AS9120B Awareness Training – For Aviation, Space and Defence Distributors

Course Objectives:

This online awareness training provides participants with a practical understanding of AS9120B and the operation of an aerospace Quality Management System.

The course connects the requirements of the standard to the activities performed by sales, purchasing, receiving, warehousing, quality and shipping personnel.

Participants will learn how effective controls help prevent incorrect, damaged, counterfeit, unapproved or otherwise nonconforming products from entering the aviation, space and defence supply chain.

The course is intended to support employee awareness and competence within an AS9120B-based Quality Management System. It is not an internal auditor or lead auditor qualification course.

Who Should Attend?

This course is intended for personnel working in aviation, space and defence distribution organisations, including:

• Management and supervisory personnel
• Quality Managers and Quality Assurance personnel
• Sales and Customer Service personnel
• Contract and Order Review personnel
• Purchasing and Procurement personnel
• Supplier Quality personnel
• Receiving and Inspection personnel
• Warehouse and Stores personnel
• Packaging and Shipping personnel
• Logistics and Supply Chain personnel
• Personnel responsible for product documentation and traceability
• Internal auditors requiring general AS9120 awareness
• New employees joining an AS9120-certified organisation
• Organisations preparing to implement or obtain AS9120 certification

The course may also benefit aviation suppliers, maintenance organisations and other aerospace businesses that purchase products from, or work closely with, AS9120-certified distributors.

Learning objectives:

After successfully completing this course, you will be able to:

• Explain the purpose of AS9120B and its relationship with ISO 9001.
• Describe the role of the International Aerospace Quality Group.
• Recognize the differences between AS9100, AS9110 and AS9120.
• Explain the purpose and basic operation of a Quality Management System.
• Understand the process approach and the Plan-Do-Check-Act cycle.
• Apply risk-based thinking to everyday distributor activities.
• Recognize your personal contribution to product and service conformity.
• Explain your contribution to product safety and ethical behaviour.
• Understand the importance of customer, statutory and regulatory requirements.
• Recognize the importance of approved sources and controlled external providers.
• Protect product identification, configuration and traceability.
• Understand the controls associated with certificates and product documentation.
• Recognize the risks associated with storage, handling, preservation and shelf life.
• Understand how product or batch splitting must be controlled.
• Recognize counterfeit, suspect counterfeit and suspected unapproved-part risks.
• Respond correctly when product identity, conformity or traceability is uncertain.
• Understand the control of nonconforming products.
• Explain the purpose of audits, corrective action and continual improvement.
• Participate effectively in your organisation’s AS9120 Quality Management System.

Standards and Compliance Basis:

This course is principally based on:

• SAE AS9120B / EN 9120:2018 – Quality Management Systems: Requirements for Aviation, Space and Defence Distributors
• ISO 9001:2015 – Quality Management Systems: Requirements
• Applicable guidance and publicly available information issued by the International Aerospace Quality Group
• Common aviation-industry practices for traceability, product integrity, counterfeit-part prevention and suspected unapproved-part prevention

AS9120 incorporates the requirements of ISO 9001 and adds requirements relevant to aviation, space and defence distribution activities.

The course provides awareness of the standard but does not replace the organisation’s own Quality Management System procedures, customer requirements, applicable legislation or an authorised copy of the standard.

Prerequisites:

No previous knowledge of AS9120 or ISO 9001 is required.

To gain maximum benefit from the course, participants should:

• Work for, or be associated with, an aviation, space or defence supplier or distributor.
• Have a general understanding of their own role and responsibilities.
• Have access, where possible, to their organisation’s quality policy and relevant procedures.
• Be proficient in English, as the course materials and assessment are provided in English.

Participants do not need to be quality specialists or auditors.

