1factory's quality management solutions serve the complete aerospace supply chain — from aircraft, drone and aero-engine manufacturers, to Tier 1 and Tier 2 sub-system and parts manufacturers.
Supported Standards: 1factory supports all key aerospace standards, including AS9100 (Aerospace Quality Systems), AS9102 (First Article Inspection), AS9103 (Variation Management), and AS9145 (PPAP and APQP).
Security and Hosting Environments: 1factory is hosted on the AWS GovCloud and provides a FEDRAMP Moderate Equivalent hosting environment (3PAO audit in progress as of Feb 2026). For manufacturers with classified data or sensitive IP, we provide an option to host 1factory on-premise.
For Aircraft, Drone and Aero-Engine OEMs
Companies Like: Rolls-Royce, GE Aerospace, Pratt & Whitney, Safran, MTU Aero Engines, Boeing, Lockheed Martin, and emerging manufacturers like Shield AI, Zipline, and Anduril
Key Challenge: Supplier quality teams are overwhelmed with documentation and email management. Teams manually track FAI and PPAP packages for thousands of new components during NPI, chase inspection reports and certificates for ongoing production shipments, and manage supplier change notifications, deviations, and corrective actions — all while maintaining visibility across hundreds or thousands of suppliers. The result is quality bottlenecks, delayed launches, thousands of wasted hours, and compliance risk.
Key Functionality
Supplier FAI Management: When Tier 1 and Tier 2 suppliers submit AS9102 packages, quality teams need a standardized method to receive, review, and approve them. 1factory's supplier portal provides a single submission point where all suppliers upload their FAI data (AS9102 Forms 1, 2, and 3). The system automatically identifies incomplete submissions and highlights failed measurements for suppliers to resolve before reaching reviewers. Quality teams can then review and approve the FAI prior to shipment. Every FAI is maintained in a searchable repository organized by supplier, part number, and revision, providing instant access to previous submissions when questions arise months or years later.
Supplier PPAP Management: OEMs can assign PPAPs with custom documentation requirements (PPAP levels) to suppliers. Suppliers can build all required documentation in 1factory, including Control Plans, PFMEAs, Initial Sample Reports, Inspection Reports, Gage R&R studies, and Process Capability Studies. When suppliers submit PPAPs, reviewers can quickly evaluate whether control methods address critical failure modes and whether the supplier has demonstrated process control.
Supplier Lot-Specific Inspection Data: With 1factory's connected supplier capability, OEMs access parameter-level inspection data from suppliers in real-time. This visibility enables OEMs to work with suppliers to resolve problems before they enter the supply chain, reducing risk and minimizing the need for component reverification at incoming inspection.
"The magic of 1factory is that it is actually practical and easy for vendors to use, and for us to use in a way that's just seamless." — Keenan W., CTO, Zipline"
Supplier Lot-Specific Certificates: OEMs struggle to ensure all required documentation is correctly provided by suppliers for each lot or shipment, including raw material certificates, heat treating certificates, outside processing certificates, RoHS compliance, and mill and provenance documentation. Between 30% and 50% of shipments often have missing or incorrect documentation. 1factory automates collection and simplifies review of required paperwork before parts are shipped by suppliers.
Incoming Quality Control: Not all suppliers require the same level of scrutiny. With 1factory's lot-switching capabilities, high-performing suppliers with excellent track records receive reduced inspection, while suppliers with quality issues face tightened sampling. The system automatically adjusts inspection plans based on supplier and part performance, implementing Normal, Reduced, or Tightened sampling per ANSI/ASQ Z1.4 standards. Material certificates and Certificates of Conformance are verified against specifications and stored with the inspection record for complete traceability.
"The time savings and reporting accuracy just went through the roof with 1factory, and so many of my tasks have been simplified". "For example, when I go meet with a vendor I can pull up 1factory and be confident that I have the whole picture for all the parts they've sent us. No way was that possible before 1factory - I'd have to spend hours digging up all their inspection sheets, plugging the results into pivot tables, and hoping my Excel sheets didn't break down on me. All of this work, and the report I showed to suppliers was still not very clear." Robin B. Quality Manager, Orbit Irrigation
Supplier Performance Tracking: Real-time scorecards display quality acceptance rates, on-time delivery performance, NCRs and SCARs. Trend analysis identifies suppliers with deteriorating performance before problems impact production. Segment suppliers by performance tier to focus development resources where they're needed most. Executive dashboards provide supply chain quality overview without requiring manual report compilation.
Quality Management System: Aerospace OEMs operate multiple manufacturing sites across different locations, each with unique operational requirements while maintaining corporate-level quality standards. 1factory's Federated (Multi-Org) QMS capabilities effortlessly manage corporate and site-specific procedures and work instructions. Corporate documents apply to all or selected sites, while site-specific documents apply only to the specific site. Effortlessly assign and track approvals and training across all sites. The dynamic Quality Matrix links requirements (clauses) from AS9100 and other standards directly to procedures, simplifying the process of ensuring complete coverage. 1factory automates training assignment and tracking — whether it's for a new document, a new version of a document, a new hire, or a person moving to a new role. This automation cuts audit prep time by 80%, ensuring audit-readiness across all locations without manual compilation of training records and procedure compliance evidence.
