QA Manual format changes

For AS9100 clause 4.4.2 it is important to realize that the sentence you quoted in your question is not a requirement, but rather a suggestion (i.e. it does not tell you that you “shall” do this). So, the important part of clause 4.4.2 is that the listing of things that AS9100 asks you to document are documented (e.g. description of interested parties, scope of the QMS, etc.) and if you want to put these together into one document and call it a Quality Manual you can; however, it is not required to do so as long as these things are documented.

Additionally, if you do choose to document a Quality Manual, you can choose any format you wish as there is no one way to do this dictated in AS9100. So, a format like you have suggested is acceptable, providing it also meet any other requirements you have such as customer or legal requirements. To answer you final question, these other requirements are the reason that many in the aerospace industry are keeping a traditional single quality manual, because they have customer or legal requirements to do so, but where these don’t exist you are free to do as you see appropriate.

You can read a bit more on this change in the article: The future of the quality manual in AS9100, https://advisera.com/9100academy/knowledgebase/the-future-of-the-quality-manual-in-as9100/

Thank you Mark. That's helped clarify the situation completely. Very helpful to understand the context of the QA Manual need outside the framework of the standard