Procurement Quality Assurance Requirements: The following Q Clauses are a requirement of the procurement document when expressly specified by clause number.

Q-1 General Quality Assurance Requirements

A. Prohibited Practices

Unauthorized Repairs

Seller shall not repair any damaged item, nor any found to be faulty during manufacturing, or that fails to meet buyer specification/drawing requirements, without buyers written approval.  Seller is not authorized to perform material review board (MRB) activity on non-conforming material without buyer authorization.

Change in Approval, Drawing, Processes, Materials, or Procedures

Seller shall not change any drawing, process, material (including subtier supplier parts), or procedure without prior buyer written approval, if such a drawing, process, material, or procedure was previously approved by Buyer as provided for in the procurement document.

Resubmittal of Rejected Items

Any item rejected by Buyer and subsequently resubmitted to Buyer shall be clearly identified as a resubmitted item, indicating procurement document number and Buyer reject document number in Sellers certificate of conformance.

Notification of Facility Change

Seller shall not use or relocate any production, manufacturing, and/or processing facilities to differ from previous approval by Buyer, during performance of work specified in the procurement document, without previously notifying Buyer and affording Buyer an opportunity to examine such facilities for compliance with procurement quality requirements.

B. Responsibility for Conformance

Neither surveillance, inspection and/or test made by Buyer or its representatives, or US Government representatives, at either Sellers or Buyers facility, for compliance with all applicable procurement quality requirements, shall relieve Seller of the responsibility to furnish an item that conforms to the requirements of the procurement document.

All items procured by the Seller from subtier suppliers shall comply with all applicable provisions of drawings, specifications and other requirements of the procurement document. If seller is notified of a non-conformance, seller is to notify buyer in writing of said non-conformance within 72 hours. Seller shall control subtier supplier procurements to the extent necessary to ensure quality requirements specified in the procurement document, including any required key characteristics, are satisfied. Quality requirements shall include, but are not limited to the following: Subtier suppliers ensuring adequate review of procurement documentation prior to procurements, controlling inspection of procured items to documented procedures, and control of non-conforming material, including corrective action.

C. Buyer Survey, Surveillance, Audits, and Inspection

Buyer has the right to conduct surveys, audits, and surveillance of Seller facilities and applicable quality related records, and those of Seller subtier suppliers,  with prior coordination with Seller, to determine the capability to comply, and to verify continuing compliance, with the requirements of the procurement document. Buyer has the right to perform inspection at Sellers facilities and those of Seller subtier suppliers, during the period of manufacture and inspection prior to shipment. Final inspection and acceptance shall be performed at the Buyer facility, unless otherwise specified in the procurement document.

D. Corrective Action Request

When a quality problem exists with any Seller item, Buyer may forward a “Corrective Action Request” to Seller, requiring timely response that shall include the following information: analysis of the cause of the problem, statement of the action taken to prevent recurrence, and the effectivity of the action.

E. Measuring and Test Equipment

Seller shall be responsible for validating the accuracy and stability of tools, gages and test equipment used to demonstrate that any item conforms to the requirements specified by the procurement document. Documented schedules shall be maintained to provide for periodic calibration to adequate standards. Objective evidence of calibrations shall be recorded and made available for buyer review.

F. Non Conforming Material

Any decision to accept any nonconformance (variance from Buyer drawings and specifications), detected at Sellers facilities, must be made by Buyer unless otherwise specified in the procurement document. Shipment of any nonconforming item shall be accompanied by Buyer approved documentation defining the variance. Seller shall provide for identification, control and segregation of nonconforming material detected at Sellers facilities.

G. Inspection Records

Seller shall maintain records of all inspections and tests performed on any item delivered to Buyer. These records shall identify any nonconformance and shall be available for Buyer review. Inspection and test records will be retained by the Seller for three (3) years from the date of final payment.

H. Certificate of Conformance

The Seller shall certify that parts and/or material meet all requirements of the procurement document and/or drawings and specification requirements. One (1) copy of this certification, signed by the Sellers representative, shall be included with each shipment. This certification may be included on the Sellers packing list. Buyer may refuse to accept item if Seller fails to submit certifications, documentation, or test data specified by the procurement document.

I. Right of Access

The Seller shall allow access by the Buyer, their Customer, and any applicable regulatory authorities, to all production facilities and to all applicable records involved in the order upon written request by the Buyer.

Q. 2. US Government Source Inspection

For procurements made under US Government contracts, the US Government has the right to inspect any and all of the work included in the procurement document, at Seller facilities or at subtier facilities. This inspection does not relieve the Seller from contractual responsibilities imposed by the Buyer in the procurement document.

a. “Government inspection is required prior to shipment from your facility. Upon release of this order, promptly notify the Government representative who services your plant so the appropriate planning for Government inspection can be accomplished”.

b. “On receipt of this order, promptly furnish a copy to the nearest Government representative who normally services your facility or, if none, to the nearest Army, Navy, Air Force, or Defense Supply Agency inspection office. In the event the representative or the office cannot be located the buyer should be notified”.

Q. 3. First Article Inspection

First article inspection shall be conducted by the Seller on the first production run of each lot of items delivered. First article reports shall be submitted that include results of dimensional measurements and, when applicable, results of mechanical tests and non-destructive test inspections.

Q. 4. Identification of Limited/Calendar Life Materials

The seller shall identify each item, or certificate of conformance of limited-calendar materials with the lot number, expiration date, storage temperature and special handling conditions, in addition to the normal identification requirements of name, part or code number, type, size, quantity, etc.

Q. 5. Quality System Requirements

The Sellers Inspection system shall conform to the requirements of MIL-I-45208A and is subject to review and approval at all times by the Buyer.

Q. 6. Calibration System Requirements

Seller shall provide and maintain a calibration program that is in conformance with ANSI-NCSL-Z-540.

Q. 7. Special Packaging

a. All items will be slip-sheeted with protective barriers.

b. All items will be packaged and protected from leaks, spillage.

c. All controlled and/or limited shelf life items will be appropriately identified, packaged, and protected.

Q.8. Customer Approved Vendor

The Seller is required to use the buyer’s customer approved sub-tier supplier. The customer approved source will be described in the procurement document.

Q.9. Supplier User Agreement

The Sellers agree to abide by the terms of the “ Laminate and Pre-Preg Testing Agreement”. By concurrence to this agreement the Seller agrees to provide the Buyer Pre-preg and Laminates meeting the requirements of  IPC-4101 and the testing requirements of cancelled MIL-S-13949. The Seller agrees to maintain documentation, qualifications, and conformance testing necessary to maintain compliance with IPC-4101 and the terms of the agreement.

REGISTER of DELEGATIONS

Cirtech delegates all test verification activities to the material suppliers from which we purchase material from, it is the responsibility of the manufacturers of material to ensure it conforms to all requirements of the below industry specifications.

Cirtech will accept material based on the Certificates of Conformance from the suppliers to the required industry specifications of the latest revisions specified on the Cirtech purchase order.

Copper                                                             IPC-4562

Nickel                                                   SAE-AMS-QQ-290

Gold                                                     ASTM B-488

Laminates                                             IPC-4101 / 4103

Prepreg                                                IPC-4101 / 4102

Hole Fill Material (Hysol 1C)                  IID 567-0110

Soldermask                                          IPC-SM-840

Legend Ink                                           AA-56032

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Last modified: October 29, 2007