SC21: a benefit or a burden?

Terry McManus, Business Development Manager at Tekdata, takes a look at the impact new standards have on the UK aerospace manufacturing industry.

Tekdata are one of the first “self-starter” companies to commit to SC21 and have been putting plans in place to achieve progress. This is not an easy task for a SME: it involves attending meetings, liaising with regional bodies and, perhaps most importantly, securing appropriate funding.

SC21 appears to be generating an industry of its own, attracting training providers and accreditation bodies alike. Their newly defined bronze, silver and gold awards will spawn even more. A requirement for SC21 signatories is to “recognise and accept Nadcap accreditation.” Nadcap was originally set up to ensure the suppliers of “special processes and products” have fully controlled processes. Having exhausted the special process areas (e.g. heat treatment and plating) Nadcap is now looking to extend its influence into other fields.

For instance, the standard AC7120 for circuit card assembly has been developed last year and as this new standard goes live, it will absorb a whole new group of suppliers who will effectively “have the bar raised” for them. Achievement of this standard is likely to become mandatory for those who have committed to SC21.

It doesn’t stop there: Nadcap has plans to create a new standard for wiring harness manufacturers which will be based on an existing standard, IPC-A-620. This perfectly acceptable IPC standard was set-up in conjunction with the Wiring Harness Manufacturers Association (WHMA). Despite this, Nadcap have already generated a number (AC7121) and a working title (Wire & Harness). This perfectly acceptable standard is being overlooked for no apparent reason!

Which begs the question: “why bypass a standard which is already an Approved American National Standard (ANSI) and recognised worldwide?” It is each and every SC21 member who will be burdened with the extra cost of becoming accredited to this new standard, while the Nadcap committee carries on meeting in exotic locations to develop its 'new' standards. Where is this foolishness taking the UK industry? And more importantly perhaps: when is this lunacy going to stop?