December 1, 2017
The Department of Defense, the Aviation, Space and Defense industry and American taxpayers suffer from a burdensome and redundant quality management system approval and oversight process. Quality Management System (QMS) surveillance and audits are being performed independently by the Defense Contract Management Agency (DCMA), prime contractors, AS&D suppliers and registration bodies. These activities result in redundant effort and data production, and drives additional cost, a burden ultimately borne by the taxpayer.
In 2015, DCMA’s office of the Executive Director of Quality requested that the Aerospace Industries Association (AIA) and its Quality Assurance Committee (QAC) members team with DCMA and the International Aerospace Quality Group (IAQG) to participate in a pilot project called “OASIS,” or On-Line Aerospace Supplier Information System. The project’s goal was to utilize the IAQG’s OASIS product and the OASIS feedback process to determine if it could help eliminate redundant audits throughout the supply chain. This project was driven by the need to increase efficiency through the building of confidence in the OASIS AS9100 system of registration and oversight and is an element in the DCMA Detection to Prevention (D2P) strategy.
