Aerospace Maintenance (MRO)

AS9110 is the aerospace quality management standard for maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO) organizations — the businesses that keep aircraft and their components airworthy after they leave the factory. The current revision is AS9110C. It is published through the SAE and IAQG (International Aerospace Quality Group) family of standards and is recognized worldwide, appearing as EN 9110 in Europe and JISQ 9110 in Asia.

Like the rest of the aerospace family, AS9110 is built on ISO 9001 and on the same core as AS9100. It takes that quality-management foundation and adds the requirements that maintenance work demands — because when you return an aircraft or a component to service, you are certifying it as safe to fly. So AS9110 keeps the ISO 9001 and AS9100 backbone and layers on MRO-specific requirements around maintenance planning, technical data and airworthiness, human factors, and the handling of used and unserviceable parts.

It helps to know where it sits in the family. AS9100 is for organizations that design and/or manufacture aerospace products. AS9110 is the version for maintenance and MRO providers. AS9120 is for distributors and stockists that buy, hold, and resell aerospace parts. Same DNA, different scope.

AS9110 is for organizations whose work is maintaining, repairing, or overhauling aircraft and aviation products. It is a fit for:

• Aircraft maintenance organizations performing line and base maintenance
• Component and accessory repair shops — avionics, hydraulics, landing gear, actuators
• Engine and propulsion overhaul facilities
• Providers of specialized maintenance special processes such as non-destructive testing, plating, and welding
• MRO businesses looking to qualify with an airline, an OEM, or a prime as an approved maintenance supplier

If your organization designs or manufactures rather than maintains, the right standard is usually AS9100; if you distribute parts, it is usually AS9120. AS9110 works alongside — not instead of — the airworthiness approvals your regulator requires, such as an EASA Part-145 or FAA repair-station approval. As with the rest of aerospace, AS9110 is typically required by your customers — airlines, OEMs, and primes flow it down as a condition of doing business, and certified organizations are listed in OASIS, the industry's online supplier database, which is where customers check your status.

AS9110C keeps the ISO 9001 and AS9100 management requirements and adds the layer that matters when the product you deliver is a returned-to-service aircraft or component. The additions reflect the reality of maintenance work:

• Maintenance planning and control — controlling the work from receipt through to release, against the correct approved data
• Technical data and airworthiness — using current, approved maintenance data and manufacturer instructions, and controlling revisions
• Certificate of conformity and release to service — rigorous, documented release of maintained product by authorized personnel
• Human factors — recognizing and managing the human error that is a leading cause of maintenance mistakes
• Control of used, rotable, and unserviceable parts, including robust segregation and identification
• Counterfeit-parts prevention — keeping suspect and counterfeit material out of your repairs
• Rigorous traceability of parts, materials, and the maintenance performed
• Tight control of special processes and of the suppliers who perform them, plus tool and equipment calibration
• Risk management and product safety woven through operations

The whole standard points at one outcome: a product returned to service that is genuinely airworthy and safe, with the records to prove exactly what was done.

The first reason is access. Airlines, OEMs, and primes require AS9110 from the MRO providers they trust with their fleets, and they check the OASIS database to confirm it. Without the certificate you generally cannot bid; with it you become a qualified, findable maintenance supplier in a market built on long-term relationships and safety reputations.

Beyond market access, the discipline pays off directly on the hangar floor. Strong maintenance planning and technical-data control mean the right work is done against the right approved data every time. Human-factors programs cut the errors that cause reworks, delays, and — in the worst case — safety events. Firm control of used and unserviceable parts and counterfeit-part prevention keep bad material out of aircraft you release.

Airworthiness authorities and customers alike expect proof, not promises. A robust AS9110 system gives you the traceability and release records to demonstrate what you did, defend it years later, and score well on the supplier ratings that decide who wins the next contract — in a sector where fleets and programs run for decades.

We bring 30+ years of building quality systems and a record of 900+ organizations certified with a 100% first-time pass rate. Maintenance is unforgiving on traceability, approved data, and release records, and our 10-Step Approach is built to get it right the first time.

We begin by understanding your maintenance scope, your capabilities, and the requirements your customers and your airworthiness authority flow down to you. We build the system with your team — maintenance planning, technical-data control, human factors, release to service, and counterfeit-part controls included — so it fits how you actually work rather than forcing you into a generic template. We train your people so they can run and defend the system after we are gone.

As with all our work, you get single-level documentation, typically under 200 pages for the whole system — lean enough that people use it, complete enough to satisfy an aerospace auditor. We run internal audits and management review, then support you through the Stage 1 and Stage 2 certification audits and your OASIS listing. Most organizations reach certification in about 6 to 10 months, depending on complexity and starting point.

• Choosing the wrong standard — using AS9100 or AS9120 when your operation is really MRO and belongs under AS9110
• Confusing AS9110 with your regulatory approval — they complement each other, and you generally need both
• Working to out-of-date or uncontrolled technical data instead of current approved maintenance instructions
• Weak release-to-service discipline, so certificates of conformity do not stand up to scrutiny
• No real human-factors program until an auditor or an incident forces the issue
• Poor segregation of used and unserviceable parts, risking bad material getting back into aircraft
• No counterfeit-part controls until a customer or auditor asks for them
• Traceability gaps in the maintenance record that surface only when there is a problem in the field
• Heavy multi-tier manuals that people ignore, so the documented system and the real one drift apart