Course Topics:

PART 1 – WELCOME ABOARD: WHY AEROSPACE DISTRIBUTION QUALITY MATTERS

• The role of distributors in the aerospace supply chain
• Why distributor activities can affect airworthiness and safety
• Product quality, reliability and customer confidence
• Consequences of incorrect or uncontrolled product
• The journey of an aerospace part
• Individual responsibility within the supply chain

PART 2 – AS9120 AND THE AEROSPACE QUALITY SYSTEM

• What is the International Organization for Standardization?
• What is the International Aerospace Quality Group?
• What is ISO 9001?
• What is AS9120B?
• AS9100, AS9110 and AS9120
• Intended application of AS9120
• Interested parties
• Purpose and benefits of certification
• The IAQG OASIS database

PART 3 – HOW A QUALITY MANAGEMENT SYSTEM WORKS

• What is a management system?
• What is a Quality Management System?
• Interacting business processes
• Process inputs, activities, controls and outputs
• The process approach
• Plan-Do-Check-Act
• Risk-based thinking
• Quality policy and quality objectives
• Documented information and records
• Continual improvement

PART 4 – YOUR ROLE IN THE QUALITY MANAGEMENT SYSTEM

• Awareness of the quality policy
• Relevant quality objectives
• Contribution to QMS effectiveness
• Contribution to product and service conformity
• Contribution to product safety
• Consequences of failing to follow QMS requirements
• Ethical behaviour
• Reporting concerns
• Human factors in distributor operations
• Fatigue, distraction, assumptions and time pressure
• Knowing when to stop and escalate

PART 5 – FROM CUSTORMER ENQUIRY TO ACCEPTED ORDER

• Customer communication
• Determining product and service requirements
• Contract and order review
• Technical and quality requirements
• Delivery and documentation requirements
• Statutory and regulatory requirements
• Resolving incomplete or conflicting requirements
• Changes to customer orders
• Communication between departments
• Risk associated with urgent orders

PART 6 – PURCHASING AND EXTERNAL PROVIDER CONTROL

• Supplier selection and approval
• Authorized and independent sources
• Risk-based supplier controls
• Purchase-order information
• Flow-down of customer requirements
• Verification of externally provided products
• Supplier performance monitoring
• Customer-directed suppliers
• Outsourced processes
• Work-transfer risks
• Purchasing from an alternative source

PART 7 – PRODUCT IDENTITY, DOCUMENTATION AND TRACEABILITY

• Product identification
• Part numbers and revisions
• Configuration management
• Manufacturer and source identity
• Batch and lot traceability
• Certificates of Conformity
• Authorized release documentation
• Chain of custody
• Record legibility and integrity
• Record retention and retrieval
• Electronic records and data protection
• Prevention of product commingling
• Maintaining traceability during lot or batch splitting

PART 8 – RECEIVING, STORAGE, PRESERVATION AND DELIVERY

• Receiving verification and inspection
• Product condition and packaging
• Handling and contamination prevention
• Foreign-object prevention
• Environmental storage conditions
• Temperature- and humidity-controlled products
• Electrostatic-sensitive devices
• Shelf-life-controlled products
• Stock rotation
• Product preservation
• Quantity and batch splitting
• Repackaging and relabelling
• Final verification
• Product release and shipment

PART 9 – COUNTERFEIT, UNAPPROVED AND NONCONFORMING PRODUCT

• What is a counterfeit part?
• What is a suspect counterfeit part?
• What is a suspected unapproved part?
• Differences between counterfeit and unapproved product
• Common warning signs
• Documentation anomalies
• Unusual pricing or availability
• Traceability gaps
• Inspection and verification
• Segregation and quarantine
• Prevention of unintended use
• Internal and external reporting
• Customer and authority requirements
• Control of nonconforming outputs
• Correction and corrective action
• Product discovered after delivery

PART 10 – MEASURING, AUDITING AND IMPROVEMING THE QMS

• Monitoring process performance
• Quality and delivery performance
• Customer satisfaction and complaints
• Internal audits
• External and certification audits
• Employee participation during an audit
• Management review
• Nonconformity and corrective action
• Root-cause thinking
• Lessons learned
• Organisational knowledge
• Continual improvement

PART 11 – AEROSPACE DISTRIBUTION MISSION CHALLANGE

Participants apply their knowledge to a realistic customer order moving through the distributor’s processes.

The scenario includes decisions relating to:

• Customer requirements
• Supplier approval
• Purchase-order information
• Documentation
• Product identification
• Batch traceability
• Storage and preservation
• Suspected counterfeit indicators
• Nonconforming product
• Ethical pressure
• Final product release

The mission challenge is followed by the final course assessment.

Course Duration:

This Advanced E-Training course takes approximately 7 to 8 hours to complete.

The actual completion time may vary depending on the participant’s experience, reading speed and time spent completing the knowledge checks and final assessment.

The course is self-paced and can be completed in multiple sessions.

