OC-ALC undergoes external audit Published Oct. 2, 2008 By Brandice Armstrong Tinker Public Affairs TINKER AIR FORCE BASE, Okla., -- The Oklahoma City Air Logistics Center will undergo an external surveillance audit Oct. 6 through 9. The audit is to ensure the OC-ALC continues to comply with the AS 9100, an aerospace management system standard. Auditors from National Quality Assurance, an assessment, verification and certification organization, will perform a routine Quality Management Systems check for the AS 9100 Aerospace Standard. "The audit is a mechanism to ensure the organization is doing things in an appropriate way," said Dean Simmons, lead auditor for the OC-ALC Quality Office. "It's to make sure all the processes are identified and documented, and we're doing what we say we're doing." The OC-ALC was first granted an International Organization for Standardization, or ISO, 9001:2000 NQA certificate of compliance in March 2001. The center was recertified in April to AS 9100, and as part of compliance regulations, it is subject to surveillance audits every six months until the next certification process in 2011. Two teams, with two auditors each, will audit a sample of processes within the 76th Maintenance Wing, 327th Aircraft Sustainment Wing, 72nd Air Base Wing, OC-ALC Engineering Directorate, OC-ALC Information Technology Directorate and OC-ALC Plans and Programs Directorate. Mr. Simmons said auditors will look to ensure compliance to ISO requirements. The audit will cover five required chapters of the ISO standard. Those topics range from documentation control and how files are created and maintained, to management responsibilities. Auditors also want to certify that management communicates the importance of the customer and their requirements throughout their organization. "ISO provides a framework for doing business," Mr. Simmons said. "The OC-ALC has a number of unique processes, but they should all be managed in a similar manner. If an organization has an operating instruction that defines a process to accomplish something, we need to follow the process. It is just that simple." Auditors will classify findings into three broad categories: major, minor and observation. A major finding indicates the OC-ALC has had a significant breakdown. A minor finding identifies an isolated non-conformance in one of the OC-ALC's processes. An observation shows an issue that may need further review. "The auditors' intention is to verify that the OC-ALC continues to meet the requirements of the ISO standards," Mr. Simmons said. "This includes establishing a quality policy and that folks are familiar with it. The OC-ALC Quality Policy as established in the Tinker Air Force Base Quality Manual is to consistently meet warfighter readiness requirements through responsive and clearly defined processes that are continuously improved to achieve 'Excellence in all we do.' This, in a nutshell, is what ISO is all about."