First Article Inspection (FAI) Checklist — AS9102 Compliant

A First Article Inspection is a documented verification process confirming that a production process is capable of producing a part that meets all engineering drawing and specification requirements. It is performed before committing to full-volume production runs. The inspection results are compiled into a First Article Inspection Report (FAIR), which serves as the formal evidence of conformance.

AS9102 Revision B requires a FAIR to address three forms: Form 1 (Design Documentation — confirming the authorized design record), Form 2 (Product Accountability — documenting materials, parts, and sub-assemblies with traceability), and Form 3 (Characteristic Accountability — recording actual measured values for every drawing characteristic). All three must be signed by an authorized Quality representative before submission.

Yes. While AS9102 is the aerospace standard, the structure of this checklist — design documentation, material traceability, dimensional verification, special process certification, and submission completeness — applies directly to automotive FAI processes. Automotive customers may reference PPAP under AIAG requirements, which shares significant overlap with AS9102. This checklist covers the shared core. Customer-specific PPAP elements such as control plans and process capability studies require supplemental documentation.

A full FAI is required for new part numbers, after any design change affecting fit, form, or function, after a production lapse exceeding two years, after a change in manufacturing location or process, and when specifically required by the customer following a corrective action. A partial FAI covers only the forms and characteristics directly affected by a specific change. The scope decision must be documented and confirmed with the customer quality team before proceeding.

Yes. iFactory's digital FAI module captures all Form 1, 2, and 3 data during the inspection process and compiles the complete FAIR package — including dimensional data, calibration records, material certifications, and photographic evidence — into a formatted report ready for customer submission. Teams can initiate, assign, execute, and close a FAI entirely within the platform without any paper-based forms or manual document assembly.

The most common rejection reasons are: missing or unsigned forms, out-of-date material certifications or expired special process approvals, actual measurement values recorded as pass/fail rather than numeric values, missing or incorrectly ballooned drawing, characteristic count mismatch between the drawing and Form 3, and special processes performed by suppliers not on the customer-approved source list. This checklist is structured to address each of these failure modes before submission.

AS9102 does not specify a retention period — that is established by the customer contract or applicable regulatory requirement. Aerospace programs commonly require retention for the life of the program plus a defined period after last delivery, which can extend 10 to 25 years or more for defense and commercial aviation programs. All FAIR documentation should be stored in a controlled, retrievable format with audit-trail logging.

Each measurement instrument used during a FAI must be identified in Form 3 by its unique equipment ID, with the current calibration certificate number and expiration date on record. Measurements taken with out-of-calibration instruments are invalid and require re-measurement with certified equipment. iFactory links directly to calibration records so inspectors are notified if a selected instrument is expired before recording any measurements.