What To Know About The RV Industry Association’s Standards Inspections Process

The RV Industry Association’s standards inspection program is one of the organization’s signature industry initiatives and greatest member benefit. The Standards Department maintains a professional team of full-time inspectors that promote the enhancement of safety by monitoring RV manufacturer members’ adherence to the standards adopted by the Board of Directors for the construction of RVs.

The team conducts more than 2,000 unannounced inspections of member company RV manufacturing plants annually and is committed to providing educational resources and hands-on training to manufacturer members to support their commitment to comply with these adopted codes and standards.

As a condition of membership, manufacturers pledge in writing that they will build RVs that conform to the NFPA 1192 Standard and Park Model RVs that conform to the ANSI 119.5 Standard. They also agree to comply with regular, unannounced inspections that audit the manufacturer’s compliance with this pledge. Failure to comply may result in association membership being revoked, or the manufacturer being subject to disciplinary action following due process.

Inspection Process

The RV Industry Association’s team of inspectors periodically visit each member manufacturing plant for unannounced inspections. During the visit, inspectors walk every station along the production line, spot checking representative RV units for compliance with over 500 safety-related standards requirements, talking to line employees, and conducting hands-on discussions about these standards.

At the completion of the visit, representatives of the plant review and sign an inspection report which notes any deviations identified during the inspection. A copy of this report is sent to the member company at the completion of the visit. Per a document retention policy, past inspection reports are retained by the RV Industry Association for no longer than 6 months.

Classification of Deviations

Deviations are classified into three categories depending on severity. Each potential deviation type is identified in the RV Industry Association RV Deviation Database.

To learn more about the RV Industry Association Standards program, please visit the Standards section of the website here.