Return on Investment
Supplier FAI and PPAP review becomes 50% faster when all submissions arrive through a standardized portal in consistent formats. Engineering teams spend less time chasing missing documentation and more time evaluating actual quality data. SCAR processing accelerates dramatically — 70% faster closure times — when suppliers work through structured 8D workflows rather than email chains where requests and responses get lost.
Supplier performance reporting that once required manually compiling data from multiple sources now generates automatically. Incoming inspection planning adjusts automatically based on supplier performance rather than requiring quality engineers to manually modify inspection plans.
Quality improvements come from early identification of supplier issues before they impact production operations. Proactive supplier development prevents problems rather than reacting after defects arrive. Reduced incoming defects result from performance-based sampling that intensifies inspection when suppliers struggle and reduces burden when they excel.
For Tier-1 Sub-System Manufacturers
Companies Like: Parker Aerospace, Woodward, Honeywell Aerospace, Collins Aerospace, Safran Landing Systems
Key Challenge: Managing suppliers while simultaneously producing sub-assemblies. Teams must submit quality documentation to OEM customers while receiving FAI and PPAP from their own suppliers, effectively operating as both customer and supplier in the supply chain.
Key Functionality
Supplier FAI and PPAP Management: As a Tier 1 integrator, companies receive AS9102 and PPAP packages from Tier 2 component suppliers, review them for completeness and compliance, then often forward approved submissions to OEM customers as part of larger sub-system documentation. The challenge is ensuring supplier documentation meets not only internal standards but also the OEM-specific requirements they must satisfy. The 1factory platform enables teams to review and approve supplier submissions before they become part of deliverables to Boeing, Airbus, or other OEMs. Track submission status across multiple programs to identify which suppliers are ready and which are blocking the ability to submit to customers.
Supplier Lot-Specific Inspection Data: With 1factory's connected supplier capability, Tier 1 manufacturers access parameter-level inspection data from suppliers in real-time. This visibility enables proactive problem resolution before issues enter the supply chain, reducing risk and minimizing the need for component reverification at incoming inspection.
Supplier Lot-Specific Certificates: Tier 1 manufacturers face the same documentation challenges as OEMs. Between 30% and 50% of shipments often have missing or incorrect documentation, including raw material certificates, heat treating certificates, outside processing certificates, RoHS compliance, and mill and provenance documentation. 1factory automates collection and simplifies review of required paperwork before parts are shipped by suppliers.
Incoming Quality Control: Components and raw materials from Tier 2 suppliers flow into assembly operations. Inspection plans account for both the supplier's demonstrated performance and the criticality of the component in sub-assembly operations. Supplier performance-based sampling adjusts inspection intensity — excellent suppliers earn reduced inspection while problematic suppliers face heightened scrutiny. Material certificates and Certificates of Conformance are verified against specifications as part of the receiving process. Quick identification of supplier quality issues triggers SCAR processes before defective components enter production lines.
Federated Quality Management System: Tier 1 manufacturers often operate multiple production facilities, each serving different OEM customers or product lines while maintaining consistent corporate quality standards. 1factory's Federated (Multi-Org) QMS capabilities effortlessly manage corporate and site-specific procedures and work instructions. Corporate documents apply to all or selected sites, while site-specific documents apply only to the specific site. Assign and track approvals and training across all sites from a single platform.
The dynamic Quality Matrix links requirements (clauses) from AS9100 and customer-specific standards directly to procedures, ensuring complete coverage and simplifying gap analysis. 1factory automates training assignment and tracking — whether it's for a new document, a new version of a document, a new hire, or a person moving to a new role. This automation cuts audit prep time by 80%, streamlining both internal audits and customer assessments.
Return on Investment
Supplier FAI and PPAP review becomes 50% faster when all submissions arrive through a standardized portal in consistent formats. Engineering teams spend less time chasing missing documentation and more time evaluating actual quality data. SCAR processing accelerates dramatically — 70% faster closure times — when suppliers work through structured 8D workflows rather than email chains where requests and responses get lost.
Supplier performance reporting that once required manually compiling data from multiple sources now generates automatically. Incoming inspection planning adjusts automatically based on supplier performance rather than requiring quality engineers to manually modify inspection plans.
Quality improvements come from early identification of supplier issues before they impact production operations. Proactive supplier development prevents problems rather than reacting after defects arrive. Reduced incoming defects result from performance-based sampling that intensifies inspection when suppliers struggle and reduces burden when they excel.
For Tier-2 Sub-System Manufacturers
Companies Like: GKN Aerospace, Pursuit Aerospace, Barnes Aerospace, Acutec Precision Aerospace, Ultra Machining Company, and Fairview Machine
Key Challenge: Producing precision machined components, sheet metal parts, injection molded components, or other precision parts for Tier 1 integrators and OEMs. Creating AS9102 packages quickly and accurately, managing CMM data from multiple measurement systems, proving process capability through SPC and Cp/Cpk, and responding to customer requests faster than competitors.
