International Aerospace Quality Group -IAQG- Selects SAE Aerospace to Maintain OASIS Supplier Information Database.

Business Editors/Aerospace Writers

WARRENDALE, Pa.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 5, 2003

The Society of Automotive Engineers Aerospace division (SAE Aerospace) has been selected by the International Aerospace Quality Group (IAQG) to house and maintain an important informational database called OASIS (Online Aerospace Supplier Information System). The OASIS database will allow the many worldwide suppliers to the aerospace industry to verify their audited compliance to AS9100, EN9100, JISQ9100 and other international quality specifications.

The long-term benefit of OASIS is expected to be a reduction in the number of different audits required of suppliers to the global aerospace industry, resulting in time and cost efficiencies. Population of the OASIS database with participating supplier companies is scheduled to begin July 1, 2003.

The Aerospace Industry established the International Aerospace Quality Group with the purpose of achieving significant improvements in quality and reductions in cost throughout the value stream. The IAQG has developed specific requirements for quality systems that are implemented and maintained throughout the supply chain in the manufacture of products used in aviation and aerospace applications worldwide. These requirements are published simultaneously as 9100-series standards by SAE Aerospace in the USA, AECMA in Europe and JISQ in Japan. Other countries are likely to follow with technically identical national standards.

The IAQG has also developed a truly global scheme for the use of assessment results performed by quality certification bodies, based on the 9100-series standards. This system takes into account the schemes already in use or under development in the various IAQG sectors. This is the core of the OASIS system, and it will be available to IAQG members. Additionally, data on involved national accreditation bodies, approved certification/registration bodies and certified/registered suppliers is available to all stakeholders in the international aerospace community, such as suppliers and regulatory authorities.

Gary Baker, IAQG President said, "This demonstrates the international aerospace community's ongoing control of quality systems and its accountability for product conformance, airworthiness, and safety."

SAE Aerospace is committed to the success of the IAQG and its sector groups in Europe, Asia, and the Americas. SAE support has taken many forms, and is driven by a mutual commitment to the aerospace industry as well as the quality and safety issues that both organizations seek to improve. Because of its reputation in the global aerospace marketplace and its technical expertise, SAE is uniquely positioned to develop and provide the database management system that has become OASIS.

Steve Shepherd, the European Sector Leader for the IAQG said, "OASIS builds heavily on the good experiences we have had in Europe over the last few years but puts us now where we really need to be, on a truly global footing. The combination of this database and its supporting scheme when combined with the strong Quality System requirements in 9100 give us a strong platform to drive up quality and drive down waste and cost for everyone involved."

For more information about the OASIS database, or to subscribe to OASIS, visit the IAQG website at www.iaqg.org, or contact Jay Myers at SAE, [phone] [e-mail]

SAE is a non-profit engineering and scientific organization dedicated to the advancement of mobility technology to better serve humanity. Nearly 84,000 engineers and scientists who are SAE members develop technical information on all forms of self-propelled vehicles, including automobiles, aircraft, aerospace craft, trucks, buses, marine, rail and transit machinery. This information is disseminated through SAE meetings, books, electronic products and databases, technical papers, standards, reports, and professional development programs.