RV Industry Association Completes 2023 Regulatory And Safety Compliance Seminar

The Regulatory & Safety Compliance Seminar, formerly titled the “NHTSA Seminar,” took place last week, July 26 from 8 AM-2 PM ET. The goal of the event is to assist RV Industry Association members who wish to learn more about safety and recall processes and/or members who are involved in gathering data related to Early Warning Reporting. The seminar had over 90 attendees.

The seminar’s keynote speakers were Robert Nguyen, Safety Defects Engineer for the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (“NHTSA”) and Jeremy Hamilton, Head of Recalls for Transport Canada (“TC”). Nguyen discussed trends in recall response rates and how to improve consumer response to recalls, while Hamilton focused on some of the differences in regulatory requirements between TC and NHTSA as well as new developments in TC regulatory rulemaking.

The seminar also included three panels that discussed topics ranging from Supplier-OEM recall collaboration to the benefits of identifying recalls early to creating a culture of continuous improvement. These panels were all moderated and allowed for audience Q&A throughout.

According to Kyle Correa-Brady, the RV Industry Association’s Assistant General Counsel, the seminar continues to be well-received.

“The Regulatory & Safety Compliance Seminar was another incredible opportunity for the RV industry to regularly educate itself on the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and Transport Canada regulations and share best practices with one another,” says Correa-Brady. “Based on the feedback we received, being able to hear directly from the regulators as well as from fellow industry compliance veterans is invaluable to the participants.”

Dennis Carl, Quality Director at Lippert, who was one of the seminar’s panelists, agreed. “As a supplier to the RV industry, this seminar was a great opportunity to collaborate with our regulatory and manufacturer partners.  Events like these create alignment that helps us continually improve our industry’s overall safety and regulatory environment.”

Mike Becker, Chair of the Regulatory & Safety Compliance Subcommittee, was impressed by the wide representation as well as the level of participation at the event. “Two things really struck me about this year’s seminar. First: although the attendance numbers have remained relatively consistent from year to year, this year’s attendance included more representation from smaller manufactures and vendors. Second, the participation this year from attendees was, I think, way above and beyond any other year. There were a lot of great questions for our keynote speakers and panels this year. To me, that speaks to a much stronger engagement from the audience compared to previous years."