# First Article Inspection (AS9102) Checklist > Source: https://netray.co/tools/first-article-inspection-checklist > Publisher: Netray (netray.co), AI and integration engineering for ERP and manufacturing systems. > Section: Free Tools ## Short answer A 30-point checklist for complete, first-pass-acceptable AS9102 FAIs - planning, Form 1/2/3 completeness, characteristic accountability, and the delta FAI triggers teams miss. ## Category aerospace-defense ## Tool **Kind:** checklist **Groups:** #### FAI Planning and Triggers **Items:** **Text:** FAI requirement is identified at contract review and flowed into the production plan for every new part number **Critical:** true **Text:** Delta/partial FAI triggers are defined and monitored: design change, process or source change, tooling change or refurbishment, process lapse of 2+ years, or plant relocation **Critical:** true **Text:** The FAI part is produced using the full production process - production tooling, routing, operators, and rates, not a prototype process **Critical:** true Customer-specific FAI requirements (beyond baseline AS9102) are identified and incorporated Sub-tier supplier FAIs are required, received, and reviewed for purchased details and processes FAI planning assigns responsibility and target dates so the report is ready with the first shipment, not after it #### Form 1 - Part Number Accountability **Items:** **Text:** Part number, revision, and drawing number on Form 1 match the contract/PO configuration exactly **Critical:** true All detail parts and sub-assemblies in the assembly are accounted for with their own FAI reference Serial or lot number of the actual FAI article is recorded and the physical part is identifiable Full or partial FAI status is declared, and for partial FAIs the affected characteristics and reason are documented Baseline FAI reference is cited on delta FAIs so the configuration chain is traceable #### Form 2 - Materials, Processes, and Inspections **Items:** **Text:** Every raw material is listed with specification, and material certs are on file and traceable to the FAI article **Critical:** true All special processes (heat treat, plating, NDT, welding) are listed with specification and the processor identified **Text:** Special process sources are customer-approved or Nadcap-accredited where required **Critical:** true Certificates of conformance for processes and materials match revision and specification callouts on the drawing Functional test procedures referenced on the drawing are listed with acceptance results #### Form 3 - Characteristic Accountability **Items:** **Text:** Every drawing characteristic - dimensions, notes, GD&T callouts, surface finishes - is uniquely numbered and accounted for (100% ballooning) **Critical:** true **Text:** Actual measured results are recorded for each characteristic, not just pass/fail or 'conforms' **Critical:** true Designed tooling or gauges used for verification are identified with calibration status **Text:** Nonconforming characteristics are documented with an approved disposition (MRB, customer approval) - an FAI with an open nonconformance is not complete **Critical:** true GD&T is measured per the drawing's datum structure, with datums referenced on measurement reports Characteristics verified by test or process capability rather than direct measurement are justified and documented #### Documentation, Review, and Approval **Items:** The FAI package is internally reviewed by someone other than the preparer before submission Forms are complete - no blank fields; non-applicable fields marked N/A per AS9102 instructions Signatures, dates, and approvals are present, including customer approval where contractually required The complete FAI package (forms, cert copies, measurement reports, ballooned drawing) is retained and retrievable for the contractual retention period **Text:** FAI status is recorded in the ERP/quality system so shipping cannot release parts on an incomplete FAI **Critical:** true #### Ongoing FAI Program Health **Items:** FAI first-pass acceptance rate is tracked as a KPI with corrective action on repeat rejection causes A watch process detects lapses in production (2-year rule) before the next order ships without a required delta FAI Engineering change control automatically evaluates whether each change triggers a delta FAI Personnel preparing FAIs are trained on AS9102 (current revision) and customer supplements Lessons from customer FAI rejections are fed back into templates and planning **Scoring Note:** Customer source inspectors and CB auditors reject FAIs most often for incomplete characteristic accountability, missing actuals, unapproved special process sources, and undetected delta FAI triggers - the critical-flagged items. Every unchecked critical item is a likely FAI rejection or audit finding; an unchecked item in the triggers group means you may be shipping today on an invalid FAI without knowing it. ## Content **Intro:** This free AS9102 first article inspection checklist helps aerospace manufacturers and their suppliers produce complete, first-pass-acceptable FAI packages. Thirty checkpoints cover the full FAI lifecycle: planning and trigger management, Form 1 part accountability, Form 2 materials and special processes, Form 3 characteristic accountability with 100% ballooning, documentation and approval, and ongoing program health including the delta FAI triggers that teams most often miss. Use it before submitting any FAI to a customer, when onboarding suppliers who submit FAIs to