Supplier requirements

How the clauses apply

A requirement applies to an order only when it is noted on the face of that purchase order. The clauses set the level of quality system, inspection system and calibration system a supplier is held to on that order. Quality Assurance evaluates and selects suppliers on their ability to meet Conquest Seal's requirements, and each evaluation is recorded.

What ships with every lot

Every purchase order states "Certs Required: Yes". The certificate of conformance is dated, signed by an authorized representative with printed name and title, and states that the articles conform to the purchase order, drawings and specifications; a supplier that is not the manufacturer adds the origin of manufacture and the traceability information. As the order invokes them: a material certification naming the material, trade name, manufacturer and specification, and chemical and physical test reports carrying the batch, heat or lot number. The federal notice on false statements passes down to every supplier.

Counterfeit prevention

No counterfeit, suspect-counterfeit or substandard goods, and no disguising the pedigree of material or its chain of ownership by removing a previous seller's name, nomenclature or identification. On the Conquest Seal side, a written procedure for preventing counterfeit products covers monitoring, detection and awareness, and the paperwork above is how a lot proves its pedigree at receiving.

Identification, age control and packaging

Every purchase order states "Batch and cure dates required on all items", and receiving checks each elastomer lot's cure date against Conquest Seal's shelf-life policy. The supplier certifies conformance of the elastomeric and organic parts on the order, age-controlled materials are identified and packaged to the applicable procurement specification, and other age-sensitive materials carry the manufacturer, batch, storage temperature, compound or specification, date of manufacture and shelf life on each container. The clauses cite no shelf-life standard of their own; the storage document the seal manufacturers reference and the published bands by compound family are on the O-ring shelf-life guide. No overshipments without prior written authorization.

Change notification

The supplier notifies Conquest Seal of changes in product or process, changes of suppliers and changes of manufacturing facility location and, where required, obtains approval. Tooling, revision, method and relocation changes also trigger a first article, below.

Nonconformance and corrective action

The supplier notifies Conquest Seal of nonconforming product within 24 hours and obtains approval of the disposition before the product ships. A variation from a noted requirement may be cause for rejection and may require positive, formal cause and corrective action. Conquest Seal does not publish a fixed response time for corrective action; the clauses set none, and a date, when one is needed, is agreed with the contact named below.

Right of access

The supplier gives Conquest Seal, a Conquest Seal customer, or a specified third party such as a customer or regulatory agency, right of access to the facility and to all records related to product ordered by Conquest Seal, and any of them may audit or inspect there. That verification is not evidence of effective quality control, does not absolve the supplier of responsibility for acceptable product, and does not preclude later rejection. Where verification at the supplier's premises is intended, the purchase order states the arrangements and the method of product release.

Records

Records of conformity, inspection reports, material certifications and other pertinent quality records the supplier creates are retained for at least 10 years, and the documentation behind a certificate of conformance is available to Conquest Seal or a government representative on request. Conquest Seal keeps its own record of each supplier evaluation and of each receipt, with the lot's batch and cure date.

Flow-down

The supplier flows down to its sub-tiers all quality requirements imposed by the purchase order and by these clauses, including government and defense requirements, and Conquest Seal may specify or approve the sub-tier suppliers its suppliers choose. As the order invokes them: the specialty-metals requirement for defense orders, certification that the material has not been exposed to mercury in any form, the safety data sheet, and a material declaration of RoHS compliance.

Source inspection and first articles

Customer or government source inspection, and Conquest Seal source inspection, take place at the supplier's facility before shipment when the order calls for them, with at least 48 hours' notice from the supplier and evidence of source inspection in each shipment. A first article inspection report is required when the supplier has not produced the part within the past 24 calendar months, after new or modified tooling, on a revision that changes the configuration, on a changed manufacturing method, or after a relocation; the first-article part is selected at random from a finished lot.

How a prospective supplier contacts us

There is no supplier portal and no onboarding form. Call Grant Midstokke, the person every Conquest Seal purchase order names for order confirmation, on (714) 632-9830 or through the contact page: say what you make and which quality registration you hold, and attach a sample certificate package (a certificate of conformance, a material certification and, where you produce one, a chemical and physical test report). A new supplier is evaluated before a first order, and that order names the requirements that apply.

Documents

• Procurement Quality Clauses F-840-005-F (PDF), 166 KB, the document this page summarizes; it is also on the supplier terms page.
• Quality and certifications: certificate CONQ-001, its scope and what ships with a part, with the certificate PDF, 181 KB.