Participate
Participate
Driving Quality and Compliance Through Nadcap
The Nadcap® program is universally recognized as the place for aerospace critical process experts to work together, putting quality above competition. There are many ways to participate in the Nadcap program, and some of them are detailed below.
The program is managed by the subscribing OEM members; program requirements are created by those members. Audits are conducted on behalf of its subscribing OEM members using collaboratively created audit criteria. The accreditation is granted and accepted by the program’s subscribing OEM members. The audit criteria integrate industry standards and OEM requirements that meet the requirements of the regulator.
Process-focused Product Audits are conducted by industry approved and trained subject matter expert auditors, who have extensive experience and knowledge of their process.
Aviation, Defense, and Space industry suppliers which earn a Nadcap Accreditation are added to the Qualified Manufacturers List (QML) maintained by PRI. Access to the QML is open to the public and can search for Nadcap approved suppliers to include their own preferred suppliers.
Participation Benefits
Industry-wide
- Unified approach to identifying risk
- Reduction in non-conforming product
- Mitigate in-service risk of product failure
- Reduced scrap and rework
- Improved product quality
- Cost reductions
- On-time delivery
- Improved control of supply chain
Management
- Strategically redeploy personnel to critical areas
- Reduce expenditure
- Lead-time reduction
- Better products through deeper audits for assured compliance
- Reduced scrap
- Reduced rework
- Cost savings
Technical
- Work with peers to develop audit criteria and approve auditors used by the whole industry around the world
- Participate in global supply chain assessment activities
- Incorporation of your company’s specific requirements into the Nadcap audit criteria
- More robust, consistent approach to audits
Subscribers and Suppliers Definitons
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A Nadcap subscriber is an Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) in the Aviation, Defense and Space (ADS) industry, that participates in the Nadcap accreditation program to ensure compliance with rigorous industry standards for critical processes within the ADS sector.
Subscribers are typically Design Approval holders or Design Authorities for end-use products, significant systems, or subsystems in the ADS industry. Organizations supporting Commercial Aviation are expected to hold approvals such as Technical Standard Order (TSO), Type Certificate (TC), Supplemental Type Certificate (STC), or Design Organization Approval (DOA) from applicable regulatory agencies, or they must be delegated design authority for major aircraft sections, such as the fuselage, wing, or empennage. Those supporting Defense or Space must demonstrate recognized Design Authority for active end-use products or significant systems or subsystems, such as propulsion systems, brake systems, or aero structures.
Subscribers must have the design authority to develop their own critical process specifications and maintain internal engineering organizations to provide technical direction and support. Additionally, Subscriber organizations structured to provide networked resources for design and critical process expertise may identify subsidiary organizations or joint ventures—owned exclusively by Subscribers—as part of their Subscriber Agreement, provided these organizations either meet the Subscriber criteria or provide critical process services exclusively within their corporate structure.
Government agencies that regulate or acquire aerospace-related products and services may also qualify as Nadcap subscribers.
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Suppliers are companies which perform a process on their internally manufactured products (captive) or which perform a process as a service to others (noncaptive); they are companies that are or would be accredited by Nadcap.
Suppliers are encouraged to participate by furnishing technical information and expertise, attending meetings, answering questionnaires, and assisting in the development of audit criteria.
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Opportunities to Participate for Subscribers and Suppliers
Get Nadcap Accredited
Only the best companies in the supply chain achieve Nadcap accreditation. To attain accredited status, companies successfully undergo a rigorous audit to validate their compliance to industry standards and customer specifications. Accreditation is a significant achievement available to both Nadcap Subscribers and suppliers in the aviation, defense and space industries.
Open to subscribers and suppliers.
Learn moreVote on audit results
As an industry-managed program, the final decision on whether a company is awarded accreditation is made by the industry representatives who subscribe to the Nadcap program. Non-subscribers are not eligible to vote on audit results, because it would be anti-competitive.
Open to subscribers.
Monitor supply chain
The listing of Nadcap accredited companies is available online in real time and can be used by Procurement to source suppliers that have demonstrated compliance. Nadcap Subscribers additionally receive alerts to help them quickly address concerns raised during a Nadcap audit, such as number of non-conformances or product impact issues identified.
Open to subscribers and non-subscribers.
Approve Auditors
We source highly qualified, experienced individuals with relevant industry and critical process experience to conduct Nadcap audits on behalf of the aviation, defense and space industries. Before they can conduct Nadcap audits, they are interviewed by the technical experts from Nadcap Subscribers.
Learn moreOpen to subscribers.
Join Nadcap Management Council
The Nadcap Management Council (NMC) is structured to enable Senior Quality Leaders and Managers from the aviation, defense and space industries to manage the program.
Learn moreOpen to subscribers and suppliers.
Participate in audit criteria development
When you subscribe to the Nadcap program, your applicable company specifications may be incorporated into the Nadcap audit criteria. Members of the Task Group, from Subscribers and Suppliers, have input into the content of the Nadcap audit criteria.
Open to subscribers and suppliers.
Join the Supplier Support Committee
To help companies to navigate the Nadcap audit and accreditation process successfully, volunteers from companies who have already gained accreditation offer support through a variety of means, from mentoring to guidance documents including a guide.
Learn MoreOpen to subscribers and suppliers.
Become a Supplier Mentor
Do you have experience of working towards Nadcap accreditation? Do you think others could benefit from your lessons learned? We want to hear from you!
Learn MoreAttend Nadcap meetings
Nadcap meetings take place three times per year in locations around the world. Attendees benefit from participating in and influencing technical discussions, networking opportunities and being among the first to know about Nadcap program developments. View the upcoming schedule and learn more.
Benefit from discounted training
At every Nadcap meeting, we offer discounted training on topics from Root Cause Corrective Action – Nadcap Style to Internal Auditing and much more.
Learn More
