Supplier Management Plan

Composite layup, autoclave cure and in-process NDT for the CWP-700 wing panel. Issued under purchase order and AS9100 §8.4 flow-downs.

SSOW-001 · Special-Process Supplier Statement of Work

1 · Parties and Instrument

2 · Scope

The CWP-700 composite wing panel depends on two things a supplier does that Acme Aerostructures cannot check when the parts arrive: laying up and curing the laminate, and inspecting it non-destructively while it is still in process. The suite's premise is the governing fact here — a cured laminate does not reveal an out-of-spec resin batch on a caliper. Conformity cannot be established by receiving inspection, so it has to be established upstream, in the process itself.

That is what this Statement of Work buys: not parts, but a qualified and monitored process that produces conforming parts. The distinction drives everything below. The deliverables are largely evidence rather than hardware, the acceptance criteria are about records and accreditation as much as dimensions, and the price is weighted toward qualification rather than delivery.

In scope. Composite layup and autoclave cure to the qualified process baseline; in-process non-destructive testing to the accredited method; NADCAP accreditation maintained for the duration and evidenced on request; PPAP submission covering material certifications, process records, dimensional results and accreditation evidence; operator certification records for every operator performing the process; first-lot support to Acme's First Article Inspection; and written notification of any change to process, material, sub-tier or operator qualification before it takes effect.

Out of scope. Tooling design and supply, which is Acme's — the $210,000 tooling and fixtures line is a program cost, not a supplier one. Prepreg procurement and out-time control, which sit with the raw-material supplier class under separate purchase orders. Destructive test coupons beyond those named in the Control Plan. Disposition of nonconforming material, which is Acme's Material Review Board. Any change to the qualified process baseline without prior written approval.

Anything not described in this section is out of scope. On a special process the boundary carries more weight than usual: an unstated assumption about who verifies what does not surface at receiving, it surfaces at first article, by which point the tooling is cut and the schedule is committed.

3 · Approach

Qualification runs before production, in the order the Supplier Management Plan sets out: supplier approval and AS9100 flow-down, then PPAP submission, then special-process accreditation, then first-lot acceptance. The sequence is not administrative. Each step establishes something the next one depends on, and a step taken out of order produces evidence about a baseline that has since moved.

Acceptance relaxes only after the first production lot is verified in full against the qualified baseline. Until then every lot carries full verification, and the Supplier is paid for that verification rather than being asked to absorb it — a supplier who is not paid to produce evidence produces less of it.

Change control is the part that matters most and is easiest to leave implicit. Any change to process parameters, material, sub-tier supplier or operator qualification requires written approval before it takes effect, not notification afterwards. On a process whose output cannot be inspection-verified, an unannounced change is indistinguishable from conformity until a part fails in service.

Surveillance continues after qualification. The Supplier grants Acme and its customer right of access to the process, records and sub-tiers, including during production. Access is a term of this Statement of Work rather than a courtesy, because the alternative — inferring process health from delivered parts — is the thing this document exists to avoid.

4 · Qualification and Delivery Phases

Phase 1 — Supplier approval and flow-down

The quality system and the program's requirements established before any process work begins.

Phase 2 — PPAP submission

The evidence package that says the process can make the part, before it makes one for production.

Phase 3 — Special-process accreditation

Third-party accreditation, because Acme cannot verify this output itself.

Phase 4 — First-lot acceptance and ongoing surveillance

The first production lot verified in full before acceptance relaxes.

5 · Acceptance

Each Deliverable is submitted with the evidence its acceptance criteria call for. Acme has the stated Review Period to accept, or to reject in writing with specific, criterion-by-criterion reasons. Silence for the whole Review Period is acceptance — deemed acceptance — because a program cannot hold a supplier to a date while leaving its own review open-ended.

⚠ Deemed acceptance applies to the documentation Deliverables. It does not apply to accreditation currency or to the qualified process baseline: an accreditation that has lapsed is not accepted by the passage of time, and a process change that took effect without written approval is a nonconformance whether or not anyone reviewed it. Where evidence cannot be produced, that absence is itself the finding.

