VDA 6.3 – Automotive process audit
VDA 6.3 is not a management system standard. It is a method for process audits, developed by the Verband der Automobilindustrie, the German automotive industry association. What is assessed is not a system as a whole, but one specific process: from project planning through procurement to series production and customer care. There is no certificate for it.
What you get instead is a rating. Vehicle manufacturers and their suppliers use the method at three points: when selecting new suppliers, in ongoing series support and when there are problems. The result then decides classifications, approvals and, in the worst case, escalations. That is why a VDA 6.3 audit is often taken more seriously in the supply chain than many a certification audit.
Who it applies to
- Automotive suppliers asked by a customer to undergo a process audit – the most common trigger
- Companies bidding for automotive business for the first time and being assessed as part of supplier selection
- Businesses with IATF 16949 that need process audits as a fixed part of their internal audit programme
- Purchasing organisations that want to assess their own suppliers using a recognised method
Where it usually goes wrong
The scoring system is underestimated
VDA 6.3 does not assess by gut feeling but by a fixed points system. Every question is scored, and from those scores come key figures for the individual processes and for the overall result. On top of that come the downgrading rules. Certain findings pull the result down regardless of how well everything else was rated.
That regularly comes as a surprise. Often little is missing in substance, yet the result turns out considerably worse than expected. If you know the system beforehand, you know where it hurts and can work on exactly those points. If you do not, you end up arguing about a number that was settled long ago.
The self-assessment turns out too generous
In your own house the scoring is generous. That is not deliberate, it is human. You know the context, you know how the process is meant to work, and you supply the missing half automatically as you go.
An external audit scores differently. It scores what can be evidenced, not what was intended. In our experience the gap between the internal self-assessment and the external result is often large. That is precisely why an honest pre-assessment from outside is worth having before the customer arrives.
Evidence is not prepared
The question catalogue is known and published. Nobody has to guess what will be asked. Even so, in the audit things get searched for rather than produced. Somebody rings production, somebody searches the shared drive, the auditor waits.
Every question needs evidence that is to hand. Searching does not only cost time. It looks like a gap, even if the evidence turns up later. The same process scores noticeably better with prepared records than it does with the same records in disarray.
How we support you
Preparation comes first. We go through the question catalogue with you and clarify which piece of evidence belongs to which question. If one is missing, you see it early enough to produce it rather than improvise.
Then the self-assessment. We score your processes the way an external auditor would, and we tell you the number, even when it is uncomfortable. The approach matches what we describe under Internal audits & gap analyses: finding, objective evidence, prioritisation.
If you wish, we will accompany you through the customer audit itself. We translate between your business and the logic of the audit, put findings in context and record what follows from them. If it turns out that the cause lies deeper, the route leads to Building a management system. You can see which sectors we work in there.
Who handles this at our end
Marion Rammé – IRCA certified and registered QMS / EMS / OHSMS Lead Auditor #01194927, with VDA 6.3, IATF 16949 and automotive customer requirements
On this method we are honest: it is covered by one person here. On the basic ISO standards we are more broadly staffed, here we are not. You should know that when planning dates. The team in detail
Related standards
- IATF 16949 – the automotive industry's management system, this is where certification happens
- ISO 9001 – the foundation both are built on
Frequently asked questions
Do we get a certificate for VDA 6.3?
No. VDA 6.3 is a method for assessing processes, not a certifiable management system standard. You receive an audit report with a rating of your processes. If you need a certificate for the automotive industry, look at IATF 16949.
How long does a process audit take?
That depends on the scope: how many processes are examined, how many sites are involved and how deep the examination goes. A single process at one site is a matter of a few days including preparation and report. Several processes or sites take correspondingly longer.
What does it cost?
A process audit is a question of days. The determining factors are the number of processes examined and the number of sites, plus the effort for preparation and the report. After a short conversation about your scope we can give you a firm figure.
How does VDA 6.3 relate to IATF 16949?
They complement each other. IATF 16949 is the certifiable system standard and requires process audits among other things. VDA 6.3 provides the method by which those process audits are carried out. Many customers ask for both – the certificate for the system, the process rating for the specific process.
How do we best prepare?
Take the question catalogue and assign a piece of evidence to every question. Then an honest self-assessment, ideally with an outside view. The rest is craft: file the evidence where it can be reached and brief the people who will be questioned in the audit.
Let us talk about it
The first conversation is free and without obligation.