The workload is lumpy
Quality Engineering inside an AS9100 shop is rarely a flat line. First articles, customer findings, engineering changes and new-part introductions arrive in clusters. The existing QE is already running MRB, gauges, audits and the next shipment.
When the cluster arrives, shops usually do one of three things: let the package slip, pull a manufacturing engineer off the floor, or hire. The first two create audit risk. The third is correct only if the workload will still be there in twelve months.
Outsource the deliverable when
- You can name the output: a Control Plan, a PFMEA, an alignment review, an inspection plan, a work instruction set, or an APQP package for a part number.
- The process already runs, or the routing is stable enough to describe.
- You need the customer’s format, not a training exercise for a new hire.
- The due date is a FAIR, a source inspection, or a program gate measured in days or weeks.
AiroQue is built for that gap. A single Control Plan starts at $750. An APQP documentation package starts at $3,500. Monthly hours are available when the lump is repeating but still not a full seat. See pricing.
Hire when
- You need someone in the building every day for MRB, operator questions, and customer visits.
- You are standing up a quality system from a thin base and need an owner, not a document.
- The next twelve months already contain more programs than one person can plan.
Even then, the hire should not spend the first month rebuilding templates. Buy the current package, then let the new person maintain it.
What outsourcing is not
It is not a signature on your AS9100 certificate. It is not third-party inspection, source inspection, or a quality-manager seat. AiroQue writes and aligns the documents your process needs; your organization still owns the system and the product.
If you want a confidential read on whether a part number is a deliverable or a hiring problem, send the outline through the project review form. NDA available before drawings move.