Voluntary Industry Consensus Standards

GAMA monitors various global standards initiatives, either through direct engagement or through advocacy coordinated with our member companies. The following information has been provided to increase awareness about the standards activities, connect resources impacting the aviation industry, and offer guidance about the development, usage and benefits of voluntary industry consensus standards. GAMA advocates for avoidance of duplication of standards development and encourages industry to use available standards where applicable. This website aims to keep industry informed on how to best leverage standards to meet your needs and save resources.

STANDARDS LISTINGS
GAMA maintains the “Standards Applicability and Acceptance Tables” (also referred to as the “A&A Tables”) comprised of aerospace standards used by the general and business aviation industry. GAMA’s database is updated at least twice a year through cooperation with Standards Development Organizations (SDOs) and GAMA members. It includes standards approved or being developed by the primary SDOs with the capability to filter by category, committee, SDO, subject, or applicability to categories of aircraft. Additionally, the A&A tables indicate known acceptances by EASA and FAA (ICAO and other authorities underway).

Other standards roadmapping efforts are coordinated within standards committees but also across SDOs through cooperation. Some related roadmaps and tables are provided here: 

STANDARDS EXPLAINED
Whether you are a manufacturer, supplier, operator or maintainer, standards play an important role in the operational and economic success of your business. There are various types of standards used in the marketplace. Standards increase safety, efficiency, reliability, and quality assurance across the entire supply chain.

  • Companies maintain Standard Operating Principles (SOPs) which outline internal processes;
  • Government agencies develop minimum requirements specific for a regulatory objective, setting the baseline standard for products;
  • Laboratories develop testing methodologies which standardize measurement techniques to evaluate repeatability of performance;
  • Manufacturers develop design specifications which ensure production consistency and efficiency.

MAXIMIZING YOUR COMPANY’S IMPACT
The best way to ensure that standards meet your organization’s needs is to directly participate in SDOs. Companies should evaluate which SDOs support their products. While their scope and activities may appear to overlap, SDOs each have their own strengths in certain technical areas and normatively reference available content.

General principles to approach standards gaps are:

  • If there is a standard that meets your needs, use it;
  • If there is a standard that could be modified to meet your needs better, work with the SDO to revise it;
  • If there are no standard available for your need, work with the appropriate SDO to write it.

Standards are a powerful tool but they are driven by industry experts and their success depends on those individuals to work on the content development. This shared responsibility among experts in industry is mutually beneficial to everyone involved.

QUESTIONS?
Please direct any inquiries to Christine DeJong Bernat at standards@gama.aero.