Airbus AIMS Compliance Software | Material Specification Tracking & Supplier Qualification | Certivo - Certivo

Airbus AIMS Compliance

Customer & Industry Requirements

Airbus Industries Material Specification

Your Suppliers Hold Hundreds of AIMS Qualifications. Can You Prove Every One Is Current?

Airbus AIMS compliance requires specification-level tracking across every material, process, and supplier in your aerostructure supply chain—with full traceability from raw material to delivered article. AIMS specifications are revised continuously, Nadcap accreditations must remain current, and AP2190 GRAMS requirements flow down to every sub-tier. One lapsed qualification can ground a production line.

Certivo automates AIMS tracking from supplier qualification to customer-ready evidence packages.

500+ Active AIMS material and process specifications
100% Traceability required from raw material to article
26 Nadcap special process categories mandated by Airbus

Regulation Overview

Jurisdiction

Global (OEM-specific; applied across Airbus commercial aircraft, helicopters, and defence & space divisions)

Regulatory Body

Airbus S.A.S. Engineering Directorate, Blagnac, France

Regulation Number

AIMS (Material Specifications), AIPS (Process Specifications), AITM (Test Methods), IPS (Product-Specific Approvals)

Effective Date

Continuously maintained; legacy ABS specifications progressively replaced by current AIMS/AIPS/AIPI system

Official Source

Airbus Supplier Portal (w3.airbus.com) — access restricted to qualified suppliers

Key Threshold

All materials and processes used on Airbus articles must be qualified to applicable AIMS/AIPS and listed on the Airbus Qualified Products List (AQPL)

What Is Airbus AIMS?

Airbus AIMS (Airbus Industries Material Specification) is the proprietary specification system governing all materials, processes, and test methods used in Airbus aircraft manufacturing. For supply chain teams managing Airbus AIMS compliance, the core obligation is ensuring that every material, coating, adhesive, sealant, and alloy delivered to Airbus—or used in producing Airbus articles—is qualified against the applicable AIMS specification and approved under a corresponding IPS (Individual Product Specification) reference.

The AIMS system encompasses over 500 active specifications organized by material category—metals, composites, paints, sealants, adhesives, and surface treatments. Airbus maintains continuous revision cycles, and suppliers must track specification currency alongside Nadcap accreditation status for all special processes. AP2190 GRAMS (General Requirements for Aerostructure and Material Suppliers) mandates that every product-supplier couple be registered on the AQPL. Non-compliance results in immediate supply chain disruption.

AIMS compliance intersects directly with REACH substance management, as Airbus requires suppliers to substitute REACH-regulated substances—particularly hexavalent chromium compounds—with qualified chromate-free alternatives per its Substance Environmental Roadmap. This creates a dual compliance burden: material performance qualification under AIMS and substance regulatory compliance under REACH, RoHS, and TSCA simultaneously.

Key Components / Sub-Frameworks

Obligation

Materials must meet all AIMS requirements before Airbus approval

AIMS (Material Specification)

Defines design requirements, mechanical properties, and chemical composition for materials

Obligation

Each qualified product receives a unique IPS reference number

IPS (Individual Product Specification)

Product-specific approval confirming a material meets AIMS requirements

Obligation

Suppliers must execute processes per AIPS and hold relevant Nadcap accreditation

AIPS (Process Specification)

Defines process requirements for manufacturing operations (e.g., anodizing, painting, bonding)

Obligation

All qualification and production testing must follow prescribed AITM methods

AITM (Test Method)

Standardized test procedures for evaluating material and process performance

Obligation

Governs quality, delivery, and compliance obligations for all Airbus material suppliers

AP2190 GRAMS

General Requirements for Aerostructure and Material Suppliers

Obligation

Every material used on Airbus articles must appear on the AQPL

AQPL (Qualified Products List)

Registry of approved material-product-supplier combinations

Key Compliance Requirements

Who Must Comply

Key Thresholds

AQPL Registration

Every material-product-supplier couple must be listed before use on Airbus articles

Nadcap Accreditation

Mandatory for all special processes performed on Airbus products

AP2190 GRAMS Compliance

Full quality system requirements apply to all aerostructure and material suppliers

AIMS Revision Currency

Suppliers must manufacture to the current specification revision referenced on purchase orders

