Supplier Terms and Conditions and Quality Assurance Clauses

Revised February 6th, 2019

Right of Entry

All work and material under this contract shall be subject to inspection and test by Forrest Machining, Inc. (FMI) or its customer(s) at any point during the manufacturing or processing sequence(s). If any inspection or test is performed by FMI or its customer(s) at the supplier and/or sub-tier, the supplier shall provide the necessary facilities, equipment and assistance for the safety and convenience of FMI or its customer(s) inspectors/auditors in the performance of their duties.

Quality Assurance Clauses

Quality assurance clauses one through ten shown below are standard purchase order clauses and are in addition to the standard terms and conditions of this purchase order.

  1. CERTIFICATION: Supplier / Vendor shall provide a “Certificate of Conformance” that material and / or articles meet all provisions of the FMI Purchase Order including the latest specification revisions and applicable change orders or deviations. Certifications must accompany each delivery against the purchase order and must contain at a minimum the following:
  • Purchase Order Number
  • Certification Number
  • Part Number & Part Revision
  • A statement that the materials/processes conform to the applicable specifications

Note: Records and all associated documentation must be maintained on file and available for review by FMI and its Customers. Record retention period for F-35, F-22 Critical Items shall be 30 years. Retention period for all other programs shall be 10 years.

  1. INSPECTION SYSTEM: Unless otherwise specified on the Purchase Order, the Supplier/Vendor shall have an adequate inspection system for maintaining control of materials/products fabricated/manufactured in your facility. Calibration procedures must meet, as a minimum, the requirements of ANSI/NCSL Z540-1 & ISO 10012-1 or MIL-STD-45662. Vendor/Supplier shall have an established Quality program or inspection system whose procedures are in accordance with a AS9100 Compliant System. Supplier’s / Vendor’s inspection system may be periodically audited by FMI and/or by its customers.
  2. Articles or Materials shall be manufactured or produced in accordance with applicable blueprint and/or specifications. Deviations may be made only by written amendment to the Purchase Order when authorized by FMI’s Material Review Board.
  3. APPROVED FACILITIES: It is the Vendor’s responsibility to utilized only approved facilities for processing used in work relating to this order.
  4. PRESERVATION AND PACKAGING REQUIREMENT: Unless otherwise specified, the Supplier/Vendor shall maintain controls to assure compliance of preservation, packaging and shipping requirements of this order. The use of commercial practices does not relieve the Supplier/Vendor from the responsibility of packaging in a manner that will insure receipt at FMI in an acceptable condition.
  5. FMI FURNISHED RAW MATERIAL: Unless otherwise specified, material furnished to Suppliers/Vendors shall be used in the manufacture of articles specified in this order. Materials scrapped in excess of allowable tolerances shall be replaced by FMI at Vendor’s expense plus any special charges. Unless otherwise specified, all materials furnished shall not be under shipped. Rejected materials shall be identified and segregated from acceptable materials. Rejected materials shall be returned to FMI. A formal rejection report along with root cause analysis shall accompany any rejected material.
  6. FMI FURNISHED TOOLING/EQUIPMENT: Unless otherwise specified, all tooling and equipment furnished for this order shall be maintained in good condition and used for the manufacture of articles for FMI. Tooling/equipment shall be available for examination by FMI personnel and/or returned to FMI upon request or termination of order.
  7. REJECTED HARDWARE: In the event that hardware is rejected either at FMI or at the vendor’s facility, Notify FMI of nonconforming processes, products, or services and obtain approval for their disposition. The following applies: Seller (vendor) will be charged or debited one percent (1%) of the value of the hardware or a minimum of $250 per rejection tag exclusive of the material disposition.
  8. COUNTERFEIT PART PROTECTION: Unless otherwise specified on the Purchase Order, the Supplier/Vendor shall have Counterfeit Parts Protection plan “CPP” that contains all elements listed in AS6174A paragraph 3.1.1 through 3.1.7. If electrical, electronic or electromechanical parts are present, Supplier/Vendor must also meet AS5553B paragraph 3.1.1 through 3.1.8.
  9. DISCLOSURES / NOTIFICATIONS: In the event that delivered hardware is found to be nonconforming, Supplier/Vendor shall notify FMI in writing on company letterhead and include a clear description of the discrepancy, identification of all suspect parts, FMI PO number, serial numbers (if applicable) and any information relating to the Root Cause / Corrective Action steps initiated to address the defective condition, and preventive measures taken to preclude recurrence of the process failure.
  10. QUALITY MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS: Supplier shall implement and maintain a quality management system in accordance with the respective standard. Mandatory customer certification requirements will be flowed down through the PO or contract if/as necessary.
  11. SUPPLIER SUB-TIER REQUIREMENTS: The Supplier shall flow and make available the requirements of the Buyers Purchase order and this document to their Sub-tier suppliers. It is Supplier’s responsibility to ensure and validate compliance by Supplier’s Sub-tier sources for all applicable requirements and to maintain documented evidence confirming said compliance.
  12. CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT AND TRAINING – Supplier shall demonstrate a continuous improvement program that targets initiatives to improve safety, product quality, delivery and lower costs. The Supplier shall ensure personnel performing work affecting conformity to product requirements are competent on the basis of appropriate education, training, skills and experience. All records pertaining to product realization shall be kept for a minimum of 10 years, all other CI & Training records for a minimum of 3 years.

