- Jul 11, 2015
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Icaru5 said:ProfJohnL said:Hello Ray,
I know this might seem like nit picking but, "quality control" is what the caravan industry try to apply now, and most of the time it fails.
That is because they try to inspect quality in to the products rather than build with quality in mind.
For example; a careless Baker will rapidly go out of business if the bread they make turns out poorly, the only quality test is what is end product like. This is in essence conventional "Quality Control by end inspection" and it's too late in the process, and it means that all the preceding work has been wasted, so the pressure is on in the caravan industry to release goods that are arguably not of merchantable quality.
By comparison, you will find that all successful Bakers apply "Quality Assurance" and will choose very carefully and have assurances from their suppliers about the the quality of the ingredients supplied. Recipes will be clearly displayed and followed, Their measuring equipment will be calibrated so exactly the right amount of ingredient is used. The mixing will be timed, ovens will be calibrated and have close temperature control for both proving and finally baking.
If you know your raw materials are good, and you control and apply the correct procedures to manipulate them, you will have confidence that your end product will be consistent. This means product is right first time, there is significantly reduced scrap and rework = lower manufacturing costs. and fewer unhappy customers!
Really ?
Having recently been awarded a prestigious contract by one of the major suppliers to the Caravan, Motorhome and Marine industry, I’m afraid I can’t just ignore that nonsense. If fact, I would go so far as to say I find it offensive.
We won the contract after months and months of hard effort and collaboration in response to the unprecedented due diligence of our client, particularly with regards to quality and consistency.
In particular, I quote ...
“By comparison, you will find that all successful Bakers apply "Quality Assurance" and will choose very carefully and have assurances from their suppliers about the the quality of the ingredients supplied.“
I would suggest that you stick to the baking, an industry which you clearly see as exemplary, but if you really are interested in learning more about the kind of rigorous quality assurance and consistency that today’s key suppliers to the caravan and motorhome industry demand, then please feel free to send me a message Prof, and I’ll happily enlighten you with real world facts and figures from 2017.
Perhaps this may even help to change your jaded view from yesteryear ?
Understanding who the businesses in your statement are would add credence to your words. Otherwise it's just marketing baloney. Can't be commercially sensitive either. If you are that good your products will readily withstand scrutiny, unless there is something to hide. Or are those parts the ones that you don't need to warrant as they are easily fixable on a leisure break by the DIY caravan owner who doesn't have to worry about throwing £20k+ at a caravan and has no expectation of it working first time every time?
Identifying the products would go a considerable way toward instilling confidence in future buyers of caravans. Conversely future performance of those products can be monitored via forums to determine if the trumpeting meets the reality.
Of the 25+ faults on our flagship caravan, those that were beyond my DIY abilities to fix (not that I would nor should have to be fixing whilst on a leisure break) were several bought in parts and sub assemblies involving basic manufacturing faults such as dry joints on PCBs, non existence of heat sink paste on heater unit, battery locker door failed assembly, mechanical sub assemblies not assembled. All those suppliers, of which some trumpet "World Class', 'Quality Assured', 'ISO 9001' etc in their marketing blurb failed at the first hurdle.
A slight hole in your quality argument is CoQ and what parameter CoQ becomes key. At present there appears too much fat in the caravan industry to even see CoQ on the horizon with the Hubble Telescope :evil: