In short
- NADCAP is an industry-managed accreditation programme run by the Performance Review Institute that audits special processes to consensus audit criteria written by the primes themselves.
- A special process is one whose conformity cannot be verified by inspecting the finished part, such as heat treatment, welding, chemical processing, non-destructive testing and coatings, so the process itself must be controlled and evidenced.
- NADCAP audits are deeper and more technical than a general quality-system audit; they follow specific audit criteria and demand objective evidence for parameters like pyrometry, bath chemistry and technique qualifications.
- The baseline quality system for a NADCAP-accredited process is defined by AC7004, and each process family adds its own detailed checklist.
- The suppliers who pass merit re-audit at longer intervals; the ones who struggle cannot retrieve process evidence, which is exactly where a configured ERP with pyrometry, batch and record control earns its keep.
What NADCAP is and why it exists
NADCAP, the National Aerospace and Defense Contractors Accreditation Program, is a global cooperative accreditation programme administered by the Performance Review Institute. Its purpose is narrow and deep: to standardise and rigorously audit the special processes that determine whether an aerospace part is safe. Rather than each prime running its own duplicate audits of the same heat-treat or plating shop, the industry pools its requirements into consensus audit criteria and a shared audit result that member primes accept.
For an Indian supplier, this matters because NADCAP has become a de facto entry requirement for special-process work on many international and domestic aerospace programmes. If your shop performs heat treatment, welding, chemical processing, non-destructive testing, surface enhancement or coatings on flight hardware, your customers increasingly expect NADCAP accreditation for that process. Holding it opens doors; lacking it can quietly remove you from sourcing decisions before you ever see a request for quotation.
NADCAP is distinct from AS9100. AS9100 certifies your overall quality management system; NADCAP accredits a specific special process against a highly detailed technical checklist. A shop typically holds AS9100 as its quality-system foundation and then adds NADCAP accreditation for each special process it wants recognised. The two are complementary, and our NADCAP special-process ERP guide explains how a single platform can serve both.
What counts as a special process
The concept of a special process is central to aerospace quality and to NADCAP in particular. A special process is one whose output cannot be fully verified by inspecting or testing the finished part without destroying it or without prohibitive cost. You cannot look at a heat-treated bracket and confirm its microstructure, or measure a weld and be certain of its internal integrity, purely from the outside. Because you cannot inspect quality into the part after the fact, you must control and prove the process that created it.
The special-process families that NADCAP audits most commonly for Indian shops include the following:
- Heat treatment, where furnace temperature uniformity and pyrometry determine the metallurgical result.
- Welding and brazing, where technique qualification, operator certification and controlled parameters govern joint integrity.
- Chemical processing, including anodising, passivation and etching, where bath chemistry, concentration and time drive the outcome.
- Non-destructive testing, such as penetrant, magnetic particle, radiographic and ultrasonic inspection, where operator qualification and technique control detect hidden defects.
- Coatings, including thermal spray and paint, where surface preparation and application parameters determine adhesion and protection.
- Surface enhancement, such as shot peening, where controlled intensity and coverage deliver fatigue life.
Each of these produces a characteristic evidence trail that a NADCAP auditor will demand: temperature charts, bath logs, technique sheets, operator certifications and equipment calibration. The common thread is that the proof lives in process records, not in the part. This is precisely why a shop's ability to capture and retrieve those records defines how smoothly it moves through accreditation, a theme our aerospace traceability software guide develops.
The AC7004 quality-system foundation
Before a process-specific audit, NADCAP expects a quality-system baseline. For most special-process suppliers this is defined by AC7004, the audit criteria for a special-process quality system. AC7004 is not a full AS9100 substitute, but it covers the quality-management essentials that underpin reliable special processing: document and record control, control of measuring equipment, internal audits, corrective action, control of non-conforming product, training and management responsibility.
The logic is that a special process can only be trusted if the surrounding quality system is sound. There is no value in a perfectly controlled heat-treat recipe if the thermocouples are uncalibrated, the work instructions are uncontrolled, or non-conformances are never investigated. AC7004 ensures the housekeeping is in place so that the process-specific checklist can focus on the technical detail.
For an Indian shop, treating AC7004 seriously early is the fastest route through accreditation. Many findings that appear during process audits actually trace back to quality-system weaknesses: an out-of-calibration gauge, a superseded work instruction still in use, or a corrective action that was closed without verifying effectiveness. Building these controls into a configured system, rather than a stack of binders, means the AC7004 evidence is always current. Our aerospace QMS software and calibration and gauge management capabilities are designed around exactly these requirements.
Inside a NADCAP audit: what auditors check
A NADCAP audit is notably deeper and more technical than a general quality audit. The auditor works from a published, process-specific checklist and expects objective evidence for every parameter that affects the result. Rather than asking whether you have a procedure, the auditor asks to see the actual records proving the procedure was followed on real jobs, on the day, by qualified people, on calibrated equipment.
