Nadcap

Key takeaways

Nadcap belongs to engineering; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Nadcap to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Nadcap from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Nadcap (formerly NADCAP, the National Aerospace and Defense Contractors Accreditation Program) is a global cooperative accreditation program for aerospace engineering, defense and related industries.

History of Nadcap The Nadcap program is administered by the Performance Review Institute (PRI). Nadcap was established in 1990 by SAE International. Nadcap's membership consists of "prime contractors" who coordinate with aerospace accredited suppliers to develop industry-wide audit criteria for special processes and products. Through PRI, Nadcap provides independent certification of manufacturing processes for the industry. PRI has its headquarters in Warrendale, Pennsylvania with branch offices for Nadcap located in London, Beijing, and Nagoya.

Fields of Nadcap activities The Nadcap program provides accreditation for special processes in the aerospace and defense industry. These include:

Aerospace Quality Systems (AQS) Aero Structure Assembly (ASA) Aernnova Mexico 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 Nadcap program and industry PRI schedules an audit and assigns an industry approved auditor who will conduct the audit using an industry agreed checklist. At the end of the audit, any non-conformity issues will be raised through a non-conformance report. PRI will administer and close out the non-conformance reports with the Supplier. Upon completion PRI will present the audit pack to a 'special process Task Group’ made up of members from industry who will review it and vote on its acceptability for approval. The Nadcap subscribers include:

309th Maintenance Wing-Hill AFB Aerojet Rocketdyne Airbus Group - Airbus Airbus Group - Airbus Defence and Space Airbus Group - Airbus Helicopters Airbus Group - Premium AEROTEC GmbH Airbus Group - Stelia Aerospace Air Force BAE Systems Military Air Information (MAI) BAE Systems The Boeing Company Bombardier Inc. COMAC Defense Contract Management Agency (DCMA) Eaton, Aerospace Group Embraer S.A. GARDNER AEROSPACE Group GE Aviation GE Aviation - GE Avio S.r.l. General Dynamics - Gulfstream GKN Aerospace GKN Aerospace Sweden AB Harris Corporation Heroux-Devtek Landing Gear Division Inc. Honeywell Aerospace Howmet Aerospace Israel Aerospace Industries Latécoère Leonardo S.p.A. Divisione Velivoli Leonardo S.p.A. – Helicopter Division Liebherr-Aerospace SAS Lockheed Martin Corporation Lockheed Martin - Sikorsky Aircraft Mitsubishi Aircraft Corporation Mitsubishi Heavy Industries LTD MTU Aero Engines AG NASA Northrop Grumman Corporation Parker Aerospace Group Raytheon Company Raytheon Technologies - Goodrich Raytheon Technologies - Collins Aerospace (Hamilton Sundstrand) Raytheon Technologies - Pratt & Whitney Raytheon Technologies - Pratt & Whitney Canada Raytheon Technologies - Collins Aerospace (Rockwell Collins) Rolls-Royce SAFRAN Group Singapore Technologies Aerospace Sonaca Spirit AeroSystems Swift Engineering Textron Inc. - Textron Aviation Textron Inc. - Bell Helicopter Thales Group Triumph Group Inc. Zodiac Aerospace (SAFRAN)

Nadcap Meetings Nadcap meetings are held several times a year in different locations worldwide. For example, the 2017 meetings were held in New Orleans, LA, USA in February, Berlin (Germany) in June; and Pittsburgh (Pennsylvania). During these meetings there are open Task Group meetings and other workshops (with participation of Primes, Suppliers, and PRI staff). These meetings are used to discuss the program development and changes to audit criteria among other topics. Agendas and minutes are posted on the PRI website.

Nadcap Training During the Nadcap meetings, training classes are provided on different topics such as:

Root Cause Corrective Action - RCCA Special processes, such as, NDT, chemical processing, etc. Internal auditing AS/EN/JISQ 9100 Problem Solving Tools Nadcap Audit Preparation – Chemical Processing Nadcap Audit Preparation – Heat Treating Nadcap Audit Preparation – Metallic Material Testing Laboratories Nadcap Audit Preparation – Non-Destructive Testing Nadcap Audit Preparation – Welding

References

External links Official website Boeing official site ADS Group official site Aerospace Manufacturing Quality Manufacturing Today

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Nadcap

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Nadcap claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In engineering, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Nadcap before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Nadcap ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Nadcap

In research: Nadcap appears in engineering research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Nadcap in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Nadcap is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Aerospace engineering, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Nadcap outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

How to study Nadcap in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Nadcap means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Nadcap out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Nadcap in simple terms?

Nadcap (formerly NADCAP, the National Aerospace and Defense Contractors Accreditation Program) is a global cooperative accreditation program for aerospace engineering, defense and related industries. History of Nadcap The Nadcap program is administered by the Performance Review Institute (PRI).

Why does Nadcap matter?

Because it connects several engineering ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Nadcap?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Nadcap.