RESCOLL, boosted by Aquitaine’s UIMM*, successfully achieved the highly coveted NADCAP (National Aerospace and Defense Contractors Accreditation Program) accreditation for the “Non Metallic Materials Testing” program, making RESCOLL the only French laboratory with the accreditation.
Until now, the aeronautical industry’s prime contractors had accredited only one British, two Swedish and six American laboratories to conduct tests on composites.
NADCAP is a worldwide cooperative program of major companies in the aerospace and defense industry designed to manage a cost-effective consensus approach to special processes and provide continual improvement. The NADCAP vision is “to develop a world-class special processor supply-base for the global aerospace industry using a cost-effective industry managed accreditation process”. Compared to other quality systems, NADCAP adds the concept of competency through technical examinations / performance tests. The technical requirements concern the company’s personnel and methodology as well as its calibration and test equipment.
Laboratories use NADCAP to set up a quality system devoted to the improvement of their skills to constantly provide valid results. Since the standard is based on competency, the accreditation is a formal acknowledgement that the company has demonstrated that competency for the Aerospace and Defense Industry.
More about the NADCAP certification
To meet the need for aeronautical references regarding special processes, to standardize their requirements and to support the progress of their suppliers, the major prime contractors and aeronautics manufacturers have broadened their use of NADCAP (National Aerospace and Defense Contractors Accreditation Program).
NADCAP is a worldwide cooperative program designed to manage a cost-effective consensus approach to special processes and products, through an unbiased, independent system for control and certification. The NADCAP certification replaces the multiple approvals and audits by prime contractors currently in effect, by an audit conducted according to a joint standard acknowledged by all the primes and manufacturers. For each product, each manufacturing process and each service, a certification program defines the standard criteria of quality.
In line with the quality management standard EN 9100, the NADCAP certification is a selection criterion for entry in future aeronautical programs and a prerequisite for initiating trade relations. As such, this certification is already required by manufacturers, in particular BOEING and AIRBUS.
For subcontractors in the aeronautics industry that implement special processes, the move towards the NADCAP certification is unavoidable if they intend to continue their activity.
In the short term, companies are challenged with holding on to business in a sector where proximity is no longer enough for ensuring a subcontractor’
NADCAP audits are conducted with high-level requirements and according to a very strict process approach. In addition, a company incurs substantial expense (American auditors, quality system in English, etc.) when seeking individual accreditation for each process.
*UIMM Aquitaine: Union of Metallurgy Industry and Trade (http://www.aquitaine-
NADCAP: http://www.pri-
RESCOLL: http://www.rescoll.com