The nature of the evidence varies by process, and understanding it early lets you prepare. The table below summarises the kind of objective evidence each family typically has to produce:
| Process family | Key controlled parameters | Objective evidence auditors sample |
|---|---|---|
| Heat treatment | Furnace temperature uniformity, pyrometry, cycle time | Temperature uniformity surveys, thermocouple and instrument calibration, cycle charts, system accuracy tests |
| Welding and brazing | Technique qualification, operator certification, parameters | Qualified procedure records, operator certifications, parameter logs |
| Chemical processing | Bath chemistry, concentration, temperature, time | Bath analysis logs, control charts, solution change records |
| Non-destructive testing | Operator qualification, technique, equipment performance | Operator certifications, technique sheets, equipment performance checks |
| Coatings and surface enhancement | Surface preparation, application parameters, coverage | Process parameter records, coverage and adhesion evidence, calibration |
The pattern is consistent. Auditors do not accept assurances; they follow specific jobs through your records and verify that every parameter was in control and evidenced. A shop that can retrieve the pyrometry survey, the thermocouple calibration and the cycle chart for a named batch in minutes projects control. A shop that has to search paper archives projects risk, even when the underlying work was sound.
Pyrometry and the discipline of process evidence
No area illustrates the NADCAP mindset better than pyrometry, the science of temperature measurement in heat treatment. The heat-treat checklist expects rigorous, ongoing evidence that furnaces produce uniform, accurate temperatures. This includes temperature uniformity surveys at defined intervals, system accuracy tests, thermocouple calibration and replacement schedules, and instrument calibration, all traceable and all within tolerance and date.
What makes pyrometry demanding is not any single record but the web of interlocking schedules. A thermocouple has a usage life; an instrument has a calibration interval; a furnace has a uniformity-survey frequency; each depends on the class of work. Miss one due date and the process is technically out of control for every job run since. Managing this on spreadsheets and wall calendars is where shops slip, because a missed survey often surfaces only when an auditor asks for it.
A configured ERP transforms this from a memory test into an enforced routine. Uniformity surveys, thermocouple lives, instrument calibrations and their due dates live in the system, which flags them before they lapse and blocks or warns on jobs run against overdue equipment. The same discipline applies to bath chemistry logs in chemical processing and equipment checks in NDT. Our aerospace and defence ERP, configured for special processes, holds these records so pyrometry and process evidence are always current and instantly retrievable.
The accreditation journey and re-audit cycle
Earning NADCAP accreditation follows a defined path. You become a supplier member, prepare your process and quality system against the applicable checklists and AC7004, then undergo an audit by a NADCAP auditor. Findings are documented, and you respond with root-cause analysis and corrective action. A distinctive feature of NADCAP is that a technical Task Group of subject-matter experts reviews the audit and your responses before accreditation is granted, which keeps the bar consistently high across the industry.
Accreditation is not permanent. NADCAP operates a merit-based re-audit cycle: shops that consistently demonstrate strong performance and clean audits earn longer intervals between re-audits, while those with recurring findings face shorter cycles. This directly rewards sustained process discipline and record-keeping, and it penalises the reconstruct-it-for-the-auditor approach. A practical preparation sequence looks like this:
- Join as a supplier member and identify the exact processes and checklists in scope.
- Establish the AC7004 quality-system baseline with controlled documents, calibration and corrective action.
- Qualify your processes, operators and equipment, and start capturing the objective evidence continuously.
- Run an internal self-audit against the published checklists to find gaps before the auditor does.
- Undergo the NADCAP audit, respond to findings with verified corrective action, and clear Task Group review.
- Sustain the evidence so each re-audit is a routine export rather than a scramble.
The suppliers who thrive in this cycle treat evidence as continuous output, not a periodic project. That is the strategic case for building special-process control on a system of record from the start, and it is exactly what Elite Tech configures for shops across Karnataka.
How an ERP holds special-process records
The recurring lesson of NADCAP is that accreditation is won or lost on the retrievability and integrity of process evidence. Elite Tech Corporation is a Bengaluru-based Zoho Advanced Partner that configures Zoho and builds custom apps on AWS. We do not sell our own ERP; we implement a platform shaped around the special-process families NADCAP audits, so the records auditors demand are captured as work happens and retrieved in seconds.
A platform configured for special processes holds the specific evidence each family needs. For heat treat it manages pyrometry: uniformity surveys, thermocouple lives, instrument calibration and cycle records tied to each batch. For chemical processing it logs bath chemistry and solution changes. For welding and NDT it holds operator certifications, technique qualifications and their expiry dates. Across all of them it links every processed batch to its parameters, its equipment and its operator, giving the full genealogy an auditor follows. For shops that also perform their own testing, our first article inspection software ties process qualification to production release.