Core Obligations

  1. AQPL Registration
    Register every product-supplier couple with Airbus for inclusion on the Qualified Products List
    DEADLINE
    Prior to first article delivery
  2. Nadcap Accreditation
    Gain and maintain Nadcap accreditation for all mandated special process categories
    DEADLINE
    Continuous — accreditation must remain active
  3. AP2190 GRAMS Compliance
    Meet all quality, delivery, and documentation requirements per GRAMS clauses 1–5
    DEADLINE
    Ongoing — audited by Airbus Quality
  4. AIMS/AIPS Qualification
    Qualify materials and processes against current AIMS/AIPS specifications via AITM test methods
    DEADLINE
    Prior to production use; requalification upon specification revision
  5. Substance Substitution
    Implement chromate-free alternatives per Airbus Substance Environmental Roadmap timelines
    DEADLINE
    Per published substitution target dates (2024–2026)

Airbus AIMS Specific Pain Points

The Specification Revision Cascade

Airbus revises AIMS specifications continuously. A single update to an aluminium alloy AIMS triggers requalification across every IPS-approved product under that specification. Your team must identify which suppliers hold affected qualifications, verify their current IPS status, and confirm Nadcap accreditation—across hundreds of product-supplier couples. Without a centralized compliance data backbone, the cascade buries teams in manual cross-referencing.

The Qualification Documentation Maze

An Airbus quality audit requests full traceability for 200 delivered articles. Each article requires AIMS specification reference, IPS approval number, mill test certificate, Nadcap accreditation confirmation, and AQPL registration evidence. Your evidence is spread across supplier portals, email attachments, and shared drives.

The Chromate Substitution Trap

Airbus's Substance Environmental Roadmap requires chromate-free alternatives for surface treatments, primers, and coatings. But substitution requires new AIMS qualification—AITM testing, IPS approval, and AQPL registration.

The Multi-Tier Flowdown Burden

AP2190 GRAMS requirements flow down from Airbus through Tier 1 to every sub-tier supplier. Each level must cascade AIMS specification references, Nadcap mandates, and AQPL requirements.

Certivo In Action

Certivo in Action — Airbus AIMS Workflow

GET EVIDENCE IN Collect AIMS Qualification Records from Every Supplier—Without the Chasing.
CORA launches targeted campaigns to collect AIMS qualification certificates, IPS approvals, Nadcap accreditation records, and mill test reports from across your supplier base, following up automatically and accepting any document format.

MAKE SENSE OF IT Know Instantly When AIMS Qualifications Expire or Specifications Change.

PROVE COMPLIANCE OUT Respond to Airbus Quality Audits in Hours, Not Weeks. Generate audit-ready evidence packages and customer documentation instantly from validated supplier qualification data.

One Supplier Submission. Validation Against All 253 SVHCs. Audit-Ready in Hours.

Certivo reads supplier qualification documents, extracts AIMS references and IPS approvals to specification-level precision, validates against current revision levels and AQPL requirements, and generates customer-ready evidence automatically. AIMS Specification Tracking, IPS Qualification Validation, Nadcap Monitoring, AQPL Traceability, Chromate Substitution Alerts.

Features Tabs

Managing Airbus AIMS compliance alongside related regulatory frameworks eliminates duplicate supplier requests. Certivo validates one submission against multiple OEM and regulatory requirements simultaneously.

Return on Investment

80% Reduction in Compliance Labor

From Manual Cross-Referencing to Automated Qualification Tracking.

4 Hours to Audit-Ready Evidence

Airbus Quality Response Acceleration.

Real-Time Specification and Qualification Monitoring

Proactive AIMS Compliance Management.

Key Statistics

Frequently Asked Questions

What products and companies are subject to Airbus AIMS compliance obligations?

Any company supplying materials, semi-finished products, chemical products, or performing special processes for Airbus-designed articles must comply. This includes raw material manufacturers, chemical formulators, surface treatment processors, and Tier 1 through sub-tier suppliers manufacturing to Airbus drawings.

What happens if an AIMS qualification lapses or a specification revision is missed?

Non-compliance with current AIMS specifications results in non-conformance findings during Airbus surveillance audits, potential suspension from the Approved Supplier List, and immediate production disruption.

How does Certivo track changes to AIMS specifications and Nadcap accreditation requirements?

Certivo maintains continuous monitoring of AIMS specification revisions and Nadcap accreditation expiry dates. When specifications are updated, CORA reassesses your entire product-supplier qualification portfolio and alerts affected teams.

What qualification formats does Certivo accept from suppliers?

Certivo accepts any format: PDF certificates, mill test reports, Excel records, IPC-1752 declarations, IMDS exports, XML files, and freeform responses.

Does Certivo support Airbus AIMS compliance alongside REACH, RoHS, and other regulatory frameworks?

Yes. Certivo validates supplier submissions against AIMS specification requirements and REACH, RoHS, TSCA, PFAS, and Prop 65 obligations simultaneously.