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PD IEC TS 62668 — Process Management for Avionics Counterfeit Prevention Technical Specification Series (Avoiding Counterfeit Fraudulent and Recycled Components and Managing Non-Franchised Sources)
Process Management for Avionics — Counterfeit Prevention: Avoiding Counterfeit/Fraudulent/Recycled Components and Managing Non-Franchised Sources (2016 Editions)
🛡️ PD IEC TS 62668 is the BSI-adopted IEC/TS 62668 series for process management for avionics — counterfeit prevention. The two parts in this batch are Part 1, which specifies requirements to avoid the use of counterfeit, fraudulent, and recycled electronic components, and Part 2, which specifies requirements to manage electronic components from non-franchised sources. Both are handled by BSI Technical Committee GEL/107 (Process management for avionics), superseding the withdrawn PD IEC/TS 62668-1:2014 and PD IEC/TS 62668-2:2014. As component end-of-life (EOL) and market shortages grow, counterfeit parts increasingly enter the supply chain; this series provides a systematic anti-counterfeit control and risk-management framework for aviation manufacturers, suppliers, and maintenance organisations — a key support for airworthiness safety and fleet sustainment.
💡 Counterfeit components are a high-hazard risk in aviation: they can look identical to genuine parts yet be reworked, downgraded, second-hand recycled, or mislabelled chips that fail at any time under flight loads. Anti-counterfeiting cannot rely on single-point inspection — it requires process control across the entire supply chain.
1. Series Composition and Scope 📌
| Standard | Title | IEC Edition | Core Content |
|---|---|---|---|
| PD IEC/TS 62668-1:2016 | Process management for avionics — Counterfeit prevention — Part 1: Avoiding the use of counterfeit, fraudulent and recycled electronic components | IEC TS 62668-1 (Ed.3.0, 2016-04) | Minimum OEM requirements, intellectual property, counterfeit definition, establishing traceability |
| PD IEC/TS 62668-2:2016 | Process management for avionics — Counterfeit prevention — Part 2: Managing electronic components from non-franchised sources | IEC TS 62668-2 (Ed.2.0, 2016-08) | Non-franchised purchase risk identification, quality/industrial/reliability/financial/legal risks, control measures |
⚠️ This series applies to the avionics sector; counterfeit risks in other industries (automotive, medical, defence) are similar but should be implemented with their own regulatory requirements and general frameworks such as IEC 62442 (anti-counterfeiting for the electronics industry).
2. Part 1: Avoiding Counterfeit, Fraudulent and Recycled Components 🔍
Part 1 targets avionics OEMs and specifies minimum anti-counterfeit requirements:
- Minimum avionics OEM requirements: minimum anti-counterfeit controls across procurement, incoming inspection, storage, production, and repair.
- Intellectual property: definition and protection of intellectual property against unauthorised copying and misrepresentation.
- Counterfeit consideration: the legal definition of counterfeit, identification of fraudulent components, and methods to establish traceability.
- Reasons for loss of traceability: analysis of supply-chain disruption, channel mixing, and documentation loss, with countermeasures.
The key is to embed anti-counterfeiting into design selection and procurement: prefer authorised suppliers with reliable channels and keep traceability records for every incoming batch.
3. Part 2: Managing Components from Non-Franchised Sources 📦
When authorised channels are short or EOL, buyers may turn to the “open market” and non-franchised distributors. Part 2 systematically identifies the risks and gives management requirements:
- Risk origins: the origins and causes of risk in non-franchised purchases.
- Quality risks: uncertain incoming quality, counterfeit contamination, false documentation.
- Industrial risks: supply interruption, batch inconsistency, obsolescence substitution.
- Reliability risks: premature failure of reworked/recycled parts in harsh environments.
- Financial risks: claims, rework, downtime losses.
- Legal risks: infringement, liability, regulatory penalties.
