Most Important Manufacturing Certifications and Accreditations?

[andrew-kornuta]

I'm working on adding a section to each Manufacturer profile on NORAMARK for Certifications and Accreditations. Totally optional of course.

Which ones would you like to see on there?

I started to compile the most common here:

Starting-point: U.S. Manufacturing Compliance Reference

Compliance Requirement	Description	Applicable Industries	Mandatory?	Certification Required?	Issuing / Enforcing Body	Renewal / Update Cycle	Penalties or Consequences	Relevance to Defense / Military Work	State-Specific Notes
NIST SP 800-171	Protects Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI) in non-federal systems.	Defense contractors, manufacturers handling CUI	Yes (for DoD CUI work)	Self-assessment or CMMC Level 2	Department of Defense (DoD)	Every 3 years or per contract	Loss of eligibility for DoD contracts	Required under DFARS 252.204-7012	N/A
CMMC (Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification)	Formal certification framework building on NIST 800-171.	Defense contractors, manufacturers with DoD contracts	Yes (phased rollout)	Yes (3rd-party audit)	Cyber AB / DoD	Every 3 years	Loss of DoD contract eligibility	Essential for DoD work	N/A
ISO 9001	Quality Management System standard, common in manufacturing.	All manufacturing sectors	No (but often contractually required)	Yes (3rd-party cert)	Accredited ISO certifying bodies	Annual surveillance; full recert every 3 years	Loss of supplier eligibility	Often required by primes	N/A
ISO 14001	Environmental Management System standard.	Manufacturing, especially with emissions/waste	No	Yes (voluntary)	Accredited ISO certifying bodies	Annual surveillance; full recert every 3 years	None (voluntary)	May be requested by buyers	N/A
ISO/IEC 27001	Information Security Management System standard.	Electronics, aerospace, medtech, data-sensitive industries	No (but strongly recommended)	Yes (3rd-party cert)	ISO-cert bodies	Annual audit, 3-year recert	Loss of business for sensitive contracts	Sometimes required or preferred	N/A
Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA)	Requires employers to provide a safe workplace and comply with OSHA safety standards (e.g., machine guarding, hazard communication).	All industries (manufacturing, construction, etc.)	Yes	No	OSHA (federal or state)	Ongoing compliance; inspections may trigger action	Fines, shutdowns, citations	Indirect (applies to all workplaces)	22 states have their own OSHA-approved plans
Clean Air Act (CAA)	Requires industrial facilities to obtain permits and meet emission standards for air pollutants.	Industries with air emissions (e.g. chemical plants, cement, metals, automotive)	Yes	Yes (air permits)	EPA or State Environmental Agency	5 years (Title V permits)	Fines, legal action, permit revocation	Applies if operating facilities	States enforce via SIPs; CA is stricter
Berry Amendment	Requires DoD to buy specific goods (e.g. textiles, metals) that are 100% U.S.-sourced.	Defense supply chain (textiles, food, metals, aerospace)	Yes (for relevant contracts)	Self-certification in bids	Department of Defense	Per contract	Contract loss, disqualification	Yes (directly)	N/A

[nick-valentine]

For us, nothing is required for us in custom fabrication but people like to see mechanic and welding certs, makes them feel more comfortable.

[taranickles]

We always like to see 9001 and our customers oftentimes require it. OSHA is pretty much standard from what I've seen.

[michael-kornuta]

this is interesting and related