UAV Production & AS9100 Certification Consultancy
Three-month engagement delivered a full assembly-and-test process, secured an AS9100 Stage 2 pass, and ramped output to 10 UAVs per month—all while meeting Military-List export-control rules.
Quick Facts
- Customer: Emerging UAV Manufacturer
- Sector: Aerospace
- Engagement: Certified Production Process Development & Installation
- Lead‑time: 3 Months
Customer Profile
A fast-growing UAV manufacturer transitioning from prototype builds to low-rate initial production. While the team had strong aerospace design expertise, their existing ISO 9001 framework didn’t cover flight-critical assembly, test, or Military-List export controls. They needed a compliant, audit-ready quality system and a practical production process map—quickly—to satisfy investors and defence-sector customers.
The Challenge
The company’s ISO 9001 system covered design and basic prototyping, but didn’t extend to flight-critical assembly, test, or Military-List exports. With customers demanding an AS9100 certificate and early-stage deliveries in just three months, the team faced three urgent gaps:
No process for repeatable build and test of the UAV.
No AS9100 documentation set (procedures, KPIs, internal-audit plan).
No clear path through export-control rules governing dual-use and defence items.
Missing any one of these would delay investor milestones and block orders from defence-sector integrators.
Solution
90-day roadmap: set out week-by-week deliverables for process mapping, quality-system build-out and export-control documentation.
Assembly & test process map → reality: our consultancy team translated the paper map into a live production cell—laying out workstations, kitting flow racks, drafting operator SOPs and training the line crew so the map worked on the shop floor from day one.
AS9100 system build: authored procedures, risk matrix, KPI dashboard and internal-audit schedule; coached the client’s team through two trial audits before the registrar visit.
Export-control compliance: classified assemblies and subsystems against the Military List, drafted licence applications and embedded screen-and-record steps in the ERP.
Ramp-to-rate support: ran pilot builds alongside production engineers; by week 12 the line was turning out 10 UAVs per month and recording first-pass yields in the new QMS.
Innovation & Value‑Add
Digital-first rollout: we linked every step of the process map to a live KPI dashboard, giving the client instant traceability for each airframe.
Modular cell design: the production layout we implemented scales from today’s 10 UAVs/month to the 30-per-month rate simply by duplicating two workstations—no wholesale re-layout required.
Knowledge transfer: through hands-on coaching and templated documentation, the client’s team now owns the system—able to update forms, run internal audits, and maintain export-control logs without external support.
Results & KPIs
| Metric | Outcome |
|---|---|
| AS9100 certification | Stage-2 audit passed on first attempt (week 12) |
| Export-control compliance | Military-List procedures live; licence applications approved |
| Process-map deployment | Fully implemented production cell with digital traceability in 90 days |
| Production rate at hand-over | 10 UAVs per month, layout scalable to 30 UAVs per month |
| First-pass yield during pilots | > 95 % |
Customer Quote
“With Brigham Consultants’ guidance we gained AS9100 certification in three months and launched a fully traceable UAV line on schedule—an outstanding result.”
Visual Proof