Part 2 requires risk assessment, source audit, and necessary supplementary inspection (e.g., visual, X-ray, electrical performance, ageing screening) for non-franchised purchases, with approval and record requirements, so risk is kept within an acceptable level.
🚨 Non-franchised procurement is the main entry point for counterfeit components. If it must be used, establish strict supplier audits, incoming inspection, and batch traceability, and retain risk-assessment and approval records — never “install first, document later”.
4. Summary of Key Technical Points 🔧
| Topic | Key Requirement | Document |
|---|---|---|
| Minimum OEM requirements | Anti-counterfeit control in procurement, incoming, storage, production, repair | 62668-1 |
| Intellectual property | IP definition and protection against misappropriation | 62668-1 |
| Counterfeit definition | Legal definition, fraudulent components, establishing traceability | 62668-1 |
| Risk identification | Quality/industrial/reliability/financial/legal risks | 62668-2 |
| Non-franchised purchases | Source audit, supplementary inspection, approval records | 62668-2 |
| Traceability & records | Batch traceability, documentation consistency, retention | 62668-1 / -2 |
5. Engineering Practice 🛠️
- 🔍 Supplier management: maintain an approved-supplier list, prefer authorised channels, and audit non-franchised suppliers for qualification and risk.
- 🔧 Incoming inspection: apply supplementary tests to high-risk batches (visual, X-ray, decapsulation/internal inspection, electrical parameters, ageing screening) and cross-check certificates with traceability documents.
- 📊 Traceability construction: build a complete trace chain from purchase order to installation record, enabling rapid location, isolation, and disposition of suspected counterfeits.
- 📋 Reporting and contingency: establish reporting and recall procedures for suspected/confirmed counterfeit events, integrated into the quality system and airworthiness documents.
6. Frequently Asked Questions ❓
❓ Q: What is the difference between counterfeit, fraudulent, and recycled components?
A: Counterfeit means unauthorised use of another’s trademark/labels or components passed off as genuine; fraudulent means components obtained by false description or altered marking; recycled means parts removed and refurbished from scrapped or used equipment and sold as new. They often overlap but differ in management and disposition focus.
A: Counterfeit means unauthorised use of another’s trademark/labels or components passed off as genuine; fraudulent means components obtained by false description or altered marking; recycled means parts removed and refurbished from scrapped or used equipment and sold as new. They often overlap but differ in management and disposition focus.
❓ Q: Why is traceability the key to anti-counterfeiting?
A: Traceability lets every batch be traced to original manufacture, batch, and channel. When an anomaly is found, affected batches can be located, assessed, and recalled immediately, minimising loss; without traceability, risk spreads and cannot be contained.
A: Traceability lets every batch be traced to original manufacture, batch, and channel. When an anomaly is found, affected batches can be located, assessed, and recalled immediately, minimising loss; without traceability, risk spreads and cannot be contained.
❓ Q: Is non-franchised procurement always forbidden?
A: Not necessarily, but it must be strictly controlled. Part 2 requires risk assessment and source audit of non-franchised sources, supplementary inspection where needed, and approval procedures; use is allowed only when risk is acceptable and approved.
A: Not necessarily, but it must be strictly controlled. Part 2 requires risk assessment and source audit of non-franchised sources, supplementary inspection where needed, and approval procedures; use is allowed only when risk is acceptable and approved.
🔍 Q: What supplementary inspection methods are commonly used?
A: Common ones include visual and microscope examination, X-ray and ultrasonic internal inspection, X-ray fluorescence (XRF) composition analysis, decapsulation and die inspection, electrical parameter testing, and high-temperature ageing (burn-in) screening, plus verification of documentation and marking consistency.
A: Common ones include visual and microscope examination, X-ray and ultrasonic internal inspection, X-ray fluorescence (XRF) composition analysis, decapsulation and die inspection, electrical parameter testing, and high-temperature ageing (burn-in) screening, plus verification of documentation and marking consistency.