What is the cost of transitioning to AS9100 Rev C?

The IAQG, known as the International Aerospace Quality Group, announced its required AS9100 standard training on May 1st. The training is mandatory for any professional auditor to upgrade from Rev B to Rev C. Before any AS9100 lead auditor can conduct registrar audits they must take and pass this newly required training. After which they must reapply to the RABQSA to upgrade their registration status so they can be formally recognized as Rev C auditors. For new auditors, the content of this training will have to be integrated into the “normal” lead auditor training.

This training is also important for organizations upgrading to Rev C. Not that they should attend the training but they should be aware of how auditors are being instructed. This new training will explain where the auditor should focus and how aggressive to be. It is essential that you don’t upgrade your system to Rev C without knowing how and what will be audited.Training content was just made available through various consulting groups listed to the left of this article. Some training courses have been presented, as well as public information on content and auditor expectations.

The training is substantial. There is an 8 our on-line module (which can be avoided if you pass the exam at the beginning) and then 4 days in class training. Also the training is very expensive – about $4000 for the training itself, then add travel and accommodation, loss of work revenue and re-registration fees. For most auditors these expenses translate to roughly $10,000. Without government or business offsets, it’s very likely that some auditors will not bother to upgrade to Rev C. As a result, availability of Rev C auditors will become even more problematic.

Many firms have been analyzing the changes from Rev B to Rev C. While these changes are simple in some areas, it is likely to be the most rigorously audited, and if you have not fully addressed everything there is a significant chance of you losing your registration for a year. You must analyze the changes in-depth and keep yourself well-informed about the current state of compliance requirements in order to prevent this from happening.