On 15 July 2010, PRI/Nadcap celebrates its 20th anniversary. The focus of the last two decades has been on continual improvement of aerospace special process and product quality control.

Mark Rechtsteiner of GE Aviation is the current Nadcap Management Council Chairperson. He explains: “The Nadcap Management Council has maintained operational metrics since 2003 to drive improvements to the Nadcap audit process. An analysis of these metrics highlights the accomplishments that have been achieved which have resulted in time and resource savings for all stakeholders. Through Nadcap, the industry is able to continually improve quality while reducing cost.”

Examples of these achievements include:

81% of Nadcap accredited suppliers are on merit status (enhanced status that allows for extended audit frequency in response to superior audit performance) – the highest percentage ever – despite the number of annual audits quadrupling since 2003;
Audit review cycle time (the period between the end of the audit and accreditation) lower than the goal of 50 days (41 days for initial audits and 43 days for reaccreditation audits);
On-time accreditations (where the certificate is issued prior to the expiry of the existing accreditation) at 96%, up from 49% in 2004.

Other stakeholders also expressed their support for the program:

“The growing integration of Nadcap into the aerospace industry and its role in quality assurance is indicative of the commitment to excellence that is represented throughout the global aerospace community.”
Chet Date, Director of Quality Systems & Regulatory Compliance, Honeywell Aerospace

“Participating in Nadcap has improved the discipline and stability of our special process execution and the capability of our people and, ultimately, the quality of the product that is released from our plants.”
Lloyd Barker, Director of Corporate Quality, Alcoa

The industry recognizes that there is still progress to be made however, as Arshad Hafeez, Executive Director, Global Business Operations & Corporate Strategies at PRI explains: “As PRI enters its third decade, the focus will continue to be on providing quality-oriented, cost-effective Customer Solutions & Support (CS&S) to the aerospace industry to promote the safety of the flying public.”

PRI / Nadcap milestones
1990: PRI incorporated as a not-for-profit trade association. Nadcap launched. NDT and Sealants were the first Task Groups established by Nadcap stakeholders.
1993: The number of Nadcap audits per year grows from 2 in 1990 to 423 in 1993 as more Task Groups are formed.
2000: Nadcap launched in Europe. For the first time, over 1,000 Nadcap audits were conducted in one year.
2002: eAuditNet launched, facilitating electronic audit reports and reviews. Ed Engelhard, Plant Metallurgist at Owego Heat Treat Inc. States: “The improvements brought about by eAuditNet mean that we are saving 20% on time and resources, enabling us to focus our efforts on maintaining and improving our product quality for our customers.”
2004: Nadcap launched in Asia.
2009: 83% of suppliers report quality improvements due to Nadcap.