AS5553.info provides the aerospace community with information and resources on
the SAE Aerospace AS5553 Standard - Counterfeit Electronic Parts; Avoidance, Detection, Mitigation, and Disposition.
Electronic Supply Chain Solutions, Inc. is an Aerospace AS9120 certified independent distributor
recognized as a leading quality advocate in the industry.
|
|
|
What is AS5553?
|
The Aerospace AS5553 Standard - Counterfeit Electronic Parts; Avoidance, Detection, Mitigation, and Disposition
was developed by the G-19 committee of SAE International, and has just been issued in April, 2009.
The standard is designed for adoption by aerospace and military manufacturers and contractors, providing uniform requirements,
practices and methods to mitigate the risk of receiving and installing counterfeit electronic parts. The AS5553
standard documents requirements, practices and methods related to:
parts management
supplier management
procurement
inspection, test/evaluation, and
response strategies when suspect parts are discovered.
The AS5553 certified contractor or manufacturer must flow down the relevant requirements of the standard to all their sub-contractors
and parts suppliers.
|
|
Benefits of AS5553
|
There is no process or standard of operation that can absolutely prevent a company from receiving or
installing a counterfeit part. The AS5553 standard, however, provides a framework for risk assessment
that pinpoints potential problem areas and ensures management has an understanding of what specific risks
exist of receiving counterfeit components. This allows informed decisions to be made on the level of
risk for any given component procurement requirement, and to weigh that risk against other alternatives.
If the risk is deemed excessive, the project team may accept a longer lead-time delivery or seek a re-design
to utilize only franchise or original component manufacturer supplied parts.
In addition, the AS5553 standard provides clearly defined expectations that can be communicated to
suppliers for their performance.
AS5553 certified companies provide their customers with the objective assurance that a disciplined quality
management approach is being applied to all phases of their operation impacting the ability to mitigate
counterfeit parts risk.
|
|
|
Supplier Verification
|
The AS5553 standard imposes an obligation on manufacturers to verify that all
supplier operations are in conformance with the flow down requirements of the standard.
This burden is greatly reduced where suppliers are certified to the aerospace AS9120 standard.
An AS9120 quality certification provides objective evidence of a distributors conformance to
supplier management, split lot traceability and inventory control documentation.
Manufacturers can then focus their verification efforts on the additional requirements of the
AS5553 standard, such as ensuring appropriate
inspection and testing processes are being consistently applied.
Learn more about the AS9120 standard here.
|
|
|
NASA Mandates Compliance
|
NASA has already mandated compliance with the Aerospace AS5553 standard.
NASA Policy Directive NPD8730.2C - "NASA Parts Policy", was issued November 3rd, 2008, and applies for all NASA
operations.
View
the Policy Directive here.
|
|
|
NAVAIR Requires Contractor Compliance
|
The Naval Air Systems Command included compliance
with the AS5553 standard for all bidding contractors in the recently issued
Statement
of Objectives for the Small Tactical Unmanned Aircraft System.
Section 3.8 requires submission of
a plan for "component compliance certification" that must be in accordance with the AS5553 standard.
It's a reasoable bet that future government projects will also hold contractors to the
AS5553 standard as well.
|
|
