OEMs score more than price when they nominate a supplier

It depends on the customer. Direct OEM production supply usually requires the automotive sector quality scheme built on top of ISO 9001. Tier two, tier three, aftermarket and non-production suppliers are routinely accepted on ISO 9001 alone, and it remains the entry requirement for those categories. Most plants certify to ISO 9001 first, because the sector scheme assumes that foundation already works.

Yes, in most OEM scorecards. Assessors look for hazard identification tied to real machinery, energy isolation during maintenance, contractor control and closed-out incident investigations. A certified system produces that evidence as routine, so the assessment becomes a verification visit rather than a scramble. Injury numbers still matter on their own; the system is what stops them recurring.

It bounds the problem. Traceability from raw material to shipped part lets you identify the affected date range and customers instead of quarantining months of production. A compliance register shows which notification duties apply in each market, and the containment and corrective action records demonstrate a controlled response, which is what regulators and customer quality teams judge afterwards.

Conformity assessment against the directives that apply to your product, a technical file holding design and test evidence, and a signed declaration of conformity before the product is placed on the market. Some categories need a notified body; many are self-declared but still require the file. Distributors and customs ask for it, and an incomplete file stops shipments.

Six to nine weeks is typical for a single site with the system already operating, from application to certificate. Multi-site groups and plants building the system from scratch run longer. The audit itself is two stages a few weeks apart. Gauge calibration records and change management approvals are the two items that most often delay a Stage 2.

Only if you put them in scope. Scope is agreed at application and printed on the certificate exactly as agreed, for example stamping and assembly with or without tool design and manufacture. Customers read that line carefully during qualification, so excluding an activity you actually perform for them tends to surface as a finding in their own audit.