RL Hudson recently completed its IATF 16949:2016 re-certification audit, the periodic third-party review that keeps our certification active as an IATF 16949:2016 certified designer, manufacturer, and assembler of custom molded plastic and rubber parts. For OEM engineers and procurement teams evaluating suppliers, the results confirm that the systems governing how we plan, build, and control production continue to operate at a high level.
Commitment: Why This Audit Matters to How We Serve You
Completing a re-certification audit is not just about keeping a certificate current. It’s a checkpoint. Auditors don’t only confirm what’s already working, they flag what could be tighter, and those findings feed directly back into how we operate, driving continuous improvement.
For our customers, that discipline shows up as fewer defects and more consistent parts, from a manufacturer that keeps raising its own bar instead of waiting to be pushed. Completing this audit is further evidence that the systems producing your components are held to that standard, and continuing to get better.
Standard: What IATF 16949:2016 Actually Requires
IATF 16949:2016 is the automotive industry’s quality management standard, built on the ISO 9001:2015 framework but with requirements specific to automotive and heavy-vehicle supply chains. It sets expectations across five areas that show up directly in how a manufacturer operates:
- Process approach: every stage of production, from tooling through inspection, is systematically managed, measured, and improved as a system of interconnected processes designed to meet customer requirements.
- Risk-based thinking: failure points get identified and mitigated before they turn into defects, supporting the business continuity our customers count on to keep their production pipeline moving.
- Error prevention: the standard prioritizes preventing the mistakes that lead to nonconformities, addressing root causes before a defect can happen.
- Continuous improvement: certified facilities have to show ongoing, measurable improvement in process performance year over year.
- Customer specific requirements: many OEMs layer additional requirements on top of IATF 16949:2016, and our systems are built to accommodate those on a program-by-program basis.
Difference: Beyond ISO 9001:2015
ISO 9001:2015 is a general quality management standard used across nearly every industry. IATF 16949:2016 builds on that foundation with roughly 300 additional automotive-specific requirements. For OEM programs in heavy truck, powersports, and off-highway equipment, that distinction matters because it signals a manufacturer’s systems were built for automotive-grade traceability and control, not adapted from a general manufacturing framework.
Practice: What a Re-Certification Audit Verifies
Certification to IATF 16949:2016 is not permanent once granted. Re-certification audits happen on a set cycle, typically every three years, and involve a full review of the quality management system across the entire scope of certification rather than a check on select processes. An auditor examines documentation, process controls, and corrective action records against the full standard to confirm the system still meets IATF 16949:2016’s requirements.
“I’m proud of what our team accomplished in this audit. Passing a re-certification audit isn’t the finish line, it’s confirmation that the systems we’ve built are working, and a reminder to keep looking for ways to get better. That’s how we approach every audit, not as a requirement to check off, but as a chance to sharpen how we serve our customers.”
Mariano Mar, Vice President, Quality
Outcome: What This Confirms Going Forward
This re-certification audit is one data point in an ongoing standard, not a one-time milestone. That recurring scrutiny is what keeps us improving instead of settling, and it’s the standard we hold ourselves to on every part that leaves our facility.
