AS9100 Clause 5.1.2 – Customer Focus

Clause 5.1.2 of AS9100D, Customer Focus, emphasizes the importance of top management in ensuring an organization’s strong focus on customer needs and requirements. This clause highlights the need for top management to prioritize customer satisfaction and establish a customer-centric approach throughout the organization.

To demonstrate a customer focus, top management should:

1. Understand customer requirements: Top management must have a clear understanding of the current and future needs and expectations of their customers. This involves gathering customer feedback, monitoring market trends, and staying informed of any changes in customer preferences or regulatory requirements.
2. Meet customer requirements: Top management must ensure that the organization’s processes, products, and services are designed and managed to meet or exceed customer requirements consistently. This includes adhering to customer specifications, industry standards, and any applicable legal and regulatory requirements.
3. Monitor and measure customer satisfaction: Establish methods to track and measure customer satisfaction regularly. This may involve conducting customer surveys, monitoring customer feedback, analyzing customer complaints, and tracking key performance indicators related to customer satisfaction.
4. Address customer complaints and feedback: Implement an effective system to address customer complaints and feedback, ensuring timely and appropriate responses. Analyze customer feedback to identify areas for improvement and implement corrective actions when necessary.
5. Manage risks and opportunities: Proactively identify, assess, and address risks and opportunities related to customer satisfaction. This may include evaluating potential risks associated with new products or services, changes in customer requirements, or shifts in market conditions.
6. Ensure product and service conformity: Implement and maintain processes to ensure that products and services consistently meet customer requirements, industry standards, and applicable legal and regulatory requirements. This includes rigorous quality control and assurance processes, as well as robust management of the supply chain.
7. Continual improvement: Foster a culture of continuous improvement within the organization, focusing on enhancing customer satisfaction, product quality, and service performance. Encourage all employees to actively participate in improvement initiatives and share their ideas for enhancing customer satisfaction.

By implementing a strong customer focus in accordance with Clause 5.1.2 of AS9100D, top management can ensure that the organization consistently meets customer requirements, maintains high levels of customer satisfaction, and remains competitive within the aerospace industry.