TRC Electronics was certified as an ISO 9001 company in 2004. Over the last few years the electronics industry has seen an epidemic of counterfeit and substandard parts circulating thru every area of our business.
TRC takes the problem of counterfeit product very seriously. In February 2013 we upgraded our ISO standards and became an AS9120 certified company in addition to being ISO 9001:2008 certified. This new certification is just one way in which we strive to stay on top of the counterfeit issue and lets our customers know that we are taking every measure possible to ensure that we provide them with quality product.
We have implemented comprehensive inspection & counterfeit avoidance procedures using IDEA processes & Aerospace Standards AS5553 & AS6081. Some but not all include:
- Screening suppliers before product is procured from them. They must provide 3 references that can verify they have not supplied counterfeit product, are financially sound and practice proper handling and storage of parts. The supplier is also checked thru the ERAI (Electronics Resellers Association Inc) website to ensure they have not been reported for any complaints or grievances.
- The ERAI counterfeit/substandard parts list is checked to ensure part is not on list of known problem parts
- When product is received in our ESD certified warehouse it is inspected per IDEA-1005 Process guidelines (69 processes in all). ERAI approved inspection processes are adhered too as well.
- Visual inspection with microscope and permancy tests are performed. Pictures are taken of all parts and packaging and spec sheets are pulled. If any product is deemed questionable it is quarantined. The customer is contacted and parts are either returned to supplier or sent to approved test house for x-ray and or decapulation. Further testing may be done depending on the results of these tests.
TRC understands the magnitude of the problem of counterfeiting. That is why our employees attend extensive training annually to ensure that they are educated and kept up to date on the newest forms of counterfeiting and how to try to detect and prevent product from being received and shipped to our end user. We are also members of several industry associations that are trying to fight the problem of counterfeiting.
