Nadcap® Accreditation Consulting & Audit Preparation
Nucleus Consultants is an independent consulting firm that helps aerospace and defence suppliers prepare for Nadcap® special-process audits. We are not affiliated with, authorized by, sponsored by or endorsed by the Performance Review Institute (PRI) or the Nadcap® program. Nadcap® accreditation is granted solely by PRI through theNadcap® industry Task Groups. Nucleus Consultants does not conductNadcap® audits and cannot grant, influence or guarantee accreditation. Nadcap® is a registered trademark of, and is administered by, the Performance Review Institute (PRI).
Nadcap® is an industry-managed accreditation program for special processes used in aerospace and defence manufacturing, such as heat treating, non-destructive testing, chemical processing, welding, coatings and composites. The program is owned and administered by the Performance Review Institute (PRI). PRI-assigned auditors assess suppliers against industry-agreed audit criteria, and the accreditation decision is taken by the relevant industry Task Group. For official information on the program, audit criteria, meetings and accredited suppliers, visit PRI’s website at www.p-r-i.org.
Most aerospace primes and their tier-1 suppliers requireNadcap® accreditation for special-process work in their purchase orders and supplier-approval requirements. For a job shop or processing house, accreditation is usually the entry condition for the aerospace supply chain rather than an optional badge. Preparing for it also builds the process discipline that reduces escapes and customer findings: pyrometry and process-control records, technique sheets, calibration, operator qualification and traceable job records.
- Aerospace Quality Systems (AQS)
- Additive Manufacturing (AM)
- Chemical Processing (CP)
- Coatings (CT)
- Composites (COMP)
- Conventional Machining as a Special Process (CMSP)
- Elastomer Seals (SEAL)
- Electronics (ETG)
- Fluids Distribution (FLU)
- Heat Treating (HT)
- Materials Testing Laboratories (MTL)
- Measurement & Inspection (M&I)
- Metallic Materials Manufacturing (MMM)
- Nonconventional Machining and Surface Enhancement (NMSE)
- Nondestructive Testing (NDT)
- Non Metallic Materials Manufacturing (NMMM)
- Non Metallic Materials Testing (NMMT)
- Sealants (SLT)
- Welding (WLD)
The current commodity list, audit criteria (AC documents) and checklists are published by PRI at www.p-r-i.org and on eAuditNet. Which commodities and checklists apply to you depends on your customers’ contractual flow-downs.
- Scope and criteria mapping. We review your customer flow-downs, identify the applicable Nadcap commodity, audit criteria (for example AC7102 for heat treating) and customer-specific requirements, and guide your team through eAuditNet registration and downloading the applicable checklists. Registration is done by you, in your company’s name.
- Gap assessment. We assess your processes, equipment, personnel qualification, calibration and records against the checklist line by line and deliver a prioritised action plan.
- Documentation and process upgrade. We draft or revise procedures, work instructions, technique sheets, pyrometry and process-control records, and training records to close the gaps.
- Training. We train process owners, operators, inspectors and internal auditors on the requirements and on how a Nadcap® audit is conducted.
- Job-audit preparation and readiness review (pre-assessment). We run a full internal readiness assessment, including job audits on live or representative parts as the checklist requires, so findings are closed before you request your audit from PRI.
- Nonconformance response support. If the PRI auditor raises nonconformances, we help your team prepare evidence-based root-cause and corrective-action responses for submission through eAuditNet. The responses are yours; PRI and the Task Group decide their acceptability.
- Quote, schedule and conduct the audit through a PRI-assigned auditor. Audit fees are paid by you directly to PRI.
- Issue nonconformance reports and administer their close-out.
- Review the completed audit package in the industry Task Group and take the accreditation decision.
- Issue the certificate and list accredited suppliers on the Qualified Manufacturers List.
- Nucleus Consultants has no role in any of these steps.
- Manufacturers generally need a quality management system certified to AS9100 (current revision) by an accredited certification body, or Aerospace Quality System (AQS) accreditation through PRI.
- Testing laboratories generally need ISO/IEC 17025:2017 accreditation, or AC7006 laboratory accreditation through PRI.
- Confirm the exact requirement with your customer and in the applicable audit criteria.
Nucleus Consultants has supported 50+ Nadcap® audit-preparation projects across 12+ special-process commodities for suppliers in Asia, Europe and the Middle East, alongside AS9100 / AS9110 / AS9120 / AS13100 / AS9145 consulting and aerospace & defence training. To discuss your consulting and readiness requirements, call +91 96000 01996 or email info@nucleus-india.com.
Nadcap® is a registered trademark of, and is administered by, the Performance Review Institute (PRI). Nucleus Consultants is not affiliated with, authorized by, or endorsed by PRI or the Nadcap® program.Nadcap® accreditation is granted only by PRI through theNadcap® industry Task Groups.