6 · Timeline and Resourcing

Qualification is sequential and precedes production: approval and flow-down, then PPAP, then accreditation evidence, then first-lot acceptance. The critical dependency is Acme's tooling, which is Acme's own $210,000 NRE line — the Supplier cannot lay up against tooling that has not arrived, and the qualification dates move day-for-day with it.

The table below shows who is involved on each side. Acme effort is drawn from the program's own roster and is not charged under this purchase order; it is shown because the Supplier's obligations depend on it. Supplier rows are roles rather than named individuals, consistent with the Supplier Management Plan, which identifies suppliers by class rather than by entity.

7 · Price and Payment

Priced against the purchase order and weighted toward qualification, because qualification is what is actually being bought. Payment follows accepted Deliverables rather than elapsed time:

• 15% on acceptance of D-A1 — flow-down and sub-tier declaration.
• 30% on acceptance of D-A2 — PPAP package.
• 25% on acceptance of D-A3 — accreditation evidence.
• 25% on acceptance of D-A4 — first-lot acceptance.
• 5% retained against D-A5, released at purchase order close.

⚠ The retention is deliberate and small. It is held against ongoing surveillance evidence rather than against delivery, because the risk on a special process is not that parts fail to arrive — it is that they arrive and the process behind them has quietly changed.

Production part pricing is carried on the purchase order itself, against the program's $620,000 materials and consumables line. No payment is due for a Deliverable that has not been accepted.

8 · Assumptions

The price and the qualification dates rest on the following. Each is stated so that its failure is visible rather than argued about later; where one fails, the consequence is handled under Variations.

• Acme supplies the tooling and fixtures. The $210,000 NRE line is an Acme program cost; qualification dates move day-for-day with tooling availability.
• Prepreg and qualified raw material are supplied under separate purchase orders to the raw-material supplier class, with certifications and out-time control their obligation, not this Supplier's.
• NADCAP accreditation is current at award and remains current for the duration. A lapse is notified within two business days and suspends acceptance until restored.
• The qualified process baseline does not change without written approval before the change takes effect. Notification after the fact is a nonconformance, not a variation.
• Acme's First Article Inspection is scheduled against the first production lot and the Supplier supports it; FAI lab, metrology and NDT testing is Acme's own $55,000 budget line.
• Right of access for Acme and its customer, including to sub-tiers, is available throughout — during qualification and during production.
• Nonconforming material is dispositioned by Acme's Material Review Board. The Supplier does not use, rework or scrap nonconforming material on its own authority.

9 · Variations

Either party may propose a variation. The Supplier prices it within five Business Days, stating the effect on price, on qualification dates, and on any other Deliverable. No variation takes effect until both parties sign, and work performed in anticipation of one is at the Supplier's own cost.

Where an assumption above fails, the consequence is handled here rather than absorbed silently. ⚠ One exception is deliberate and absolute: a change to the qualified process baseline is never a variation to be settled afterwards. It requires written approval before it takes effect, and a change made without that approval is a nonconformance handled by Acme's Material Review Board, not a commercial matter between the parties.

A variation that alters a program milestone is additionally subject to the program's change control, because the wing panel schedule depends on qualification completing before production release.

10 · Terminology

11 · Purchase Order and Flow-Downs

This Statement of Work is issued under and as part of the purchase order between Acme Aerostructures and the Supplier, and creates no rights independent of it. Warranty, limitation of liability, intellectual property, confidentiality, insurance, indemnity and dispute resolution are governed by the purchase order terms and are not restated here. Restating them invites the two documents to disagree.

Two sets of obligations are load-bearing for this engagement and are referenced rather than restated: the AS9100 §8.4 flow-downs for control of externally provided processes, including right of access and sub-tier control; and the program's customer flow-downs from Meridian Aircraft Co., which pass through to the Supplier unchanged. Where the purchase order terms and this Statement of Work conflict, the purchase order prevails except on the technical scope, acceptance criteria and process-change obligations stated here.

12 · Approval

⚠ The Supplier is identified by class rather than by entity, consistent with the Supplier Management Plan. The Supplier signs through its own authorized representative on the purchase order; this Statement of Work records Acme's internal approvals.