An Approach to RV Defects
Many problems owners encounter with their new rigs are a result of sloppy work during assembly. Quality and piece work might work well in a monastery. But I doubt it, human nature being what it is. ...
Forum Discussion
Why is it Amish people are employed to do electrical work on RV's? They don't use electricity in their homes. But are qualified to wire the systems in an RV?
Amish craftsmanship. Here is what Amish people are reknowned for. Building barns in a day. And when you get enough of them together they can do a good job of that.
But here is what they do at RV plants. They start work at 4:00 AM. And as soon as they reach their daily quota, they get to go home. This is so they can run their farms. They are good people. Do you know that they typically stop their formal education at 8th grade? Then they depend on their practical life lessons, to take them through life. They do what they're told. They are dependable workers. They show up on time. They show up every day. They follow directions. They need money from their jobs to support the farm. That is what they get from their job. And the job is a second priority for the first priority...the farm and family.
That does not mean to denegrade Amish people. But the RV industry seems to market the "Amish Craftsmanship" as a special talent. But Amish Craftsmanship might be a bit over optimistic.
But what the RV industry seems to really lack is to design in quality. Or to engineer quality into the product. They depend on the factory assembly line to build in quality. Plumbing and electrical systems get installed on the factory floor. No schematics for assembly people to go by. No pre-made wiring harnesses. Wires are just run from one terminal to the other. No order. No engineering. You need a hole in a wall to pass thru some wires? Just beat it out with a hammer. 2 Seconds and you have your hole. Isn't that brilliant? Hey!!! You got your hole...what do you care? Pass the wires through, and connect them where they go...stop your complaining. Your automatic screw driver strips out some screws? So what...there's a screw there. QA will not catch it. The staples will hold on the drawer front. Don't worry about it. QA won't see it. Cabinets are screwed to the walls. But the screw doesn't hit the wall stud? Hey the cabinets on there, isn't it? Awning screws don't screw into supports. They awning will be fine. The next station down the line won't see it. It'll be fine. Besides that guy is my friend. He won't cause a problem for me. He needs me to help him put his hay in next month.
Last trip to Goshen, we went by the Newmar DP repair center. Must have been 20 top of the line units in the parking lot waiting for service. They should be ashamed. If I owned that business and I couldn't do a better job with quality. I would not put the repair facility right out on the street. It would be back behind all the factories so it (at least) would not be so obvious to the buying public.
Bottom line is quality is a culture that needs to be built into the product right from the beginning. Into the cabinets at sub-assembly. Into the room dividers by use of jigs and fixtures. Into assembly of the sub assembly's to the final product. The culture needs to be drummed into the workforce. Each step in the manufacturing process needs dedicated quality inspection. As wells as, down line, on-line inspection. And then final inspection. You cannot inspect quality into the product. But you can use QA to ensure that your poor quality doesn't get out to the customer. And if you do these things correctly, you'll be rewarded with a fine reputation and you'll save money in customer returns. Good quality should pay big dividends to the company.
Problem is many of these RV company's have grown up operating as mom and pop companies. And haven't transitioned into professional organizations. Too engrossed in the short term financial gains for their leadership, owners, and workers. And the customers keep buying their products...because they're all the same.
Make perfect sense if you don't really think about it.
Amish craftsmanship. Here is what Amish people are reknowned for. Building barns in a day. And when you get enough of them together they can do a good job of that.
But here is what they do at RV plants. They start work at 4:00 AM. And as soon as they reach their daily quota, they get to go home. This is so they can run their farms. They are good people. Do you know that they typically stop their formal education at 8th grade? Then they depend on their practical life lessons, to take them through life. They do what they're told. They are dependable workers. They show up on time. They show up every day. They follow directions. They need money from their jobs to support the farm. That is what they get from their job. And the job is a second priority for the first priority...the farm and family.
That does not mean to denegrade Amish people. But the RV industry seems to market the "Amish Craftsmanship" as a special talent. But Amish Craftsmanship might be a bit over optimistic.
But what the RV industry seems to really lack is to design in quality. Or to engineer quality into the product. They depend on the factory assembly line to build in quality. Plumbing and electrical systems get installed on the factory floor. No schematics for assembly people to go by. No pre-made wiring harnesses. Wires are just run from one terminal to the other. No order. No engineering. You need a hole in a wall to pass thru some wires? Just beat it out with a hammer. 2 Seconds and you have your hole. Isn't that brilliant? Hey!!! You got your hole...what do you care? Pass the wires through, and connect them where they go...stop your complaining. Your automatic screw driver strips out some screws? So what...there's a screw there. QA will not catch it. The staples will hold on the drawer front. Don't worry about it. QA won't see it. Cabinets are screwed to the walls. But the screw doesn't hit the wall stud? Hey the cabinets on there, isn't it? Awning screws don't screw into supports. They awning will be fine. The next station down the line won't see it. It'll be fine. Besides that guy is my friend. He won't cause a problem for me. He needs me to help him put his hay in next month.
Last trip to Goshen, we went by the Newmar DP repair center. Must have been 20 top of the line units in the parking lot waiting for service. They should be ashamed. If I owned that business and I couldn't do a better job with quality. I would not put the repair facility right out on the street. It would be back behind all the factories so it (at least) would not be so obvious to the buying public.
Bottom line is quality is a culture that needs to be built into the product right from the beginning. Into the cabinets at sub-assembly. Into the room dividers by use of jigs and fixtures. Into assembly of the sub assembly's to the final product. The culture needs to be drummed into the workforce. Each step in the manufacturing process needs dedicated quality inspection. As wells as, down line, on-line inspection. And then final inspection. You cannot inspect quality into the product. But you can use QA to ensure that your poor quality doesn't get out to the customer. And if you do these things correctly, you'll be rewarded with a fine reputation and you'll save money in customer returns. Good quality should pay big dividends to the company.
Problem is many of these RV company's have grown up operating as mom and pop companies. And haven't transitioned into professional organizations. Too engrossed in the short term financial gains for their leadership, owners, and workers. And the customers keep buying their products...because they're all the same.
Make perfect sense if you don't really think about it.
