The VDA 6.3 Audit in Qingdao: When the Factory Manager Went Silent
- 11/17/2020
- Posted by: Charles.YANG
- Category: Field Practice
We arrived on site at 8:45 AM.
The audit agenda was clear: a full-day VDA 6.3 process audit, covering module P2 to P7 for a German Tier-1 automotive client. The factory—an aluminum parts machining supplier—had passed multiple IATF audits before.
Everyone expected this to be a formality.
But things changed fast when we hit the first 30 minutes of questioning.
The factory manager, an experienced engineer in his late 40s, went quiet when we asked:
“Can you explain how your team performs FMEA reviews and links them to your control plan updates?”
He looked at the QA head. She flipped through a dusty binder. After an awkward silence, he replied:
“Well… we only update when the customer says so.”
We wrote our first C-grade on the VDA checklist.
The team clearly wanted to comply, but didn’t understand what VDA 6.3 was trying to achieve. It wasn’t about paperwork—it was about prevention.
Common Gaps We Found That Day
- FMEA was not linked to any complaint feedback
- Control plans were “copied forward” year after year
- No documented rationale for process capability targets
- Internal audits skipped Module P5 entirely
What We Did Differently
Rather than push harder, we paused the audit and said:
“We’ll finish the checklist later. Let’s walk the line together first.”
For the next 90 minutes, we walked the assembly and packaging lines. We asked operators about special characteristics, traceability, change history.
Only after that did we return to the checklist—with much better alignment.
Eddso’s Coaching-Based Approach
With our QR3: Audit Support and VDA training experience, we often mix audit + enablement. In this case, we:
- Identified gaps in P-FMEA traceability
- Delivered a mini workshop on “Why VDA asks what it asks”
- Helped QA map one full process (machining → cleaning → laser marking) with updated controls
- Turned the audit report into a 3-month action plan
“An audit should never feel like a trap. It should feel like a map.”
Key Takeaway
Passing VDA 6.3 isn’t about fancy templates—it’s about understanding your process logic.
When engineers realize that each clause exists to reduce customer risk, they stop fearing the checklist—and start leading with confidence.