Jim Lewis

Bio: Jim Lewis is the program manager for the Counterfeit Avoidance Accreditation Program (CAAP), a program that he started in 2014 and has continued to develop. He also manages the staff responsible for the Nadcap Aero Structure Assembly, Coatings, Elastomer Seals, Fluid Distribution Systems, Materials Testing Laboratories, and Sealants Task Group. He is also responsible for the Qualified Product Listing (QPL) programs, Jim joined PRI in 2002 as an Associate Staff Engineer for Coatings and Chemical Processing and was promoted to Staff Engineer and Senior Staff Engineer, while leading the Coatings and Materials Testing Task Groups, prior to his current position as Program Manager. As part of his current duties, Jim works closely with the Management Councils of the CAAP, Nadcap, and QPL programs. He holds his Master’s and Bachelor’s degrees in Chemical Engineering from the University of Pittsburgh.

Abstract: With the proliferation of counterfeit parts in the supply chain and the release of US federal regulations regarding counterfeit prevention, standards development organizations have begun writing standards defining requirements for a system to avoid counterfeit parts and mitigate their effects. With the release of these standards, there also comes the need to verify compliance to them. To this end, industry participants have gathered together and started the Counterfeit Avoidance Accreditation Program (CAAP). This program, administered by the Performance Review Institute (PRI), brings together subject matter experts from around the world to participate in an industry managed accreditation program, based on many of the practices of the highly successful Nadcap program. These industry experts participate in every part of the process, from selecting auditors, to defining audit criteria, even to making the final accreditation decision. Audit criteria are developed, based on the standards and regulations, and are then used by auditors to evaluate counterfeit prevention and mitigation systems on site at the facility seeking accreditation. This presentation will provide additional detail on the status of the program and give information on how to get involved.