Suppliers shall ensure that their employees are aware of:

  • Their contribution to product or service conformity
  • Their contribution to product safety
  • The importance of ethical behavior 

The following quality assurance clauses (numbers fourteen through twenty) are in addition to the standard quality assurance clauses when specified on an FMI purchase order.

  1. Supplier/Vendor to furnish date of manufacture and shelf life on the material certification of materials requiring age control.
  2. GOVERNMENT INSPECTION: Government inspection is required prior to shipment from your plant. Upon receipt of this order, promptly notify the Government Representative who normally services your plant so that appropriate planning for government inspection can be accomplished. Upon receipt of an order, promptly furnish a copy to the Government Representative, if none, to the nearest Army, Navy, Air Force, or Defense Supply Agency inspection office. In the event the representative or office cannot be located, our purchasing agent should be notified immediately.
  3. FMI SOURCE INSPECTION REQUIRED: Vendor shall request FMI Source Inspection for product verification prior to shipment from its facility. Acceptance of units shall not relieve the vendor of the responsibility of manufacturing units as defined in an FMI purchase order. All requests shall be made by calling FMI’s QA office, providing Purchase Order number, part number and revision, part name and quantity to be inspected. Advance notice of 48 hours needs to be given for scheduling purposes.
  4. VENDOR/SUPPLIER FIRST ARTICLE: Vendor shall perform first article inspection on first unit produced during production of this order. First Article Inspection report to accompany first shipment of units, and comply with AS9102 requirements.
  5. FMI FIRST ARTICLE INSPECTION VERIFICATION AT SOURCE: Vendor shall request FMI Source Inspection as per item #10. Vendor shall provide inspection tools, test equipment, fixtures and personnel as requested to verify the units’ compliance to the purchase order requirements. Final acceptance of unit produced is dependent upon a satisfactory first article inspection. First article inspection shall be performed on the first unit produced using production tools as applicable by the FMI Quality Assurance Department. Vendor first article inspection report to accompany shipment. NOTE: First Article acceptance shall not relieve the vendor of the responsibility for manufacturing acceptable production part/materials as defined by this Purchase Order.
  6. FIRST ARTICLE INSPECTION DESTINATION: Final acceptance of units produced is dependant upon a satisfactory first article inspection of the “as received” unit(s) produced using production tools as applicable by the FMI Quality Assurance Department. Note: First article acceptance shall not relieve the vendor of the responsibility for manufacturing acceptable production parts/materials as defined by this Purchase Order.
  7. STATISTICAL PROCESS CONTROL SYSTEM: If specified on an FMI Purchase Order, the supplier/vendor shall have an adequate statistical process control (SPC) system for maintaining acceptable Cp and Cpk levels of its’ products. Supplier’s/Vendor’s SPC system may be periodically audited by FMI Personnel and/or by its’ customers. The supplier/vendor shall provide statistical process control (SPC) charts/data on specific key characteristics on the product provided to FMI. Key characteristics defined by FMI. Charts shall show acceptable trends/data and Cp and Cpk levels shall be acceptable. Supplier’s/Vendor’s SPC system may be periodically audited by FMI personnel and/or its’ customers.

    Cyber Security Clauses

    1.

    Safeguarding of Controlled Unclassified Information

    Supplier / Vendor must implement adequate security measures to protect CUI, which includes confidentiality, integrity, and availability of information.

    2.

    Cyber Incident Reporting

    Supplier / Vendor must report any cyber incident to the DoD within 72 hours of discovery.

    3.

    Security Assessment

    Supplier / Vendor must conduct a thorough security assessment of their information systems and submit a summary of the assessment to the DoD.

    4.

    Compliance With NIST SP 800-171

    Supplier / Vendor must comply with the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Special Publication (SP) 800-171, which outlines the security requirements for protecting CUI in non-federal information systems and organizations.

    5.

    Flow Down Requirements

    Supplier / Vendor must ensure that their subcontractors also comply with the DFARS 252.204-7012 regulation

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