you, or as an internal audit aid - FAI rejections delay first shipments by weeks and are among the most preventable causes of late program starts. **Sections:** #### Why FAIs fail and how this checklist prevents it **Body:** Most rejected FAIs fail on completeness, not on part quality: a drawing note that was never ballooned, 'conforms' written where an actual measurement belongs, a plating cert from a non-approved processor, or a blank field on Form 2. AS9102 is explicit that every design characteristic must be uniquely accounted for with recorded results, and customer source inspectors check exactly that before they check anything else. The checklist front-loads the failure modes with critical flags: 100% characteristic accountability, actuals not attestations, approved special process sources, closed dispositions on any nonconformance, and production-representative build. Passing those five conditions eliminates the large majority of first-pass rejections. #### The delta FAI triggers most teams miss **Body:** Full FAIs on new parts are rarely forgotten; the compliance gap is almost always the delta (partial) FAI on parts already in production. AS9102 requires a new or partial FAI when any of these occur: **Bullets:** - An engineering or design change affecting form, fit, or function - evaluated per change, not per drawing revision roll - A change in manufacturing source, process, inspection method, tooling, or materials - including moving an operation between machines or suppliers - A lapse in production of two years or more since the last completed run - A change in manufacturing location, even within the same company #### Interpreting your results and fixing the system **Body:** Gaps in the forms groups are documentation discipline problems - fixable with templates, ballooning software, and a second-person review before anything leaves the building. Gaps in the planning and program health groups are system problems and are more dangerous, because they mean invalid FAIs can ship without anyone deciding to cut a corner: a routing change nobody flagged, a two-year lapse nobody watched, a sub-tier source swap nobody caught. Fix the system gaps first by wiring triggers into the tools that already see the events - engineering change control should ask the delta-FAI question on every change, and the ERP should track last-production dates and block shipment against incomplete FAI status. Then measure first-pass acceptance rate; below roughly 85%, your FAI process is costing you shipment dates every month. #### How Netray automates FAI management in your ERP **Body:** The delta FAI triggers that burn manufacturers - source changes, routing changes, production lapses - are all events your ERP already records. Netray configures Infor SyteLine, LN, and Baan to turn those records into controls: automatic flags when an item has not been produced in two years, FAI-required status on new and changed items that blocks shipment until cleared, engineering change workflows that force a delta-FAI evaluation, and sub-tier FAI tracking on purchase orders. Our on-prem AI goes further - extracting characteristics from drawings to accelerate ballooning, pre-filling Form 3 from CMM results, and checking packages for blank fields and cert mismatches before a human reviewer sees them. **Cta:** Run your next FAI package against this checklist before your customer's source inspector does. **Faq:** #### What is the difference between a full FAI and a partial (delta) FAI? **Answer:** A full FAI accounts for every design characteristic of the part and is required for the first production run of a new part number. A partial or delta FAI is performed after a qualifying change - design revision, process or source change, tooling change, production lapse of two years, or relocation - and covers only the characteristics affected by that change, while referencing the baseline FAI for everything else. The judgment call is scoping 'affected characteristics' honestly; customers reject delta FAIs scoped too narrowly. #### Does the FAI part have to come from a real production run? **Answer:** Yes. AS9102 requires the first article to be produced using the processes, tooling, equipment, and conditions intended for ongoing production, because the FAI validates the production process, not just one part. A part machined by your best programmer on a prototype setup proves nothing about run-rate production and is a common source of later escapes - the FAI passed but production never matched it. If the process changes after FAI, that change itself triggers a delta FAI. #### Who is responsible for FAIs on parts we buy from sub-tier suppliers? **Answer:** You are, from your customer's perspective. AS9102 and standard purchasing flowdowns make the higher-tier supplier responsible for ensuring sub-tier FAIs exist, are complete, and are available - your Form 1 must account for detail parts, referencing their FAIs. Practically, that means requiring FAIs on your POs for new or changed purchased details, reviewing them with the same rigor a customer applies to yours, and tracking their status so a sub-tier source change does not silently invalidate your assembly-level FAI. ## Search terms as9102 first article inspection checklist, fai checklist aerospace, as9102 forms 1 2 3, delta fai requirements, first article inspection report requirements, fai characteristic accountability, partial fai as9102 --- Talk to an engineer: https://netray.co/contact?intent=erp_ai | Machine catalog: https://netray.co/agent/catalog.json