First article inspection checklist, start to finish.

What are the first article inspection requirements?

A first article inspection must account for every characteristic, prove every material, special process and functional test with evidence, and be done on a production part. In AS9102 terms, a first article inspection is a complete, documented check that a part made by the production process meets every requirement on the drawing, the model, the specs it points to, and the PO. Three things make it an FAI and not just a good inspection:

• Every characteristic is accounted for. Each dimension, GD&T control and note gets a balloon and a result. Nothing is sampled away.
• Materials, special processes and functional tests are proven with certs and test reports, not assumed.
• It's done on a production part, made with the program, tooling, fixtures, material and sources you'll use for the order.

The result is recorded on Form 1 (part number accountability), Form 2 (product accountability) and Form 3 (characteristic accountability), then signed. Your customer's PO and supplier quality manual can add to all of it. If you're not sure whether a job needs an AS9102 FAI or a quick first-piece check, see first article vs first piece inspection.

How to use this: print it (Ctrl+P or Cmd+P), one copy per FAI, and keep it with the traveler. Tick each box or write N/A with a reason. A box ticked without evidence behind it is worse than an empty one.

What do you check before machining? (Phase 1: contract review)

Before any metal is cut, confirm the drawing revision, the customer's requirements and your sources. This is contract review. Flow-downs are the quality requirements your customer passes to you through PO clauses and its supplier quality manual.

• ☐ Drawing number and revision match the PO exactly. Any model (MBD) revision matches too.
• ☐ Every spec the drawing and PO reference is on hand, at the revision required.
• ☐ Customer flow-downs read: PO quality clauses and the supplier quality manual.
• ☐ Which AS9102 revision the customer wants, and whether they supply their own forms.
• ☐ How the customer wants it submitted: paper, PDF, Excel, or a portal such as Net-Inspect.
• ☐ Key or critical characteristics identified, and any extra rules for them (variable data, SPC).
• ☐ Source inspection or customer witness required? Scheduled?
• ☐ Full or partial FAI decided, with the reason written down. For a partial, the baseline FAI found and accepted. See full vs partial FAI.
• ☐ Material ordered to the drawing spec, with full mill certs (heat or lot number) required on the purchase order.
• ☐ Special-process sources checked against the customer's approved list for each process and spec.
• ☐ Router or traveler written and at a released revision. That's the process the FAI will prove.
• ☐ Inspection capability checked: gauges, CMM, fixtures and anything the shop can't measure in house.

How do you balloon the drawing for an FAI? (Phase 2)

Ballooning means giving every characteristic on the drawing a number, so each one gets its own row on Form 3. Every dimension, GD&T control and note gets a balloon.

• ☐ Every dimension ballooned, on every sheet and view.
• ☐ Every GD&T feature control frame ballooned, with its datums.
• ☐ Every note ballooned, including flag notes and general notes ("break sharp edges", "mark per…", "finish per…").
• ☐ Title block general tolerances worked out for untoleranced dimensions.
• ☐ Multiplied features ("4X") handled one way, consistently: one balloon with every instance recorded, or sub-numbered balloons.
• ☐ Basic and reference dimensions handled per your procedure and the customer's. See basic vs reference dimensions.
• ☐ Characteristic designators (key, critical, major) marked.
• ☐ Balloon numbers stable against the previous revision, if there is one.
• ☐ Balloon count written down. You'll reconcile it against Form 3 later.

Step-by-step method in how to balloon a drawing.

What do you check during FAI inspection? (Phase 3)

During inspection, measure every balloon on a production part, with calibrated gauges, and record actual values. Record failures as measured and open a nonconformance report (NCR) for each.

• ☐ The FAI part comes from the first production run, made on the production program, tooling and fixtures.
• ☐ The part is identified (serial, or lot and piece number) and segregated until the FAI is closed.
• ☐ Every gauge and instrument used is in calibration. Cal due dates recorded.
• ☐ Each balloon measured with a method that can actually resolve its tolerance.
• ☐ Actual values recorded for every variable characteristic. Numbers, not "OK".
• ☐ CMM results mapped to balloon numbers, and each reported feature checked against the right callout. See how to read a CMM report.
• ☐ Bonus tolerance applied only where the callout allows it, and the actual feature size recorded. See MMC bonus tolerance.
• ☐ Out-of-tolerance results recorded as measured, never adjusted. NCR opened for each.
• ☐ Functional tests run to their procedure, with a test report.
• ☐ Characteristics verified at an earlier operation (before plating, before assembly) recorded at that stage.

How do you complete AS9102 Forms 1, 2 and 3? (Phase 4)

Fill Form 3 first, then Form 2, then Form 1, because Form 1's nonconformance answer depends on the other two. In Rev C only Form 1 carries signatures.

Form 3: characteristic accountability

• ☐ One row per balloon. Row count matches balloon count.
• ☐ Requirement copied as the drawing states it, tolerance included.
• ☐ Reference location (sheet and zone) on each row.
• ☐ Result for every row, and every instance of multiplied features.
• ☐ NCR number on every failed row.
• ☐ Tooling identified where a characteristic was verified by tooling.

Column-by-column detail: AS9102 Form 3 explained.

Form 2: product accountability

• ☐ One line for every material, special process and functional test the drawing or PO calls for.
• ☐ Spec, type and class on each line match the drawing.
• ☐ Each line has a cert or test report number, and the cert says the same thing as the line.
• ☐ Mill cert shows a heat or lot number, traceable to this part through the traveler.
• ☐ Customer approval column filled honestly: Yes, No or N/A.

