21.A.126 Production inspection system

GM 21.A.126(a) and (b) have been developed for persons producing under Part 21 Section A Subpart F on the long term basis as defined in 21.A.124(b)(1)(i). For those persons producing under Part 21 Section A Subpart F as a transient phase under 21.A.124(b)(1)(ii), compliance with 21.A.126 may also be demonstrated to the satisfaction of the competent authority by using the equivalent Part 21 Section A Subpart G AMC/GM.

1.The person producing under Subpart F is responsible for determining and applying acceptance standards for physical condition, configuration status and conformity, as appropriate, of raw materials, subcontracted works, and supplied products, parts, appliances or material, whether to be used in production or delivered to customers as spare parts. This responsibility also includes BFE (Buyer Furnished Equipment) items.

2.Control may be based upon use of the following techniques, as appropriate:

2.1 first article inspection, including destruction if necessary, to verify that the article conforms to the applicable data for new production line or new supplier,

2.2 incoming inspections and tests of supplied parts or appliances that can be satisfactorily inspected on receipt,

2.3 identification of incoming documentation and data relevant to the showing of conformity to be included in the certification documents,

2.4 any additional work, tests or inspection which may be needed for parts or appliances which are to be delivered as spare parts and which are not subject to the checks normally provided by subsequent production or inspection stages.

3.The person producing under Part 21 Subpart F may rely upon an EASA Form 1 issued in accordance with Part 21 if provided as evidence of conformity with applicable design data For suppliers not holding a POA the inspection system of the person producing under Part 21 Subpart F should establish a system for control of incoming materials and bought or subcontracted items which provides for inspections and tests of such items by the person producing under Part 21 Subpart F at the supplier’s facility, if the item cannot or will not be completely inspected upon receipt.

All parts and materials coming from external parties should be identified and inspected to ascertain that they have not been damaged during transport or unpacking, that the incoming parts and materials have the appropriate and correct accompanying documentation and that the configuration and condition of the parts or materials is as laid down in that documentation. Only on completion of these checks and of any incoming further verifications laid down in the procurement specification, may the part or material be accepted for warehousing and used in production. This acceptance should be certified by an inspection statement. A suitable recording system should allow reconstruction at any time of the history of every material or part. The areas where the incoming checks are carried out and the materials or parts are stored pending completion of the checks should be physically segregated from other departments.

1.When a person producing under Part 21 Subpart F is developing its own manufacturing data from the design data package delivered by a Design holder, procedures should demonstrate the correct transcription of the original design data.

2.Procedures should define the manner in which applicable design data is used to issue and update the production/inspection data, which determines the conformity of products, parts, appliances and materials. The procedure should also define the traceability of such data to each individual product, part, appliance or material for the purpose of stating the condition for safe operation and for issuing a Statement of Conformity.

3.During execution, all works should be accompanied by documentation giving either directly or by means of appropriate references, the description of the works as well as the identification of the personnel in charge of inspection and execution tasks for each of the different work phases.

The purpose of the Production Inspection System is to check at suitable points during production and provide objective evidence that the correct specifications are used, and that processes are carried out strictly in accordance with the specification. During the manufacturing process, each article should be inspected in accordance with a plan which identifies the nature of all inspections required and the production stages at which they occur. The plan should also identify any particular skills or qualification required of person(s) carrying out the inspections (e.g., NDT personnel). A copy of the plan should be included in, or referenced by, the manual required by 21.A.125A(b). If the parts are such that, if damaged, they could compromise the safety of the aircraft, additional inspections for such damage should be performed at the completion of each production stage.

1.Storage areas should be protected from dust, dirt, or debris, and adequate blanking and packaging of stored items should be practised.

2.All parts should be protected from extremes of temperatures and humidity and, where needed, temperature-controlled or full air-conditioned facilities should be provided.

3.Racking and handling equipment should be provided such as to allow storage, handling and movement of parts without damage.

4.Lighting should be such as to allow safe and effective access and handling, but should also cater for items which are sensitive to light e.g., rubber items.

5.Care should be taken to segregate and shield items which can emit fumes (e.g., wet batteries), substances or radiation (e.g., magnetic items) which are potentially damaging to other stored items.

6.Procedures should be in place to maintain and record stored parts identities and batch information.

7.Access to storage areas should be restricted to authorised personnel who are fully trained to understand and maintain the storage control arrangements and procedures.

8.Provisions should be made for segregated storage of non-conforming items pending their disposition (see GM 21.A.126(b)(4)).

Where derived data, e.g., worksheets, process sheets, fabrication/inspection instructions, etc., is used instead of original design drawings, documents identification and control procedures should be used to ensure that the documentation in use is always accurate and current.

All materials and parts which have been identified at any stage in the manufacturing process as not conforming to the specific working and inspection instructions must be suitably identified by clearly marking or labelling, to indicate their non-conforming status. All such non-conforming material or parts should be removed from the production area and held in a restricted access segregated area until an appropriate disposition is determined in accordance with 21.A.126(b)(5).

(a)The procedure should permit to record the deviation, to present it to the design approval holder (DAH) under the provisions of point 21.A.122, and to record the results of the review and action taken consequently as regards the part/product.

(b)Any unintentional deviation from the manufacturing/inspection data should be recorded and handled in accordance with Part 21, Section A, Subpart D or E as changes to the approved design.