NADCAP accreditation consultants for special processes that pass the PRI audit.

What it is

What is Nadcap and what is it used for?

Nadcap is the accreditation programme for special processes in the aerospace and defence supply chain, administered by the Performance Review Institute. A special process is one whose result cannot be fully confirmed by inspecting the finished part: the hardness profile after heat treatment, the adhesion of a plating layer, the soundness of a weld or the reliability of an ultrasonic inspection. Because the outcome sits inside the part, the only real assurance is control of the process itself, and Nadcap audits that control.

The programme is run by and for industry. Companies that purchase aerospace parts join as subscribing members, and supplier processes are audited by PRI auditors against criteria developed within the programme, so every customer is looking at the same audit standard rather than its own private checklist.

Current criteria. Nadcap has no single edition or version number. Every process area, which PRI calls a commodity, carries its own audit criteria, maintained within the programme, and suppliers manage their accreditation through eAuditNet, PRI's online platform for Nadcap. Confirm the criteria revision that will apply on your audit date when you schedule it, because a change between gap analysis and audit alters what the auditor checks.

Who it is for

Who needs Nadcap accreditation?

Nadcap is for the supplier that performs the process, whether that is a stand-alone treatment house, a laboratory or a machine shop with an in-house plating line. The accreditation is granted process by process, and sometimes method by method, so the scope you apply for should match exactly what your customers send you to do. Suppliers usually reach Sterling from one of four situations:

• A customer's purchase order or quality clauses call for it. Subscribing primes and their tier-one suppliers flow the requirement down for named processes. Read the clause closely: which commodity, which method and by when.
• You are bidding for aerospace or defence work. Supplier approval for special processes often starts with evidence of Nadcap accreditation, so a shop without it may not reach the shortlist at all.
• A national programme or an offset partner expects it. Defence and aerospace industrialisation programmes favour suppliers whose processes already meet the criteria the global primes use.
• A sister plant or parent group already holds it. A new site, a new line or an acquired business has to reach the same level, and the audit will look at that site's own records, people and equipment.

Nadcap sits on top of your quality management system rather than replacing it. Most aerospace suppliers also hold AS9100, and the two work together: AS9100 governs the whole organisation, Nadcap looks deep into each special process.

Requirements

What are the main Nadcap requirements?

Nadcap requirements are the audit criteria for each commodity, which PRI publishes as checklists; your customers' own specifications add to them. There is no common clause structure across commodities, so the first task is to identify the exact criteria for your processes. The commodities below are among those for which PRI publishes audit criteria and runs criteria training.

• Heat Treating: control of thermal processing, from the equipment and its instruments to the record of each load.
• Chemical Processing: control of chemical and surface treatment lines, their solutions and the testing of what they produce.
• Coatings: control of coating application, from surface preparation to evaluation of the finished coating.
• Welding: control of joining by welding, with the procedures, people and equipment behind each weld.
• Non-Destructive Testing: control of inspection methods, accredited method by method, with the people and equipment that perform them.
• Materials Testing Laboratories: control of laboratory testing of materials, from specimen to reported result.
• Composites: control of composite manufacturing processes and the materials they use.
• Electronics: control of the electronics manufacturing processes the criteria cover.
• Aero Structure Assembly: control of the assembly of aircraft structures.
• Non-Metallic Materials Testing and Metallic Materials Manufacturing: further areas PRI audits, including castings.

Accreditation process

How do you get Nadcap accredited?

Your processes must first meet the audit criteria in daily operation. Then a PRI auditor tests them on site and PRI's Nadcap process decides. Sterling prepares you; the accreditation itself belongs to PRI, which is why the primes trust it.

1. 01
   Confirm the commodities, methods and customer requirements.List every special process your customers ask you to accredit, the applicable audit criteria and the customer specifications behind each job.
2. 02
   Gap analysis: test current practice against the audit criteria.Each checklist question is answered with objective evidence from real jobs; gaps get owners, dates and resources.
3. 03
   Close the gaps and run the processes under control.Procedures, equipment verification, qualifications and records are brought up to the criteria and used on production work until they hold.
4. 04
   Mock audit and application through eAuditNet.We audit the way a PRI auditor will, you correct what we find, and you schedule the Nadcap audit through PRI's platform.
5. 05
   Host the PRI audit and resolve the findings.The auditor reviews procedures, jobs and people; you answer each nonconformance with root cause and corrective action, and PRI decides on accreditation.

Check the route before you sign. Genuine Nadcap accreditation comes only from PRI, recorded in its own system; no consultant, certification body or training firm can grant it. Ask your customer which commodity and method it requires, and confirm a supplier's status through PRI rather than a copy of a certificate. The certification buyer's checklist

Cost

How much does Nadcap accreditation cost?

The cost is driven less by company size than by how many special processes you run and how far each is from the criteria. A single NDT method in a disciplined laboratory is a different project from several chemical processing lines, a furnace fleet and a welding cell at two sites. Sterling's part is an all-inclusive proposal with every element visible.

Timeline

How long does Nadcap accreditation take?

Procedures can be corrected quickly; a run of production jobs that proves the corrected process works cannot be rushed, and the audit date depends on PRI's scheduling. As an estimate, a first accreditation for one or two commodities takes six to twelve months, longer where equipment must be upgraded.

If a contract award depends on the accreditation, tell us on the first call. We will say plainly which commodity can be ready first and what must be decided in the first weeks.

Your engagement

What your Nadcap engagement includes

Sterling OS™ runs every engagement, adapted to the discipline of special processes. Sterling does not accredit: PRI audits your processes and makes the accreditation decision. You choose the level of support that suits your team.

• Design™: guided support

  Your process owners rework procedures and records against the criteria; a Sterling consultant sets the method, reviews each output and coaches the team.

• Drive™: managed support

  The alternative to Design™ for shops short of time: Sterling drafts procedures and job packs with your people and runs the programme to the PRI audit.

• Sustain™: after accreditation

  Internal audits against the criteria, criteria revisions tracked, preparation for reaccreditation audits and support when you add a commodity or method.

• Automate™: Effivity

  Your special-process records and corrective actions run in Effivity, included with the engagement at no additional cost.

• Training for your people

  Internal auditor training, as applicable to your standard, and preferential Sterling Academy access, including complimentary awareness training for your people as part of the engagement.

Accreditation decisions remain with PRI.

Often combined with

Standards organisations pair with NADCAP

• AIAG core toolsAutomotive core tools implementation and training: APQP, Control Plan, PPAP, FMEA, MSA and SPC applied on your live parts.
• 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.
• AS9100AS9100 certification consulting for aerospace and defence suppliers: ISO 9001 plus product safety, configuration and FAI, ready for an IAQG scheme audit.
• 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.
• 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.