Standards & frameworks
Automotive, aerospace, rail & defence: quality standards and frameworks
Automotive and aerospace quality standards, with their rail, defence and nuclear counterparts, are the requirements customers and authorities set before they approve a supplier: sector quality systems, process accreditations, functional safety and export controls. This page groups the twelve and explains how they connect.
About this family
What does the automotive, aerospace, rail and defence family cover?
This family gathers the standards that transport and defence supply chains use to decide who may supply them. It covers railway quality under ISO 22163 and its IRIS Certification® scheme, functional safety of vehicle electronics under ISO 26262, the aerospace variants AS9110 for maintenance organisations and AS9120 for distributors, NADCAP accreditation of special processes, the VDA 6.3 process audit and the AIAG core tools, EN 15085 for the welding of railway vehicles and components, AQAP 2110 for NATO defence contracts and ISO 19443 for the nuclear supply chain, together with the regulatory layer of ITAR and EAR export controls and EASA Part 145 and Part 21 approvals. The request rarely starts with you: a vehicle manufacturer, an aerospace prime, a rolling-stock builder or a defence customer writes the requirement into a supplier manual, a tender or a contract, and approval to supply depends on it.
Most of these sit on top of a quality management system rather than beside it. IATF 16949 and AS9100, which have their own pages with the quality standards, are the usual base: the core tools and VDA 6.3 process audits are what automotive customers expect to see working alongside IATF 16949, AS9110 and AS9120 adapt AS9100 to maintenance and distribution, NADCAP and EN 15085 look closely at a single process such as heat treatment or welding, and ISO 26262 adds a safety lifecycle to engineering. ITAR, EAR and the EASA approvals are legal obligations or authority approvals, not certificates you choose. Sterling engages through Design™, where we develop the system and you implement under our expert advice and supervision, or Drive™, where we design and build under your approval as a fully managed service; you choose one of the two. Either way, Effivity is included at no additional cost, so one set of processes, records and audits serves every customer scheme you hold.
In this family
18 standards, frameworks and schemes in this family
Each card names the standard or scheme and the route to recognition, and opens the page that covers it in depth.
- IATF 16949IATF 16949 certification consulting for automotive part makers: defect prevention, less variation and waste, prepared for an IATF-recognised body's audit.
- AS9100AS9100 certification consulting for aerospace and defence suppliers: ISO 9001 plus product safety, configuration and FAI, ready for an IAQG scheme audit.
- ISO 26262ISO 26262 Functional Safety certification consulting for vehicle E/E systems: an ASIL-scaled safety lifecycle and safety case ready for independent assessment.
- ISO/SAE 21434ISO/SAE 21434 Automotive Cybersecurity certification consulting: vehicle cyber risk managed from concept to decommissioning, with R155 CSMS evidence.
- TISAXTISAX Assessment certification consulting for automotive suppliers: information security prepared for the TISAX assessment and labels shared with customers.
- ISO 22163 (IRIS)ISO 22163 (IRIS) certification consulting for railway suppliers: defect prevention and product quality, prepared for IRIS Certification Rev. 04 audits.
- CMMC 2.0CMMC 2.0 certification consulting for defence contractors handling FCI and CUI: controls, SPRS score and evidence ready for self or C3PAO assessment.
- AS9110AS9110 certification for aviation maintenance organisations: the 9110 requirements, the IAQG audit route, cost and timeline factors, and Sterling's support.
- AS9120AS9120 certification for aerospace distributors and stockists: requirements, the IAQG audit route, OASIS listing, cost and timeline factors, with Sterling.
- NADCAPNADCAP accreditation consultants for heat treating, NDT, welding and chemical processing. Prepare for the PRI audit with Sterling's all-inclusive support.
- VDA 6.3VDA 6.3 process audit preparation for automotive suppliers: what the 2023 edition examines, how to close gaps and rehearse before your customer's audit day.
- AIAG core tools (APQP, PPAP, FMEA, MSA, SPC)Automotive core tools implementation and training: APQP, Control Plan, PPAP, FMEA, MSA and SPC applied on your live parts. No certificate exists; we prove it.
- EN 15085EN 15085 certification for railway welding workshops: the five parts, the route to a certificate, cost and timing factors, with expert consultants and Effivity.
- AQAP 2110AQAP 2110 compliance for defence suppliers: what the NATO contract requirement covers, AQAP 2105 quality plans, government quality assurance and an all-inclusive proposal.
- ITAR / EARITAR and EAR compliance programmes: classification records, authorisations, screening, technical data control and training. No certificate exists; we build it.
- EASA Part 145 / Part 21EASA Part 145 approval and Part 21 POA and DOA readiness: gap assessment, manuals, safety management, training and mock audits. The authority approves.
- ISO 19443ISO 19443 certification support for nuclear supply chain quality: gap assessment, ISO 9001 based QMS, ITNS controls and audit readiness. We do not certify.
- UNECE R155 / R156UNECE R155 compliance for carmakers and suppliers: CSMS and SUMS requirements, R156 updates, the approval route, cost factors and an all-inclusive Sterling plan.
Certification bodies, accreditation programmes, customers and authorities carry out the audits and decisions; Sterling prepares you and does not certify. IATF 16949 and AS9100 are covered on their own pages with the quality standards.
- 60+countries where Sterling has delivered certification
- 21countries with a Sterling office, eight regions, one coordinated team
- 2003the year the group began implementing ISO management systems; the same method, refined, since
- 8,100+client engagements across the group, from single-site SMEs to multinationals
FAQs
Questions clients ask about this family
Answers that apply across the family; each standard’s own page goes deeper.
Which standard should an automotive or aerospace supplier start with?
Start with the standard your customer names in the purchase order, supplier manual or tender, because approval to supply depends on it. For most suppliers that is the quality base: IATF 16949 for automotive production parts, AS9100 for aerospace and defence design and production, or ISO 22163 for railway. The core tools, NADCAP, EN 15085 or ISO 26262 follow where your products or processes call for them. If no customer has set a requirement yet, the Select the Standard™ tool and the readiness check help you rank the options.
Can two standards in this family be combined in one system?
Yes, where they share a quality management system. One set of processes, documents, internal audits and management reviews can serve IATF 16949 with ISO 26262, AS9100 with AQAP 2110, or ISO 22163 with EN 15085, with each standard’s extra requirements added where they apply. The audits stay separate, because each scheme has its own rules, auditors and audit time; an integrated system shortens the preparation, not the audits.
What does the certification body, assessor or authority actually check?
It depends on the route. For IATF 16949, AS9100, AS9110, AS9120, ISO 22163 and ISO 19443, an independent certification body audits the management system against the standard and decides on certification. NADCAP is an accreditation of specific special processes, audited in detail process by process. VDA 6.3 is an audit, usually carried out by your customer or on its behalf. ISO 26262 is evaluated through confirmation measures and, where a certificate is wanted, a certification body’s product or process programme. EASA approvals are granted by the competent aviation authority, and ITAR and EAR are compliance obligations with no certificate. Sterling prepares you for each and does not certify.
Talk to a consultant
Tell us which customer, prime or tender set the requirement
Tell us your goals, locations and target date. We’ll help you define the scope, timeline and next steps.
hello@sterling-grc.com+1 201 263 4443 (global headquarters) · your nearest office and its number are at the top of this page
What would you like to achieve?
Choose a starting point. The enquiry form takes about a minute.
Book my free discovery callContinue to the enquiry form to share your details. Please do not include passwords, sensitive personal information or confidential files. A Sterling consultant replies within one working day. Privacy notice