RV Industry Association Standards Department Hires New Inspector, Steve Duncan

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.

Most recently the standards inspection team has welcomed Steve Duncan, who brings to the team his 20 years of experience in the RV industry. With a background in the power inverter, charger, and solar energy markets, Steve gained some of his experience in the RV industry through working at Xantrex Technologies, Inc. His responsibilities included building inverters for the RV industry, completing RV repairs, and eventually managing the company’s help center and a team of RV technicians.

For the last five years, Steve has worked at Schneider Electric Solar Inverters supporting field technicians who work to maintain large grid tie systems. He also brings many years of experience in quality systems with International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and CSA Group (formerly Canadian Standards Association) certification processes.

In his new role as a standards inspector, Steve will be traveling to manufacturers around the United States to conduct safety inspections. He has already completed trips to local plants and emphasizes that the goal is to educate manufacturers on complying with safety standards. “It’s important to establish a good relationship with the original equipment manufacturers so they know you’re there to help them,” he said. “We always make sure to explain what we’re doing and why.”

When asked what he thinks the ideal skillset is for success in an inspector role, Steve underscores learning quickly, having patience, and interacting positively with others as crucial components to a successful career as an inspector. “Being patient with others and listening to what they’re saying is really important,” he said. “Maintaining a positive relationship with the manufacturers is key to doing well.”

The importance of a positive attitude in the workplace is also shared by his coworkers in the standards department. “Everyone is very personable and relaxed,” Steve explained. “The training program is very well done, and everyone is willing to go as in depth as they need to in order to answer a question or solve a problem.”

In particular, Steve emphasizes this position is a great opportunity for anyone interested in traveling: “You can go to places you’ve only read about in books. You get to see different places, meet a wide variety of people, and you’re doing something different every day.”