Jack Hamilton
Senior Business Development Manager
EAGLE Certification Group – Member of IQNET Association

The International Aerospace Quality Group (IAQG) has created and released a new program, the Aerospace Improvement Maturity Model (AIMM), to help organizations move beyond compliance to the 9100 standard and improve the maturity of their quality management system (QMS). AIMM is a free-of-charge tool accessible through the AIMM IAQG website.

The objectives of AIMM are to set clear targets for improvement, provide better recognition of risk areas, identify improvement areas, enhance motivation, and increase the quality and maturity of the aerospace supply chain. It was created to engage a team with a roadmap for improvement and is the first attempt by the IAQG at such a tool, with plans for it to exist as an evolving document.

The IAQG, through years of managing the AS Series of standards, has leveraged the knowledge gained throughout those years into one system. The top three reasons companies have expressed interest in such a tool are 1) better corrective action for improvement, 2) planning to meet objectives and address risks, and 3) operations improvement. AIMM has been benchmarked in the aerospace supply chain for its effectiveness.

AIMM complements the IAQG’s Aerospace Supply Chain Management Handbook (SCMH) and aims to identify a company’s level of maturity by Annex SL clause utilizing five levels of maturity and 26 modules for focus. Based on the auditing experience of the IAQG, clauses found to be in non-compliance most frequently are given more depth of focus, such as 8.5.1 (production) and 7.1.5.2, 7.5.3.2, 8.4.1.1, 8.4.2, 8.4.3, and 10.2.1 (as they relate to the supply chain).

At the start, if your aerospace quality management system (AQMS) maturity is identified as Level 1, it is just beginning to form. At Level 2, it is considered managed, and at Level 3, you should be achieving expected outcomes across your organization. Level 4 strives to attain a predictable state for a system, meaning processes are managed based on quantitative targets and measures. Finally, at Level 5, you are optimizing your system.

Each maturity level asks questions regarding a company’s systems and procedures to meet that clause. There is an expected outcome for each maturity level question. The expected outcome does not use the words “should” or “shall”; therefore, they are neither a recommendation nor a requirement. Instead, they focus on the essential aspect of the requirement. All AS9100:2016 requirements have been converted to the expected outcomes of the management system.

Since AIMM is a self-assessment that can be used for both the AS9100/EN9100 or ISO 9001 standards, touches all clauses of the standard, and has identified levels of achievement and expected outcomes, it can be an excellent tool to use as needed. Assessments against the levels and modules can be done to support improvement-driven internal audit programs and help to set improvement targets. It can identify weak points in your system if you are already certified or it can prepare those seeking certification by an accredited certification body for the audit. AIMM can also help with customer audits when they have a specific concern with the company’s AQMS in certain areas and can be used to target these areas for improvement.

Since AIMM is a self-assessment tool best executed by internal staff, it encourages an increase in internal staff knowledge, process buy-in, and internally driven improvement. It is not a compliance audit, so opportunities for improvement can be handled in the most appropriate way. It is an excellent tool to improve weak areas and provides guidance for doing it, as well as helping to manage risk and providing a way to measure system health. It helps take customer requirements and flow them through your system. The industry has long appreciated the knowledge imparted by an audit and asked for auditors’ knowledge to be more available. AIMM has striven to put this knowledge into a tool for improving a system to maturity.

The International Accreditation Forum (IAF) Multilateral Recognition Arrangement (MLA) scope for IAQG 9104–1 includes IAQG 9100, IAQG 9110 and IAQG 9120.

EAGLE Certification Group is the US member of IQNET Association: https://www.iqnet-certification.com/