Glossary
Alphabetical glossary of supplier quality and ISO 9001 vocabulary used in Sertiq and across the docs.
5-Whys
Section titled “5-Whys”A root-cause analysis technique: ask “why?” repeatedly (usually five times) until you reach the underlying cause, not just a symptom. Sertiq’s AI Root Cause Analyst seeds the first round of why-questions for you — see AI assist.
8D (Eight Disciplines)
Section titled “8D (Eight Disciplines)”A structured problem-solving methodology from Ford, common in automotive and aerospace. The eight steps:
- D1 — Team
- D2 — Problem description
- D3 — Containment action
- D4 — Root cause
- D5 — Permanent corrective action
- D6 — Implement and verify
- D7 — Prevent recurrence
- D8 — Recognize team
Sertiq’s 8D module (Enterprise plan) prefills D1–D8 from an NCR with an AI assist and exports a branded 8D report.
AQL (Acceptable Quality Limit)
Section titled “AQL (Acceptable Quality Limit)”The worst tolerable process average for a given sampling plan, expressed as percent defective. An AQL of 1.0 means at most 1% defective is acceptable across the sampled batch.
AS9100
Section titled “AS9100”Aerospace extension of ISO 9001, published by SAE. Adds requirements for risk management, configuration management, counterfeit prevention, and supplier classification. Sertiq is AS9100-adjacent: the recordkeeping fits, but certification requires additional process controls outside the tool.
ASL (Approved Supplier List)
Section titled “ASL (Approved Supplier List)”The list of suppliers your organisation has formally evaluated and approved to buy from. In Sertiq, the ASL is the Suppliers register filtered by status active — see Suppliers.
Audit log
Section titled “Audit log”Immutable record of who did what, when, on which record. Sertiq writes audit log entries for every NCR / CAPA status change, member change, plan change, and admin action. Auditors expect to see one.
CAPA (Corrective and Preventive Action)
Section titled “CAPA (Corrective and Preventive Action)”A formal, tracked action to fix a root cause (corrective) or to address a near-miss before it produces a non-conformance (preventive). In Sertiq, every CAPA is bound to one NCR — see CAPA.
Containment action
Section titled “Containment action”The immediate, short-term action you take to stop a non-conformance reaching the customer while you work on the long-term fix. Examples: segregate a lot, halt shipment, switch to an alternate supplier. Required by ISO 9001 clause 8.7 and enforced at the database level on every critical-severity NCR.
CoC (Certificate of Conformity)
Section titled “CoC (Certificate of Conformity)”Supplier-issued document declaring that a delivery meets the agreed specification. Common attachment on NCRs that prove a CoC was issued in error.
Effectiveness verification
Section titled “Effectiveness verification”The 30-day check after a CAPA is closed: did the action actually solve the problem? ISO 9001 clause 10.2.1(e) requires it. Sertiq stamps effectiveness_check_due_at = closed_at + 30 days automatically and surfaces the CAPA in the Effectiveness queue.
FAI (First Article Inspection)
Section titled “FAI (First Article Inspection)”Full dimensional and material verification of the first part produced from a new or changed process. Standard practice in aerospace (AS9102 form).
IATF 16949
Section titled “IATF 16949”Automotive extension of ISO 9001, governed by the International Automotive Task Force. Adds PPAP, APQP, and supplier development requirements. Sertiq’s register and CAPA flow can support an IATF programme but do not certify it.
ISO 9001:2015
Section titled “ISO 9001:2015”International standard for quality management systems. Sertiq is built around clause 8.4 — Control of externally provided processes, products and services and clause 10.2 — Nonconformity and corrective action. See ISO 9001 clause 8.4 mapping.
NCR (Non-Conformance Record)
Section titled “NCR (Non-Conformance Record)”A single recorded instance of a supplier-provided product, service, or process not meeting specification. Sertiq’s core object — every NCR is bound to one supplier and one ISO 8.4 sub-clause. Numbered NCR-YYYY-NNNN per organisation per year. See NCRs.
Pareto
Section titled “Pareto”The 80/20 principle applied to quality: roughly 80% of problems come from 20% of causes. Sertiq’s Analytics page produces three Pareto views (by supplier, by issue type, by severity) — see Analytics.
PPAP (Production Part Approval Process)
Section titled “PPAP (Production Part Approval Process)”Automotive-industry process for approving production parts. Defines 18 elements (FAI, control plan, MSA, capability study, etc.) that a supplier must deliver before mass production. Not currently in Sertiq.
Risk band
Section titled “Risk band”High / Medium / Low classification of a supplier based on its quality score, NCR history, criticality, and category. Drives evaluation cadence and incoming inspection rigour. Surfaced as the swim-lane grouping on the supplier list — see Suppliers.
RMA (Return Merchandise Authorisation)
Section titled “RMA (Return Merchandise Authorisation)”Authorisation given to a supplier (or by a supplier to your customer) to return a non-conforming item. Sertiq tracks RMA records with linked NCRs on Pro+ plans.
Root cause
Section titled “Root cause”The underlying reason a non-conformance occurred, not the symptom. A symptom is “the part was the wrong dimension”; a root cause is “the supplier’s CNC program was updated without re-running first-article inspection”. CAPAs target root causes.
Root Cause Analyst (RCA)
Section titled “Root Cause Analyst (RCA)”Sertiq AI feature on Pro+ plans. Generates probable root causes (with Ishikawa 6M category and confidence), 5-Whys starter questions, immediate actions, and a one-line verdict — from the NCR context plus 90 days of supplier history. See AI assist.
SCAR (Supplier Corrective Action Request)
Section titled “SCAR (Supplier Corrective Action Request)”A formal request to a supplier asking them to investigate, contain, and fix a non-conformance, and to report back. Sertiq generates SCAR .docx (Pro+) or branded SCAR PDF (Enterprise). The Interactive SCAR portal lets suppliers respond inside Sertiq — see NCRs.
Severity
Section titled “Severity”NCR classification: minor, major, critical. Drives whether containment is required and weights the supplier risk score.
Six Sigma
Section titled “Six Sigma”Process-improvement methodology aiming for 3.4 defects per million opportunities. DMAIC (Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve, Control) is its core problem-solving framework — overlaps with 8D.
Supplier scorecard
Section titled “Supplier scorecard”Quantitative summary of a supplier’s quality performance: quality score (0–100), open NCR count, on-time delivery, evaluation result, and risk band. Generated automatically and included in the audit .docx report.
Turnstile
Section titled “Turnstile”Cloudflare’s CAPTCHA-replacement. Sertiq uses it on login, register, and forgot-password to block bots without showing a puzzle.
Workspace user vs Employee
Section titled “Workspace user vs Employee”Two separate lists. Workspace users sign in to Sertiq (admin / editor / viewer). Employees are your operational org-chart headcount and may or may not have a Sertiq login. See Workspace access.