A reader of my blogs once called me to ask my opinion of the practice of drop shipping; this because she wanted to draft some procedures for her Quality Manual and staff.   We need to initially distinguish the difference between ‘drop ship’ vs. ‘direct ship’, which many seem to confuse or use interchangeably. ‘Drop ship’ is a commercial term we use to describe that a part is being shipped from your supplier straight to your customer; it is not gong to be physically received at your facility. ‘Di...

Having worked for a major airline, the tragic memory of one of our aircraft crashing into the side of a mountain remains vivid. I was the senior QA member of management at the facility where this aircraft had all its major maintenance performed. I was off duty when the news broke. I called my on-duty staff and instructed them to sequester all the records for the aircraft in anticipation of the investigation review. As the sun rose the next day, the call came to hand these over. My thoughts immed...