming product that identifies and segregates such material to prevent unintended use.
Q33 Supplier shall report nonconforming material to Alken Industries using VMRR form. Non-conforming material shall not be shipped without Alken Industries Quality Assurance approval.
Q34 Supplier shall immediately report to Alken Industries, any nonconformances or discrepancies that may affect product that has been already delivered.
Q35 Supplier shall implement a system of corrective action for discrepancies identified by the supplier, Alken Industries or Alken Industries customers. When Alken Industries requests written corrective action, the supplier shall document the cause of the discrepancy, corrective action taken and effective date of the corrective action. Alken Industries reserves the right to verify the effectiveness  of the stated corrective action at the supplier’s facility.
Q36 All Materials, parts, and age control products must be protected against damage and corrosion during delivery using sound standard packaging practices. Special packaging intrusions, when required, will be as specified on the purchase order.
Q37 Supplier agrees to ensure that materials utilized in the performance of this order, whether furnished by Alken Industries or by the supplier, well be segregated and controlled to insure traceability and prevent them from being intermingled with any other materials.
Q38 unused
Q39 unused
Q40 Quality documentation records and certifications must be maintained on file for a period of ten years after final payment of this purchase order. After this time period, Supplier shall not destroy such records without the written approval of Alken Industries.
If the Customer contract specifies a longer period, it will be identified on the Purchase Order. If the purchase order states this is for a Flight Safety, Fracture Critical, or has Critical Characteristics, Quality documentation records and certifications must be maintained on file for a period of forty years after final payment of this purchase order. After this time period, Supplier shall not destroy such records without the written approval of Alken Industries.
Q41 unused
Q42 unused
Q43 unused
Q44 unused
Q45 Supplier shall implement a system of self-audits (internal audits) to verify the effectiveness of the supplier’s quality system and processes. These audits shall be conducted once a year at a minimum.
Q46 Supplier shall be responsible to provide trained personnel for the manufacture and inspection of products used to satisfy the requirements of this purchase order.
Q47 If a key characteristic is required by engineering documents or Alken Industries Manufacturing Plan and/ or Operation Sheet, the following requirements apply: All key characteristic shall be placed under statistical control.  If the supplier does not have the ability to perform as stated above, contact the Alken Industries buyer immediately, prior to continuing with purchase order requirements. At any time, the supplier may request assistance from Alken Industries when conducting S.P.C. and A.Q.S. (Advanced Quality System) activities. contact the Alken Industries buyer. Documentation requirements per key characteristic: The supplier will provide copies of S.P.C. documentation with all parts delivered to Alken Industries. Documents required for each characteristic shall be 1x-MR chart or X bar-R chart. If 21 or more parts  are listed on the control charts, then upper and lower control limits along with a C.P.K. reading shall be indicated on the control chart. All charts will be identified with the date, part number, dash number, and the key characteristics. The Documentation above will be in addition to all other documentation required by the purchase order and engineering requirements. PER PO
Q48 In Compliance with Environment Protection Agency (EPA) Regulations, Alken Industries requires that all suppliers submit a yearly letter of disclosure stating whether or not ozone depleting substances have been used in all performance of our Purchase Orders. This must be accomplished with either positive or negative statement to this effect, and any positive statement much name the substance’s) used, as well as the specific item’s) they were used to manufacture.
Q49 Supplier shall have a process to ensure prevention of counterfeit product considering AS5553.
Q50 Supplier personnel should be aware of:

  • 1. Their contribution to product or service conformity
  • 2. Their contribution to product safety
  • 3. The importance of ethical behavior.
Q51 Notify our Purchasing department of changes in product and/or process definition, change of suppliers, change of manufacturing facility location, and, where required, obtain approval.
Q52 Supplier is not authorized to disposition any nonconforming product as Use-As-Is or Repair if it does not meet the contract requirements of our order.
Q53 Alken rates supplier performance for quality and delivery of products or services. Supplier ratings will be calculated comparing total lots received against total lots accepted. When acceptable quality objectives are not met for 2 consecutive quarters, suppliers will be notified and we will determine if the supplier will be placed on probation.
Q54 This PO is a rated order certified for national defense use, and you are required to follow all the provisions of the Defense Priorities and Allocations System regulation (15 CFR 700).