Quality Management Systems (QMS): Your legal obligation

This technical article was written by the RVMAP Team – Your year-round compliance partner.

A key element of being eligible to obtain some approvals under the Road Vehicle Standards Act of 2018 (RVSA) will be your ability to prove you have either:

  • Full control over all stages of the design, componentry and manufacturing process for the type of road vehicle or road vehicle component; or
  • Access to information, including information about any changes, relating to the design, componentry and manufacture of the type of road vehicle or road vehicle component that may affect its compliance with the applicable national road vehicle standards.

If you indicate you have full control, you will need to have some form of QMS in place to demonstrate that you have effective control on Conformity of Production. To ensure every Recreational Vehicle produced consistently conforms with these mandatory regulations, manufacturers and importers need to have an effective system in place to control and document all stages of the design and manufacturing process.

As an RVSA approval holder, you may be subjected to a federal regulator audit at any time. Failure to demonstrate you have effective control of your processes (or access to information, including information about any changes, relating to the design, componentry and manufacture of the type of road vehicle or road vehicle component) may result in your approval being suspended or cancelled – meaning you can no longer supply Recreational Vehicles to market.

Why is it important?

You will not be able to obtain some approvals (e.g. vehicle and component type approval) under the RVSA unless you can demonstrate that you have effective control on conformity of production. This means you have effective control (or access to information) over all stages of design, componentry, and manufacture of the recreational vehicle and component you are producing or supplying through some form of QMS.

In addition, there are many other benefits to implementing an effective QMS, such as improved efficiency, reduced re-work costs, lower warranty rates/claims and improved customer satisfaction – just to name a few.

QMS Checklist

To assist RV businesses in implementing their QMS, the Federal Department has developed a Quality Management System Checklist. This checklist is based on requirements outlined in Appendix 2 and 3 of the Guide to Vehicle Type Approval, or the Guide to Vehicle Type Approval for Low ATM Trailers.

Download the checklist HERE.

For questions or assistance, head to the Federal Department’s dedicated RVSA Contact Page