# 46.202-4 Higher-level contract quality requirements.

1. (a) Agencies shall establish procedures for determining when higher-level contract quality requirements are necessary, for determining the risk (both the likelihood and the impact) of nonconformance, and for advising the contracting officer about which higher-level standards should be applied and included in the solicitation and contract. Requiring compliance with higher-level quality standards is necessary in solicitations and contracts for complex or critical items (see 46.203)or when the technical requirements of the contract require-

   1. (1) Control of such things as design, work operations, in-process controls, testing, and inspection; or

   2. (2) Attention to such factors as organization, planning, work instructions, documentation control, and advanced metrology.

2. (b) Examples of higher-level quality standards include overarching quality management system standards such as ISO 9001, ASQ/ANSI E4, ASME NQA-1, SAE AS9100, SAE AS9003, and ISO/TS 16949, and product or process specific quality standards such as SAE AS5553.