AS9100 Clause 8.5.3 – Property Belonging to Customers or External Providers

The AS9100 is an international standard for quality management specifically designed for the aerospace industry. It is based on ISO 9001, but with additional requirements tailored to address regulatory, safety, and reliability concerns of the aerospace industry.

Here is a general overview of the section’s requirements:

1. Care of Property: The organization needs to exercise care with property belonging to customers or external providers while it’s under the organization’s control or being used by the organization. The intent here is to ensure that any customer-supplied product is identified, verified, protected, and safeguarded.
2. Identification, Verification, and Protection: The organization must identify, verify, protect, and safeguard the customers’ or external providers’ property provided for use or incorporation into the products and services. This may include materials, components, tools, and equipment.
3. Reporting and Documentation: If the property of the customer or the external provider is lost, damaged, or deemed unsuitable for use, the organization must report this to the customer or provider and maintain records. The organization is also expected to record any such instances, and may be responsible for reporting these circumstances to the customer and taking any necessary corrective actions.
4. Personal Property: Where applicable, the organization must also take responsibility for handling and protection of personal property (of employees or visitors, for instance) within the organization’s control or used by the organization.

Keep in mind, these requirements can be more specific or stringent depending on the exact nature of the aerospace work being done, regulatory factors, and the agreements made with the customer or external provider.