TSO authorization
Conformity records support for a TSO authorization program
This review readies the conformity records behind a TSO authorization so that every test article and inspected build ties back to a controlled configuration. It is run for an equipment or avionics supplier during the authorization program, before the data package is presented to the authority. The work confirms article identity, ties each conformity inspection to a released drawing standard, and checks that the units tested were eligible to represent the certified configuration. You receive a gap assessment, an evidence map linking each conformity record to its article and test, and a closure plan for the entries that do not yet hold.
When this review is needed
- A qualification campaign is about to start and the test articles need documented conformity before any result can count.
- An engineering change moved the build standard and the earlier conformity inspections no longer describe the current article.
- The authority has asked how each tested unit maps to the configuration the authorization will cover.
- Multiple part-number variants are in the same program and their conformity records have to be kept apart cleanly.
The problem
Conformity records fall out of step with the article they are supposed to describe. A unit gets a running change on the bench, a drawing is revised after the inspection, or a serial number is entered against the wrong build, and the record that once matched the hardware quietly stops matching it. By the time the data package is assembled, the supplier is holding conformity inspections whose link to the tested configuration has to be reconstructed from memory and shop notes.
What gets reviewed
- Article identity and serial-number assignment reconciled to the released build standard for each tested unit
- Conformity inspection records matched to the drawing revision in effect at the time of inspection
- Eligibility of each test article to represent the configuration the authorization will cover
- Running changes and deviations recorded against the conformity baseline rather than left in shop notes
- Part-number and variant separation kept clean where several configurations share a program
- Open conformity items collected into a closure plan with an owner for each
Scope this review
Tell us the asset, the event, and the evidence in scope, and we will outline a focused first engagement.
Identify what is missing against the means of compliance.
What gets validated
- Each test article's conformity record cites the drawing revision that was current when the inspection was signed
- Serial numbers on the conformity records reconcile with the units that produced the qualification results
- Any deviation or running change carries an approved disposition that keeps the article inside the certified configuration
- The configuration a conformity record describes is the configuration the authorization intends to cover
- Every conformity inspection referenced by a test report is retrievable and legible, not a summary line only
Evidence normally required
- The released engineering drawings and build standards with their revision history
- Conformity inspection records and the associated inspection instructions
- The test article list with serial numbers and the results each unit produced
- Deviation, waiver, and running-change dispositions raised during the build
- The configuration definition the TSO authorization is intended to cover
Common discrepancies
- A test article inspected against a drawing revision that was later superseded before qualification
- A running change applied on the bench with no conformity record updated to reflect it
- A serial number cited in a test report that does not appear in any conformity inspection
- Two variants in the same program whose conformity records were filed against each other
What is at stake
If a test result rests on an article whose conformity cannot be shown, the authority can decline to credit the test, and the qualification has to be repeated on a conforming unit. That repeats bench time, retest cost, and schedule that the program planned only once. A conformity break found late also puts every downstream compliance claim built on that test into question.
How the work runs
Fix the article baseline
Establish each test article's serial number, build standard, and the drawing revision it was inspected against.
Match conformity to test
Tie every conformity inspection to the units that produced the qualification results the package relies on.
Reconcile changes and deviations
Confirm running changes and deviations are dispositioned and reflected in the conformity baseline.
Plan the closures
Collect the broken links into a closure plan with an owner and the evidence each item needs.
What the buyer receives
- A gap assessment listing every conformity record whose link to its article or configuration is broken
- An evidence map tying each conformity inspection to its article, drawing revision, and the tests it supports
- A closure plan sequencing the open items with an owner and the evidence each needs
Who uses the output
- Certification engineers assembling the conformity section of the data package
- Quality staff who own the conformity inspections and their dispositions
- Program managers tracking which articles are cleared to carry qualification credit
How the work fits into the transaction or program
Conformity sits underneath every qualification claim in the authorization, so the review runs before the test reports are compiled into the compliance argument. Its evidence map feeds the finding register and the certification data package, and its closure plan defines the conformity work that has to clear before formal review opens.
Start with a single asset
Reduce finding cycles by checking the package first.
Jurisdiction-specific considerations
The authorization is pursued under the FAA article-approval framework, so conformity is judged against the released design definition the authority will hold on file. The review keeps the article identity and configuration control aligned to that framework rather than to an internal quality convention that the authority never sees.
Regulatory limits
The review prepares and reconciles conformity evidence so it can be evaluated. It does not perform conformity inspections, sign a conformity determination, or grant the TSO authorization, all of which rest with the authority and its designees.
What this review does not cover
- Performing or re-performing the conformity inspection itself
- Dispositioning deviations or approving running changes on the design
- Issuing any authority conformity finding or article approval
Specific to this review
- Conformity is time-sensitive: a record is only good against the drawing revision current when the inspection was signed, so a later revision can quietly orphan it.
- A test result on a nonconforming article is usually uncreditable, which turns a paperwork break into repeated bench time rather than a document fix.
- Running changes made during test are the most common way an article drifts out of its conformity record, because the hardware moves faster than the paperwork.
Sources
U.S. Government (eCFR). Type certificates, STCs (Subpart E), TSO authorizations (Subpart O), PMA (Subpart K), and export airworthiness approvals (Subpart L).
RTCA. Environmental qualification test categories and procedures referenced by TSO and equipment qualification.
RTCA. Objectives and lifecycle data for airborne software assurance, by design assurance level (DAL A-E).
RTCA. Design assurance objectives and lifecycle data for airborne electronic hardware (FPGA/ASIC/PLD).
Federal Aviation Administration. FAA type certification process, certification basis establishment, and compliance findings.
Frequently asked questions
Why does a conformity break force a retest rather than a records fix?
Qualification credit depends on the tested unit actually representing the certified configuration. If conformity to that configuration cannot be shown for the article that was tested, the result has nothing to attach to, and the test usually has to be repeated on a unit whose conformity is documented.
Relevant glossary terms
Related pages
Where this fits
Talk to an engineer who has done this work
We will walk through your current state, the records or evidence involved, and a scoped first engagement.
Talk through the aircraft, records, evidence, deadline, and next useful step.