First Article Inspection (FAI)

FAI is the formal dimensional and material verification of the first production part off a new tool, process, or supplier. AS9102 is the governing standard. Every characteristic on the drawing gets measured and recorded against the design specification, and the resulting Form 1, 2, and 3 package goes to the customer for approval before serial production starts. A complex casting can have 800 to 1500 characteristics. A modern CMM cycle for a single FAI part on a turbine disc can run 18 hours. The FAI is reusable until a delta FAI is triggered by any drawing revision, process change, tool change, location change, or 2-year dormancy. Skipping a delta FAI when one was required is the single most common AS9100 finding in supplier audits. Roles where this matters: Quality, Manufacturing, NPI.