Supplier Quality · F-840-005-B

Supplier Quality Clauses

Minimum quality and compliance requirements for all products and services supplied to SafeSmart. Applies to Suppliers & 

Sub-Tiers.


Overview & Application

The following Supplier Quality Clauses apply to organizations providing raw materials, hardware and other materials, special processes, and calibration services to SafeSmart. The applicable Quality Codes (QC01–QC24) will be specified on each purchase order and are mandatory when referenced.

Note for Suppliers:
It is the supplier’s responsibility to understand which Quality Codes apply to each order, flow down requirements and key characteristics to sub-tier providers where required, and retain objective evidence of compliance for the full record retention period.

 

Product / Service Quality Codes

The table below summarizes which Quality Codes apply to each category of product or service.

Product / Service Purchased Applicable Quality Codes
Raw Material

QC01, QC02, QC03, QC04, QC05, QC06, QC07, QC08, QC11, QC12, QC13, QC14, QC15, QC16, QC17, QC18, QC19, QC20, QC23, QC24
Hardware & Other Materials

QC01, QC02, QC03, QC04, QC05, QC07, QC08, QC11, QC12, QC15, QC16, QC17, QC19, QC23
Special Processes
(e.g., heat treat, plating, welding)

QC01, QC02, QC03, QC04, QC05, QC06, QC07, QC08, QC09, QC11, QC12, QC14, QC15, QC17, QC18, QC19, QC20, QC23
Calibration QC04, QC05, QC11, QC14, QC15

 

Quality Codes QC01–QC24

Each Quality Code defines a specific requirement applicable when referenced on the purchase order. Suppliers are expected to maintain documentation and objective evidence demonstrating compliance.

QC01 — Quality System:

Supplier shall establish and maintain a Quality System acceptable to SafeSmart for all goods and/or services purchased under this purchase order. As a minimum, the supplier’s Quality System must meet the requirements of ISO 9001 or better (e.g., AS91XX).

QC02 — Supplier Furnished Material:

Supplier shall submit chemical and physical test reports in accordance with the latest material specifications and revision. Distributors must provide certification verifying the material’s traceability to the mill test reports when supplied.

All distributors and manufacturers must compare and validate material test reports and certifications to the applicable specifications prior to shipping them to SafeSmart.

QC03 — Sub-Contractor Flow Down:

Supplier is required to flow down the requirements of this purchase order, including terms and conditions, to the supplier’s subcontractors. Flow down of key characteristics is required when specified on the face of the purchase order.

QC04 — Record Retention and Disposition:
As a minimum, the supplier is to retain records for at least 10 years from the date of shipment under each applicable order for all products/part numbers, unless otherwise specified in the order. In special circumstances, the purchase order will identify the actual required number of years that records should be maintained. After the minimum retention period is achieved, suppliers may disposition the records as archive or destroy at their discretion.

QC05 — Measuring & Test Equipment:

The supplier’s equipment shall be calibrated in accordance with ANSI/NCSL Z540-1, ISO 17025, or ISO 10012-1 and be traceable to NIST.

QC06 — SafeSmart Furnished Property:

Supplier is to return all furnished property to SafeSmart at the completion of the purchase order. Furnished property may include, but is not limited to, drawings, mylars, process specifications, tooling, fixtures, and excess raw material.

QC07 — Parts Identification:

The supplier is to identify parts in accordance with purchase order requirements.

QC08 — Nonconformance / Corrective Action:

The supplier is to notify SafeSmart of any nonconformance prior to shipping product and obtain approval for disposition of any nonconforming product. In addition, the supplier will maintain a system for handling non-conformances and corrective actions.

QC09 — Special Processing Approval:

The supplier is to perform a special process on this purchase order. Special processing may include heat-treating, stress relieving, or nondestructive testing. SafeSmart shall identify the specific process specification and the end user on the purchase order. The supplier should maintain its special process approval with the end user. If the supplier is not currently approved for the specified process, it is the supplier’s responsibility to notify SafeSmart immediately.

QC10 — First Article Inspection:

The supplier shall submit a First Article Inspection Report (may be AS9102) with this purchase order. The report should identify all process specifications and dimensional data.