Materials Used

Required Materials:

Participants should have access to:

• Their organisation’s quality policy, where available
• Relevant internal procedures and work instructions, where available
• An authorised copy of AS9120B or the equivalent regional publication, where required for their role. You can buy the AS9120B here.

The complete text of the AS9120B and ISO 9001 standards is not reproduced within the course.

Supplemental Materials:

A notebook and pen if you require to make notes.

Hardware and Software Requirements

Hardware requirements:

A reliable computer with a stable internet connection is necessary to complete the course and/or online examination.

Software requirements:

There is no software deemed necessary for this training.

Browser information:

We recommend that you use Google Chrome during the course and online examination.

Instructor & Training Material Author Information

Instructor & Training Material Author credentials:

Mr. Danny Goergen is a highly experienced aviation professional with over two decades of expertise spanning aircraft maintenance, regulatory compliance, quality assurance, training, and consultancy. His career has been defined by a commitment to excellence in safety, operational efficiency, and industry best practices.

Starting as an aircraft mechanic, Danny honed his technical skills before earning a Bachelor of Science in Aviation Engineering. He then transitioned into process engineering at an EASA Part 145 approved component repair shop, where he played a pivotal role in optimizing maintenance operations. Over the years, he has held multiple EASA Form 4 positions, including Technical Manager and Quality Assurance Manager, demonstrating his ability to lead and uphold rigorous industry standards.

In 2009, Danny founded Holland Aviation Consultancy & Engineering (HACE), a firm dedicated to providing expert consultancy, audit support, and training services to the aviation maintenance sector. Through HACE, he has developed an online training platform offering courses in Human Factors, EWIS, Fuel Tank Safety, and aviation regulations, ensuring that professionals worldwide have access to high-quality, industry-relevant education.

Mr. Danny Goergen is an experienced aviation professional with more than two decades of experience in aircraft maintenance, regulatory compliance, quality assurance, auditing, training and consultancy.

After beginning his career as an aircraft mechanic, Danny obtained a Bachelor of Science in Aviation Engineering and progressed into process engineering and aviation quality-management roles. He has held several management and EASA Form 4 positions, including Technical Manager and Quality Assurance Manager.

In 2009, Danny founded Holland Aviation Consultancy & Engineering. Through HACE, he supports aviation maintenance, training, part-out and supplier organisations with regulatory compliance, internal audits, Quality Management Systems and professional training.

His experience includes work with EASA, FAA and CAAC requirements and with ISO 9001, EN/AS9120, ASA-100 and AFRA Best Management Practice standards. This combination of operational, auditing and training experience enables him to translate complex requirements into clear, practical guidance for aviation professionals.

With a passion for aviation safety and continuous improvement, Danny Goergen remains dedicated to supporting the industry’s evolving needs through expert consultancy, quality management, and training solutions.

Contact information:

Mr. Danny Goergen can be contacted via e-mail (danny.goergen@hace.aero) or tefephone +31(0)28183203

Linked-in: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dannygoergen/

Assessment and Grading

Knowledge Checks

Short knowledge checks are included throughout the course. These questions reinforce the most important learning points and help participants prepare for the final assessment.

Testing Procedure:

Participants complete an online examination consisting of multiple-choice and scenario-based questions.

A computer, laptop or tablet with a stable internet connection is required to complete the examination.

Grading procedure:

All required lessons and activities must be completed.

The final online examination must be passed with a minimum score of 75% to receive a Certificate of Course Completion.

Participants who do not achieve the required score may repeat the final examination in accordance with the applicable course conditions.

Assignments and Participation

Assignments and Projects:

There are no separate written assignments or projects for this awareness course.

Participants are required to complete the scenario activities, knowledge checks and final online assessment.

Course Ground Rules

Course Participation & Expectations

To achieve the intended learning outcomes, participants are expected to:

• Work through every required lesson.
• Listen to or read the complete course content.
• Participate actively in the scenario exercises.
• Complete all required knowledge checks.
• Apply the course information together with their organisation’s procedures.
• Use the designated student email address for course communication.
• Report technical problems promptly.
• Follow appropriate online etiquette when communicating through the learning platform.
• Complete the course and examination independently.

Successful completion confirms that the participant has completed the AS9120B awareness training and passed the associated assessment. It does not constitute qualification as an AS9120 auditor, consultant or certification-body representative.

By following these guidelines, students can maximize their learning experience and successfully complete the course.