Key Functionality
Ballooning & First Article Inspection: A typical aerospace part arrives with 200-800 features requiring inspection. Manual ballooning takes 6-8 hours as engineers identify each dimension, add balloon numbers, and cross-reference GD&T callouts. The automated ballooning engine completes this work in minutes, recognizing geometric dimensioning and tolerancing symbols, identifying critical dimensions based on tolerance tightness, and handling complex multi-view drawings without manual intervention.
Once ballooning is complete, the system generates AS9102 Forms 1, 2, and 3 automatically. Customer-specific formats are built in — Northrop Grumman's preferred layout, Lockheed Martin's additional documentation requirements, Boeing's specific form organization. Whether you're creating Full FAI for a new part, Partial FAI for a subset of features, or Delta FAI for an engineering change, the appropriate forms generate based on the scenario.
"1factory has been a game changer for us. We delivered 54 FAIs in the first week and over 200 in the first month." — Paul Hayes, President, Able Tool Corporation"
CMM Data Collection and Integration: CMM operators traditionally finish measurement programs, then spend hours manually typing data into quality systems — thousands of measurements transcribed by hand, creating opportunities for errors with every keystroke. The platform eliminates this entirely. When Zeiss, Keyence, Mitutoyo, PCDMIS, Hexagon, Brown & Sharpe, or Faro CMMs complete measurement routines, data uploads automatically. Features match to ballooned drawings without manual intervention. Out-of-tolerance measurements trigger immediate alerts to quality engineers and operators.
This works across 20+ CMM systems as well as portable CMMs, laser trackers, and vision systems. The system parses each manufacturer's output format, maps features to inspection plans, and populates AS9102 Form 3 with actual measurements. Zero manual data entry required.
"We used to have five different quality control systems. Now it's all in one place with 1factory. Our CMMs upload data automatically — over a million measurements per month with zero manual entry." — Brad C., Director of Quality, Ultra Machining Company.
Real-Time Statistical Process Control: Production runs for aerospace parts often span weeks or months. During this time, tools wear, machines drift, and materials vary slightly. Traditional SPC systems collect data throughout the shift, then generate charts hours or days later when quality engineers review the information. By then, you've already produced hundreds of parts.
Live control charts update as operators inspect parts on the shop floor. Statistical indicators calculate in real-time, triggering automatic alerts the moment data suggests process drift. Cp and Cpk values update continuously, providing current process capability rather than outdated numbers. Historical trending reveals patterns — this feature's mean is shifting upward, that tool is showing increased variation — allowing you to predict tool wear before producing out-of-spec parts. Supports AS9103 requirements.
PPAP: Some aerospace customers, particularly those with automotive heritage like Parker Hannifin or Honeywell, require PPAP packages instead of AS9102. Create complete PPAP documentation including Production Sample Warrant, Control Plans showing how quality will be maintained during production, Process FMEA identifying potential failure modes, dimensional results from inspection data, material test results, and capability studies proving Cp/Cpk values.
The reusable PPAP library captures institutional knowledge. Once quality teams have defined failure modes for a machining operation or control methods for a drilling process, these can be saved for reuse on similar parts. Process Flow Diagrams and MSA (Measurement System Analysis) studies become templates rather than documents recreated from scratch. Typical PPAP creation time drops from 40 hours to 8 hours — an 80% reduction.
Customer Collaboration: Aerospace customers can log into the portal and view inspection data as manufacturers produce their parts. Real-time visibility into dimensional results, SPC charts showing process capability, and downloadable AS9102 reports, PPAP packages, and Certificates of Conformance differentiates precision shops from competitors still emailing PDF reports days after production.
Quality Management System: AS9100 certification and ongoing compliance require documented procedures, work instructions, and training records. 1factory's dynamic Quality Matrix links requirements (clauses) from AS9100 and customer-specific standards directly to procedures, ensuring complete coverage and simplifying gap analysis during certification or surveillance audits.
Training assignment and tracking becomes automatic — whether it's for a new document, a new version of a document, a new hire, or a person moving to a new role. No more spreadsheets tracking who has read which procedure version or who needs retraining after a document revision. This automation cuts audit prep time by 80%, transforming audit preparation from weeks of scrambling to gather evidence into a few hours of report generation.
Return on Investment
FAI creation time drops from 8 hours to 1 hour — an 87.5% reduction. CMM data entry is eliminated completely, recovering 100% of time previously spent transcribing measurements. PPAP creation falls from 40 hours to 8 hours, an 80% reduction. Gage calibration planning becomes automatic with scheduled reminders and stored certificates.
Quality improvements protect manufacturing reputation and customer relationships. Real-time SPC detects process drift early, preventing scrap from tool wear or machine issues. Catching problems before producing defective parts reduces scrap costs and avoids the embarrassment of delivering defective parts to aerospace customers.
The business impact extends beyond immediate time savings. Manufacturers win more quotes by responding faster than competitors still doing manual quality planning. They scale production without proportionally adding quality staff — automation and reusable libraries let existing teams handle increased volume. Customer preference develops when manufacturers provide real-time data visibility that competitors can't match.