Because the same platform can run the commercial and production side of the business, special-process control stops being a parallel compliance system and becomes part of daily operations. Certifications that are about to expire raise alerts. Equipment that is overdue for calibration flags before it is used. Re-audit preparation becomes a report export rather than an archive dig. For special-process shops supplying HAL, defence programmes or export customers, our aerospace ERP implementation services deliver exactly this outcome, and you own the configuration and data throughout.
Key Takeaways
- NADCAP is a consensus, industry-managed accreditation for special processes; primes accept one shared audit result instead of each running its own.
- A special process cannot be verified by inspecting the finished part, so the process itself must be controlled and evidenced through records.
- AC7004 provides the quality-system baseline; many process findings actually trace back to weaknesses like uncalibrated gauges or uncontrolled documents.
- Auditors demand objective evidence for every parameter, from pyrometry surveys in heat treat to bath chemistry logs and operator qualifications.
- NADCAP rewards sustained discipline with a merit-based re-audit cycle, penalising shops that reconstruct evidence only at audit time.
- A configured ERP that enforces calibration, certification and pyrometry schedules turns re-audit preparation into a report export.
Frequently Asked Questions
NADCAP is a global cooperative accreditation programme administered by the Performance Review Institute that audits aerospace special processes against consensus audit criteria. Member primes accept a single shared audit result rather than each conducting their own duplicate audit of the same process.
A special process is one whose conformity cannot be fully verified by inspecting or testing the finished part, such as heat treatment, welding, chemical processing, non-destructive testing and coatings. Because you cannot inspect quality into the part afterwards, the process itself must be controlled and evidenced.
AS9100 certifies your overall quality management system, while NADCAP accredits a specific special process against a detailed technical checklist. Shops usually hold AS9100 as a quality-system foundation and add NADCAP accreditation for each special process they want recognised by the industry.
AC7004 is the NADCAP audit criteria for a special-process quality system. It covers quality-management essentials such as document and record control, control of measuring equipment, internal audits, corrective action and training, providing the baseline on which the process-specific checklist rests.
Common special-process families include heat treatment, welding and brazing, chemical processing such as anodising and passivation, non-destructive testing, coatings including thermal spray and paint, and surface enhancement such as shot peening. Each has its own detailed audit checklist.
Pyrometry is the science of temperature measurement in heat treatment. NADCAP focuses on it because furnace temperature uniformity and accuracy determine the metallurgical result. Auditors expect ongoing evidence including uniformity surveys, system accuracy tests, and thermocouple and instrument calibration, all traceable and in date.
Auditors want objective evidence for every parameter that affects the result, drawn from real jobs. Depending on the process this includes temperature charts and calibration records, bath chemistry logs, operator certifications, technique qualifications and equipment performance checks, retrievable and traceable to specific batches.
No. NADCAP operates a merit-based re-audit cycle. Shops that consistently demonstrate strong performance and clean audits earn longer intervals between re-audits, while those with recurring findings face shorter cycles, so sustained process discipline is directly rewarded.
For special-process work on many international and domestic aerospace programmes, NADCAP has become a de facto entry requirement. If your shop performs heat treatment, welding, NDT, chemical processing or coatings on flight hardware, customers increasingly expect NADCAP accreditation for that process.
The usual cause is not poor work but poor evidence retrieval. Interlocking schedules for calibration, certification and surveys are easy to miss on spreadsheets, and a lapsed due date can put a process out of control for every job since. A configured system that enforces these schedules removes that risk.
A configured ERP holds the special-process evidence auditors demand, such as pyrometry surveys, bath logs, operator certifications and calibration records, and enforces their schedules with alerts and blocks on overdue equipment. It links each batch to its parameters, equipment and operator, so re-audit preparation becomes a report export.
No. NADCAP audits are conducted by NADCAP auditors and reviewed by industry Task Groups through the Performance Review Institute. Elite Tech configures Zoho and builds custom AWS apps that hold and organise the special-process records those audits require, so you go in prepared.
Conclusion
NADCAP accreditation exists because the processes that most affect aerospace safety are the ones you cannot inspect after the fact. Heat treatment, welding, chemical processing, non-destructive testing and coatings are trusted only when the process itself is controlled and the control is proven by records. That reality makes accreditation, at its heart, an evidence problem: the shops that pass and earn longer re-audit intervals are the ones that can retrieve their pyrometry surveys, bath logs, operator certifications and calibration records instantly and continuously. Elite Tech Corporation helps Karnataka special-process shops build that capability by configuring Zoho and building custom AWS apps around AC7004 and the process-specific checklists, so the evidence NADCAP auditors demand is a live output of daily work rather than a periodic scramble. Accreditation then stops being a project you dread and becomes a discipline your system sustains for you.
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