Meet New RV Industry Association Standards Inspector Nikki Booker

The RV Industry Association’s Standards inspection program is one of the organization’s signature industry initiatives and its greatest member benefit.

The Standards department maintains a professional team of full-time inspectors that promote the enhancement of safety by monitoring adherence to the standards adopted by the board of directors for the construction of RVs and park model RVs. The team of inspectors conducts more than 2,000 unannounced inspections of member company RV manufacturing plants annually.

New RV inspector, Nikki Booker came to the RV Industry Association’s Standards department with a decade of experience in the RV industry. As a standards inspector, Nikki is responsible for visiting manufacturing plants and inspecting the line and the units to ensure that the RVs are in compliance with the relevant standards and regulations.

“I really enjoy going into the plants and connecting with people,” said Nikki, who has already visited a number of RV manufacturer plants since joining the team last month. In addition, she undertook her first solo plant investigation a couple weeks ago. “I really enjoy working with the plant managers and their quality teams and giving them encouragement and education.”

Nikki’s career in the RV industry began by cleaning units before she became involved in purchasing. She later worked in quality control, where she spent seven years before joining the Association’s Standards team in her current role. “For around four weeks I was shadowing the other inspectors,” she explains. “They’re a great group of guys and they have really trained me well. They conduct their inspection, I conduct mine, and if I see something I have a question about, I always ask one of them to come over and they train me. They’ve been fabulous. I am excited to bring my industry experiences to the job, which has been very beneficial.”

“I am extremely passionate about this industry,” Nikki continues. “There’s nowhere else I would rather be. When I was trying to figure out where I was going to take my career next, this opportunity fell into my lap. I saw the position on Facebook, and I applied for it. I am extremely grateful and blessed to have been given this opportunity. I’m passionate about the whole process, from production to purchasing to engineering and now the RV Industry Association’s Standards team. This has been an amazing opportunity for me.”

There’s another aspect of Nikki’s new position that she has found exciting, as well: “Being the first woman hired into this position feels like a huge accomplishment for me. Everyone has been extremely encouraging; all of my bosses have said they’re thrilled to have me on the team. The other inspectors have all been phenomenal— they have been very accepting and encouraging.”

“I look forward to continuing to being a resource for our manufacturing members,” she concludes.