QUALITY ASSURANCE PROVISIONS

1. Cox MHP Inc. QUALITY and ON TIME DELIVERY REQUIREMENTS

Cox MHP Inc. requires Vendors/Suppliers to implement a Quality System that is compliant to International Standards ISO 9001 or AS9100 or equivalent, or be approved by Cox MHP.  Also, to maintain a 90% Quality rating and OTD of 80% or higher. Quality and OTD scores are available upon request or Cox MHP will send notification when vendor/supplier scores are below these stated requirements.  All material supplied directly by Cox MHP Inc., its customer, or a designated supplier, the vendor is required to assure that furnished material, parts, or subassemblies are free from shipping and environmental damage prior to processing.  Vendor shall maintain same control of supplied materials, as is done for material furnished by Cox MHP Inc., its customer, or a designated supplier.

2. EMPLOYEE AWARENESS

Supplier and supplier’s subcontractors shall ensure that persons are aware of their contribution to product or service conformity and product safety.  Also, be made aware of the importance of ethical behavior.

3. FLOWDOWN REQUIREMENTS

All applicable requirements that are invoked or applied to the customer’s purchasing document, including this clause, shall be flowed down to the supplier’s sub-tier suppliers. This is similar to Right of Access provision and all actions of item #7 are applicable.

4. DRAWINGS, SPECIFICATIONS, AND QUALITY REQUIREMENTS

The supplier’s Quality System shall assure that the latest applicable drawings, specifications, and quality requirements are compatible with current purchase order agreements and are available and in use by the supplier’s manufacturing and inspection areas.  Specifications referenced on the purchase order and drawings shall be to the latest revision or supersession, unless otherwise specified.

5. CHANGE AUTHORITY

The supplier shall provide, in writing, advance notification to the customer of any change(s) to tooling, facilities, materials, or processes at the supplier or the supplier’s sub-tier that could affect the customer’s contracted product.  This includes, but is not limited to, fabrication, assembly, handling, testing, facility location or introduction of a new sub-tier supplier.

6. PACKAGING REQUIREMENTS

Supplier’s Quality Control shall be responsible for ensuring that items provided under the contract/purchase order are packaged in such a manner that the dimensional integrity is preserved, contamination and corrosion are prevented, and no physical damage occurs or, when specified, that packaging is in accordance with the drawing, appropriate ASTM, MIL, or other applicable customer specified requirement.

7. FOD PREVENTION

The supplier shall assure that work is accomplished in a manner preventing foreign objects or material from entering and remaining in deliverable items.

8. RECORD RETENTION

Supplier and supplier’s subcontractors shall maintain verifiable objective evidence of all inspections and test performed, results obtained, and dispositions of non-conforming articles.  These records shall be identified to associated articles, including heat and lot number of materials, unit or lot serialization and made available to Cox MHP Inc. and/or government representatives upon request and shall be retained in a safe, accessible location for a period of eleven (11) years after date of delivery. Quality Records, physical and electronic, may be destroyed by any reliable and permanent means available after the retention period has been satisfied.

9. RIGHT OF ACCESS

Work under this purchase order/contract is subject to government or customer surveillance/inspection at supplier’s plant or sub-tier supplier’s facility.  This requirement is to be flowed down to all subsequent suppliers at any and all levels, Cox MHP or its representatives will have right of access to inspect all sub tier suppliers. The supplier will be notified if a surveillance/inspection is to be conducted.

10. SUPPLIER NONCONFORMANCE APPROVAL REQUESTS

Supplier shall notify Cox MHP Inc. of any nonconforming material.  Requests for any departures from drawings, specifications, or other purchase order requirements must be submitted for consideration by Cox MHP Inc. in writing.  Cox MHP Inc. will in turn either approve or deny the approval request in writing.  Nonconforming material may not be shipped to Cox MHP Inc.  without such written approval.  Nonconforming material shipped on an approved nonconformance must be accompanied by a copy of the signed Cox MHP Inc. approval document.

11. NONCONFORMING MATERIALS CORRECTIVE ACTION REQUESTS

Supplier Corrective Actions (CAR) shall be required for nonconforming materials, reduction in overall quality rating, not adhering to the requirements of Cox MHP Inc. procedures, and external audit findings.  CAR’s will be issued by Cox MHP Inc.  at the discretion of the Quality Department.  Suppliers shall perform a root cause and corrective action then complete Cox MHP’s corrective action form and submit to Cox MHP Inc. within the designated time. An extension may be granted, but it must be requested by the Supplier in writing to Cox MHP Inc. quality assurance department.

12. MATERIAL REVIEW BOARD (MRB)

MRB authority is not delegated unless specifically called out on the Purchase Order.  Written authorization shall be obtained prior to shipment, see Clause 3.

13. COUNTERFEIT PARTS

Due to an influx of counterfeit parts availability, it is very important that suppliers have a written procedure to address how to recognize and address suspect counterfeit parts. Cox MHP customer specified sources will be strictly adhered to and all appropriate documents must be able to trace origin and verify chain of custody that delivered product is what Purchase Order and flow downs describe. Test if you cannot trace. All required documents must be present when product shipped/transferred to Cox MHP Inc.