QC11 — Calibration Vendor:

The calibration vendor shall be accredited to ISO 17025. All measuring and test equipment shall be calibrated in accordance with ANSI/NCSL Z540.3 and be traceable to NIST.

QC12 — Certificate of Conformance:

A certification is required stating that all products or services meet the contractual or purchase order requirements. The certificate must list the part number and all applicable process specifications, including up-to-date revision levels.

QC13 — Buy America Act:

Items procured under this purchase order must be compliant with DFAR 252.225-7000.

QC14 — Right of Entry:

SafeSmart, our customers, and/or any applicable regulatory authority reserve the right to access the supplier’s applicable areas of all facilities, at any level of the supply chain, involved in the order and to all applicable records. Reasons for access may include inspection of the item on order, status of the item, or review of quality records pertaining to the purchase order in question.

QC15 — QMS Awareness:

Vendor personnel must be made aware of:

  • their contribution to product or service conformity;
  • their contribution to product safety;
  • the importance of ethical behavior.

QC16 — Counterfeit Prevention:

Vendor must have a process in place to detect and prevent the use of counterfeit parts/materials. The holder of the SafeSmart purchase order must be the Original Equipment (Component) Manufacturer (OEM) of the product or the OEM’s authorized distributor with traceability to the OEM.

Authorized distributors shall provide certification to OEM-approved distribution or evidence of certification/approval from the appropriate OEM of the product supplied to SafeSmart. If documentation demonstrating an unbroken chain of custody from these authorized manufacturers or distributors cannot be provided at the time of delivery, then the vendor must comply with general purchase order requirements.

QC17 — Control & Monitoring Requirements:

Vendor must maintain a quality level ≥ 98% and an on-time delivery (OTD) level ≥ 98%. If levels drop below target, the supplier will be notified and may be placed on conditional status or disapproved if not corrected.

QC18 — Change Notification:

Supplier is to notify SafeSmart of changes in product and/or process, changes of suppliers, changes of manufacturing facility location and, where required, obtain organization approval.

QC19 — Acceptance Authority Media:

Media such as inspection stamps and electronic signatures used for product acceptance/inspection must be controlled and traceable to the personnel to whom they are issued.

QC20 — Verification on Supplier’s Premises:

Verification of product on supplier premises by SafeSmart or its customers does not remove the obligation to provide conforming products and shall not be used as the organization’s evidence of conformity.

QC21 — Shelf Life Materials:

The supplier shall provide the manufacturing date, shelf life, and expiration date for all limited shelf life items under this order. All items will have 75% or more of their shelf life remaining at the time of shipment to SafeSmart.

All items must be packaged, labeled, and transported per their applicable regulatory requirements.

QC22 — Obsolescence:

Supplier must provide notice at least 180 days in advance of any products approaching obsolescence and allow a final purchase before obsoleting any product.

QC23 — FOD Prevention:

The organization shall maintain a Foreign Object Debris (FOD) program designed to prevent the introduction of contamination or FOD. This shall also address the introduction of FOD through wasteful or inappropriate packaging.

QC24 — Raw Materials:

Supplier shall provide material, physical, and chemical certifications with actual physical and/or chemical results with each shipment as required by the specification. Certifications must:

  • be on company letterhead;
  • contain the signature and title of an authorized quality representative;
  • include specification(s) and revision level(s) used to produce the order;
  • certify in accordance with applicable purchase order, contract, drawing, and specification requirements.

All distributors and manufacturers must compare and validate material test reports and certifications to the applicable specifications prior to shipping them to
SafeSmart.

If the shipment contains multiple processed lots within each manufactured lot, each processed lot must be segregated and identified to maintain complete traceability
in each shipment (e.g., each heat-treated lot shall be segregated and identified).

Certifications may be on the same page as the manufacturer’s Certificate of Conformance if appropriate for the manufacturer’s procedures.

Note 1: Certifications shall be made available within 48 hours of specific request.

Note 2: Material certifications may be substituted in lieu of a test report if the product is non-metallic. Material certifications submitted in lieu of test reports shall contain the batch number and cure date.

Questions about these Supplier Quality Clauses? For clarification on which Quality Codes apply to your purchase order, or for support in implementing these requirements within your QMS, please contact your SafeSmart representative at info@safesmartaccess.com or the button below.
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