Worked example: AS9102 Form 2 explained.

Form 1: part number accountability

• ☐ Part number, name, serial and FAIR identifier, the same on all three forms.
• ☐ Drawing number and revision, additional changes, router reference, PO number.
• ☐ Detail or assembly, full or partial, and the reason (Rev C wants one for full FAIs too).
• ☐ For an assembly: every parts-list item on the index with its Part Type and FAIR identifier.
• ☐ Nonconformance question answered last, from Form 3.

Field by field: AS9102 Form 1 explained.

What do you check before signing the FAI report? (Phase 5)

Before signing, reconcile the report against the drawing and against itself: balloon count, notes, headers, NCRs and calibration.

• ☐ Balloon count on the drawing equals the row count on Form 3. Any gap explained.
• ☐ Every drawing note traced to a Form 3 row, a Form 2 line, or both.
• ☐ Header fields identical across Forms 1, 2 and 3.
• ☐ Form 1 nonconformance answer agrees with Form 3: Yes if any NCR is referenced.
• ☐ Every NCR referenced has a disposition.
• ☐ No reading taken with a gauge that was out of calibration on the day.
• ☐ Approver (Form 1 field 22) and verifier (field 20) are two different people where possible. AS9102 Rev C recommends it, and some customers require it.
• ☐ Signatures and dates on Form 1. Month spelled out.

The reasons reports come back, ranked, are in why FAI reports get rejected. Run that list once against your last few rejections and add your own repeat offenders here.

How do you submit and keep the FAI report? (Phase 6)

Submit the package the way the customer asks, then file it where an auditor can find it, and track when the next FAI will be due.

• ☐ Package assembled the way the customer asked: forms, ballooned drawing, certs, test reports, NCRs.
• ☐ Uploaded or sent through the customer's channel. For portals, see uploading to Net-Inspect.
• ☐ FAI part and the rest of the lot held until the customer's approval, if they require it before shipping.
• ☐ Record filed where an auditor can find it by part number and revision, with the raw data (CMM reports, gauge readings) behind it.
• ☐ Retention period set from the customer's contract and your quality system.
• ☐ Baseline kept for as long as any partial FAI depends on it.
• ☐ Next trigger noted: date of last production. AS9102 calls for a new FAI, at least on the characteristics affected, after a two-year lapse in production, and some customers, such as Lockheed Martin, set stricter rules.

What auditors look for in the filed records: FAI records in an AS9100 audit.

Who owns each phase of a first article inspection?

The inspector usually owns ballooning, inspection and the forms; the quality manager usually owns contract review, approval and submission. In a small shop one person may wear several hats. The boxes still get ticked, and the two signatures should still be two people where you have them.

Want a rough number for what all this takes in your shop? See what a first article inspection costs.

First article inspection checklist questions

What are the requirements for a first article inspection?

Under AS9102, a first article inspection is a complete, documented check that a part made by the production process meets every design requirement. Every characteristic is identified and verified, materials, special processes and functional tests are backed by certs or test reports, and the results go on Forms 1, 2 and 3 and are signed. Your customer's PO and quality clauses can add requirements.

Which part do I use for the first article?

Use a representative part from the first production run, made with the production process, program, tooling, fixtures and material sources you will use for the rest of the order. A prototype, or a part made by a different process or at a different site, doesn't count. Identify the part by serial number, or lot and piece number, and segregate it until the FAI is closed.

When should the FAI be started?

Start the FAI at contract review, before any metal is cut. That is when you confirm the drawing revision against the PO, read the customer's flow-downs, decide full or partial FAI, and check that material and special-process sources are on the customer's approved list. Problems found at this stage cost a phone call; found after machining, they cost parts.

Do the verifier and the approver have to be different people?

AS9102 Rev C says the person who approves the report in Form 1 field 22 should not be the person who verified it in field 20. That is a recommendation, not a strict rule, and training material allows one person in a small organization with no second qualified employee. Some customers require two people, so check the PO and supplier quality manual.

How long do I keep FAI records?

Keep FAI records as long as your customer's contract and your quality system require. Retention periods are set by customers and vary, so check the PO and the supplier quality manual. Keep the baseline full FAI for as long as any partial FAI depends on it, along with the raw data behind it, such as CMM reports and gauge readings.

Where software helps

Phases 2 to 5 are where the typing is. Deburr balloons the drawing and flags the balloons it isn't sure about, takes pasted CMM output or typed readings into Form 3, blocks sign-off when a reading was taken with an out-of-calibration gauge, and carries the header across Forms 1, 2 and 3 in the AS9102 Rev C layout. Phase 1 and the judgement calls stay with you, and people sign. Try the ballooning step free with the AI ballooner.

Related: How to balloon a drawing · Full vs partial FAI · Why FAI reports get rejected · First article inspection report template · Free ballooning software, compared

Sources

1. AS9102C, Aerospace First Article Inspection Requirement, SAE International
2. AS9102 Rev C training: summary of changes, Paradygm
3. AS9102C Form 1 details, Paradygm training
4. AS9102 First Article Inspection Report: Rev B vs Rev C, Net-Inspect
5. Quality clause Q2A, first article inspection, Lockheed Martin
6. FAI STD-001, first article inspection requirements for suppliers, Sonaca