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Hillscom

Sectors

Aerospace & Defence

Aerospace and defence supply chains run on trust that has to be evidenced. Primes, engine manufacturers and defence customers expect every supplier to control product safety, configuration and traceability to a standard that goes well beyond general quality management, and they check. Hillscom supports suppliers at every tier, from small machine shops entering aerospace for the first time to established organisations managing complex customer flow-down across several programmes.

What aerospace and defence suppliers are up against

The pressure usually arrives through the customer. A new contract requires AS9100 certification within a fixed window. A prime flows down AS9145 APQP and PPAP expectations for a new product introduction. A surveillance audit raises findings on first article inspection or counterfeit parts prevention that need closing properly, not just answering. At the same time, delivery schedules do not move, and the people who would normally lead the response are already fully committed to production.

Customer supplier requirements add another layer. Two primes can interpret the same AS9100 clause very differently, and a supplier serving both needs a system that satisfies each without running two parallel processes.

How Hillscom helps

Support is built on senior quality and mission assurance leadership inside aerospace and defence organisations, including delivering AS9100 certification from the ground up. That experience shapes the work in practical ways:

  • AS9100D implementation and certification readiness, sized to your products and processes
  • Configuration management, traceability and first article inspection that stand up to customer scrutiny
  • Interpretation and embedding of customer-specific supplier quality requirements
  • APQP, PPAP and FMEA capability for new product introduction under AS9145
  • Root cause analysis and corrective action that prevents recurrence rather than closing paperwork

Where an organisation needs leadership rather than advice, interim quality or mission assurance leadership can bridge the gap during a critical programme phase or a period of change.

Looking ahead

The IAQG is developing the next revision of the 9100 series, expected to reflect ISO 9001:2026. Suppliers building or refreshing their systems now can position themselves for that transition, particularly around quality culture, ethical behaviour and planned change. A gap analysis is the quickest way to see where your system stands.

Get in touch to discuss your aerospace or defence quality system.

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