14. SPECIAL PROCESS CERTIFICATIONS

A special process is a method controlled by a contractually required specification where: a product undergoes a physical, chemical or metallurgical transformation, or inspection, where conformance to the specification cannot be readily verified by normal inspection methods; and the quality of the product depends on use of specific equipment operated in a specific manner, under controlled conditions, by trained personnel with instructions, procedures, or standards.

A special process certification shall be provided with each shipment of product delivered on this contract and include the following: customer’s order number, part number(s), serial and/or lot numbers (if applicable), material process specification and revision, certification stating the special process was performed per the applicable drawing/specification requirements, processing supplier’s name and address, and each certification must be signed and dated by an authorized company representative.

15. SPECIAL PROCESS SUPPLIERS 

Special Processes, such as heat treating, plating, nondestructive testing, coating, paint, welding, brazing etc., shall be performed by qualified personnel or sources and are subject to Cox MHP Inc. review and approval. Unless otherwise specified the Supplier is responsible for the control and approval of sub-tier suppliers.

Special processes must be approved by Cox MHP Inc. or its customer when this clause is specified. 

16. CERTIFICATE OF COMPLIANCE

Supplier shall provide a certification with each shipment to attest that the parts, assemblies, or subassemblies conform to the order requirements.  Certification must contain the following: customer’s order number; part number and revision; name and address of manufacturing or processing location; manufacturer’s lot, heat, batch, date code, and/or serial number (if applicable); quantity and unit of measurement; and be signed and dated by an authorized company representative.  The applicable material 

test results, process certifications, and inspection records shall be presented upon Cox MHP Inc. request.  Supplier shall perform inspection, as necessary, to determine the acceptability of all articles under this order.  All articles submitted by supplier under this order are subject to final inspection at Cox MHP.

17. CERTIFICATE OF COMPLIANCE RAW MATERIALS

Supplier will include with each shipment, the raw material manufacturer’s test report that states that the lot of material furnished has been tested, inspected, and found to be in compliance with the applicable material specifications.  The test report will list the specifications, including revision level, to which the material has been tested and/or inspected, and the identification of the material lot to which it applies.

When the material specification requires quantitative limits for chemical, mechanical, or physical properties, the test reports will contain the actual test and/or inspection values obtained.  

18. FIRST ARTICLE INSPECTION

Supplier is required to perform 100% inspection and record the attributes for the first article of this contract/purchase order, and shall be in accordance with AS9100 and AS9102.  If the deliverable is an assembly, this inspection shall also include all of the piece parts that make up the assembly.  The inspection records and data shall be per AS9102 and shall identify each characteristic and feature required by design data, the allowable tolerance limits, and the actual dimension measured as objective evidence that each characteristic and feature has been inspected and accepted by the supplier’s quality and inspection function.  

When testing is required, the parameters and results of the test shall be recorded in the same manner.  The First Article Inspection Report (FAIR) must show evidence of acceptance by the supplier’s quality assurance representative.

19. EVIDENCE OF INSPECTION

Unless otherwise specified, all product batches must be subjected to a sampling inspection in accordance with ANSI/ASQC-Z1.4, Level II, 1% AQL, C=0 No defects allowed.  If any defect is found, 100% inspection shall be performed for that batch.  

Inspection data is to be supplied with each shipment of parts.  Data must reflect the part number, revision, lot traceability, and approval by authorized personnel.  Vendor is to maintain a copy of inspection data on file and make it available upon request.

20. GOVERNMENT SOURCE INSPECTION

All work on this purchase order/contract is subject to inspection and test by the government at any time and any place.  Government inspection is required on this order prior to shipment from supplier’s facility.  Government inspections performed will be determined by the delegated government inspection representative and may be conducted during processing, fabrication, or final inspection.  Upon receipt of the purchase order/contract, promptly notify the government representative who normally services your plant so that appropriate government inspection planning can be accomplished.  If your facility is not serviced by government inspection and/or the area government inspection representative or agency cannot be located, immediately notify Cox MHP Inc.

21. CUSTOMER SOURCE INSPECTION

If requested, customer source inspection is required prior to shipment of articles from the supplier’s facility.  Supplier shall notify Cox MHP Quality Control department at least 72 hours prior to completion of the order, so that arrangements can be made for a Cox MHP Quality representative to visit the vendor facility and perform a source inspection.  

Supplier, without additional charge to the procurement document, shall provide all reasonably required facilities and assistance (applicable drawings, specifications, change orders, inspection and/or test equipment) Cox MHP Inc. Quality representative to perform their duties.

22. LIMITED LIFE AND AGE CONTROL ITEMS

Products on this order require submittal of date of manufacture when shelf life is based on date of manufacture, or date of shipment from the manufacturer, as appropriate. 

Upon shipment, shelf life remaining shall meet the minimum shelf life specified on the order.  If no shelf life is specified, 75% of the shelf life shall be remaining for products on this order.

REV	DESCRIPTION	DATE	AUTHORIZED BY
–	INITIAL RELEASE – CREATED IAW AS9100 REV. D	08/28/2017	G. Roberson
01	Added Clarity to Section4, 7and 16 Flow down to ALL subsequent sub tier suppliers	04/10/2018	G. Roberson
02	Added Cox MHP Quality and On Time Delivery requirements to section 15	06/04/2018	G. Roberson
03	Added requirements for Employee Awareness and need for a Quality System. Reorganized clauses:  1 – 13 apply to all Purchase Orders	07/19/2019	D. Segal