VDA 6.3 – FAQ – VDA QMC (2024)

The last update of the volume VDA 6.3 was published in January 2023.

The training course “From VDA 6.3:2016 to VDA 6.3:2023 – Upgrade” is offered as a web-based training for self-study (ID 384) and until 31 December 2024 also as a half-day live online training course (ID 333). After passing the knowledge test, you will receive a certificate of qualification.

No, the VDA 6.3:2016 certificates retain their validity and can only be extended when they expire.

No, it is only possible to take the examination if all prerequisites have been met and the application has been approved by the VDA QMC or one of its licence partners. Subsequent submission of the application is not permitted.

Qualifications according to DIN EN ISO 19011, ISO 9001, ISO/TS or IATF 16949, for example, training as a VDA auditor, DGQ auditor or EOQ auditor are accepted as auditor qualifications. As a general rule, a training course of at least three days must have been completed, irrespective of the training provider.

No, audits performed do not replace an auditor qualification according to DIN EN ISO 19011.

No, successful participation in the training is proven by the certificate of qualification that you receive after passing the knowledge test.

With the online quiz, prospective VDA 6.3 auditors can have their Automotive Core Tools expertise checked and confirmed. Thanks to the standardisation and unification of this query, the certificate of success for the VDA QMC Automotive Core Tools online quiz is regarded worldwide as official certificate for the auditor that he/she is at the cutting edge of technology in this subject area. This quality feature gives the VDA 6.3 certificate a higher level than before and thus gives the certificate holders an even better reputation in the automotive supply chain.

According to DIN EN ISO 19011, chapter 7.6, auditors are required to continuously improve their competence, among other things by participating in training courses. The fact that the VDA QMC requires two days of training in the area of automotive core tools means that prospective VDA 6.3 process auditors meet this requirement.

From three years of professional experience (preferably in manufacturing companies in the automotive industry), company training periods can be taken into account.
Company training periods are recognised at 50% and only in the case of completed dual training or dual studies in a technical profession in manufacturing companies.
In-company internships, working student activities or similar within the framework of academic Bachelor’s or Master’s degree programmes cannot be credited.
In principle, it is not possible to take the examination until all requirements have been met and the examination application has been approved by the VDA QMC or an official licence partner (cf. FAQ No. 6 and 8).

The examination may be repeated no more than twice and must be passed no later than one year after the first examination.

In this case, in addition to the examination requirements mentioned in point 8, certificate of successful participation in the training course “From VDA 6.3:2016 to VDA 6.3:2023 – Upgrade” (ID 333 live online training or ID 384 web-based training) must be provided.

The costs at the VDA QMC are € 165.- plus VAT, for licence partners the price is different and will be communicated on request.

The VDA 6.3:2023 certificate is valid for five years from the date of issue.

As the VDA 6.3:2023 certificate is valid for five years for the first time, ten audits with at least 20 audit days are required for the next extension. Nothing can be said about further requirements at the moment.

No, when extending the VDA 6.3:2023 certificate, proof of passing the VDA QMC Automotive Core Tools online quiz no longer needs to be provided.

The new VDA Volume 6.3 applies from January 2023. There is no official transition period. The organisations involved in the audit agree via the customer-specific requirements which version an audit is based on.

Important changes have been made, especially with regard to the topics of products with integrated software and procurement activities before SoP. Furthermore, the volume was adapted to the state of the art and made even more practical (detailed changes to content, wording and streamlining of content). In the VDA 6.3 upgrade training you will receive an overview of the most important changes and can practice your new knowledge directly.

Since the changes in the new volume mainly concern the streamlining and updating of the existing content, the requirements for auditors will not change to any great extent. New in the volume is the consideration of products with integrated software and the sharpening of procurement activities before SoP. In the VDA 6.3 upgrade training you can train exactly these topics. In the VDA Automotive Software Essentials training course you can acquire basic knowledge and skills on the subject of “software”.

The evaluation scheme has not changed with the revision of the volume. The number of questions has also remained almost the same, only the distribution of the starred questions has changed (the number of star questions has remained the same). A greater focus is placed on products with integrated software with the revision, which may have an impact on the overall result.

A re-weighting of the starred questions was carried out in the course of updating the volume. Here, in addition to the content aspects, consideration was also given to how the redistribution (and thus the change in emphasis) affects the balance of the distribution of starred questions (for example: 6.3.1 is no longer starred because the number of questions in Eu3 is very low (3) and a low score has a big impact on the sub-element score and thus on the overall result).

The new VDA Volume 6.3 was revised with the aim of providing an even more practice-oriented manual. For this reason, the possibility of a management decision (which was already common practice before) has now also been included in the volume.

The interface between hardware and software for products with integrated (embedded) software has been strengthened, but the Automotive SPICE® method must be used for a detailed evaluation of software development.

In the VDA 6.3:2023 volume it is specified that no questions may be removed or added. This is the only way to ensure comparability with other audits according to VDA Volume 6.3.

Risk analysis is described in VDA Vol. 6.3 in chapter 2.4 (turtle approach). The scope of the risk analysis always depends on the product and production process risk, the scope of the process under consideration and the duration of the planned audit. It is up to the auditor to decide which method to use for the risk analysis in each individual case.

The decision matrix on p. 23 in VDA Volume 6.3 is a recommendation from the project group as to when a remote audit can be carried out. The final decision on the handling and process lies with the auditing organisation (unless otherwise specified by the customer). In principle, remote audits cannot represent a fully comprehensive VDA 6.3 process audit (P2-P7). Reasons for this are the lack of transparency during the audit process as well as technical, legal and data protection aspects. The same applies to the performance of potential analyses (P1), which can only be carried out to a limited extent without an on-site visit to the supplier. Hybrid audits, on the other hand, can be considered fully comprehensive, taking into account the risk and influencing factors.

In addition to the revised VDA 6.3 training courses, the new training course “Automotive Software Essentials” is offered to learn relevant software know-how.

Only the VDA Analysis Tool 2.0 can be used for audits according to VDA Volume 6.3:2023. It is available in the VDA QMC Webshop.

With the Analysis Tool 2.0, it is much easier to document findings, notes and certificate during the audit – even without having to immediately assign them to an assessment question. The tool also simplifies communication between the auditor and the organisation with regard to the action plan: There is no longer any need to create Excel spreadsheets to coordinate regarding measures, everything can be mapped completely online and via the same user interface (cf. KARA Tool/IATF).
Further information can be found here VDA QMC Tools Testlizenzen and on the corresponding help page: Atlassian Analysis Tool 2.0.

You can create your own reports based on the existing reports. However, we look forward to your feedback and suggestions for improvement, which you are welcome to send to the following e-mail address: vda@infosysc.de.

An Excel tool was used until a few years ago and then replaced by the new VDA Analysis Tool.