Performance Review Institute (PRI), Nadcap programOn the public register
- What they do
- Assessor
- Which standards
- On the public register for Nadcap.
- Standards
- Pricing
- Not published
Framework Quality & Manufacturing
Nadcap
Nadcap (National Aerospace and Defense Contractors Accreditation Program) is an industry-managed accreditation program for special processes and products in aerospace and defense: heat treating, chemical processing, coatings, welding, nondestructive testing, materials testing, composites, electronics, and others.
It is run by the Performance Review Institute (PRI), a nonprofit set up by SAE. Unlike a quality management system certificate, Nadcap is technical: an auditor checks that the specific process is being run to the customer's specifications with the right equipment, controls, and qualified people.
Primes such as Boeing, Airbus, GE Aerospace, and Rolls-Royce require Nadcap accreditation from their special process suppliers and sit on the task groups that write the audit checklists.
In writing, a supplier needs a compliant quality system (AC7004 or an AS9100 certificate), process procedures and work instructions that match customer specifications, equipment qualification and calibration records (for example furnace surveys and pyrometry for heat treating), personnel qualification and training records, process control and test records, and a procedure for handling nonconformances.
Audits are scheduled and reported in PRI's eAuditNet (EAN) system, and accredited suppliers appear on the public Qualified Manufacturers List.
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Who has to comply
Suppliers performing special processes or supplying covered products to subscribing primes and their tiers, where the prime flows down Nadcap as a purchase requirement. It is not a legal requirement; it is contractual and highly specific to the commodity and the customer.
What the assessor asks to see
Scope of accreditation (commodity, processes, and customer specifications); quality system compliance (AC7004 audit or current AS9100 certificate); procedures and work instructions traceable to customer specifications; equipment lists, qualification, calibration, and for thermal processes furnace surveys and system accuracy tests; personnel qualification and certification records (for example NDT Level II/III); process parameter records and job travelers; test and inspection records; control of nonconforming product and customer notification; internal audit of the special process; previous Nadcap audit results and closed nonconformance reports; job audits observed live during the audit.
Where the requirement sits: AC7004 quality system checklist; process-specific AC checklists
eAuditNet and the QML
PRI's eAuditNet (now branded PRI EAN) is the online system where audits are scheduled, checklists are completed, nonconformance reports are issued and answered, and certificates are stored. Its Online QML (Qualified Manufacturers List) is a public list of accredited suppliers by commodity and location that buyers can search at no cost.
Accreditation is per site and per commodity, so a supplier may be accredited for heat treating but not for the chemical processing done next door.
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Assessors
Who assesses Nadcap
PRI-employed or PRI-contracted Nadcap auditors assigned by PRI; there is no market of competing certification bodies. Audit findings are reviewed by PRI staff engineers and approved by the industry task group for that commodity. the Nadcap Management Council and commodity task groups (made up of prime contractors) govern the program and approve accreditations.
Consultants
Who helps with Nadcap
A specialist ecosystem of Nadcap consultants exists, many of them former auditors or process engineers, plus PRI's own eQuaLearn training. Consultants run pre-audits against the relevant AC checklist, fix pyrometry and process control gaps, write procedures aligned to customer specifications, and help write root cause and corrective action responses to nonconformance reports.
Engagements vary widely by commodity, often three to nine months before a first audit.
Firms that name this framework in their own material. Listings we have not verified yet come from public filings and partner lists. Each firm can confirm its own.
No firm has claimed a Nadcap consultant listing yet. Claim yours →
Software
Tools for Nadcap
Tools that name this framework in their own material.
Related reading
- Nadcap accreditation: how the process worksThe programme administrator on audit scheduling, non-conformance closeout and the task group vote that decides whether accreditation is granted.Performance Review Institute
- Nadcap accreditation FAQ for suppliersA prime contractor explaining when it requires Nadcap, which special processes are in scope and how it differs from AS9100.Boeing
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