Senior Management Failures at AS

[Msmoto]

No matter what anyone of us says about the management in Jackson Center, there must be a reason I have had three new Airstreams.... my estimate is I have pulled between 50,000 and 75,000 miles behind my Dodge, and have had virtually no problems...

Maybe the management is doing a good job, but some of us just love to look for crumbs on the floor.... like me... LOL

[Tmdumbauld]

Thanks for your comment. Usually only people who are upset take time to post!

[Ted S.]

After years of fixing my trailer, and some repairs were in fact defective right out of the factory that were never caught in the warranty period, my recommendation to Airstream is to simply start by cleaning up the worksite. There’s no reason to leave dust, debris, drops from wire and pex, screws, etc. under concealed areas like cabinets and building voids. What I have found in my trailer made me shake my head.

As an architect and builder, this is a shame. It takes very little effort and I would argue zero cost. Just make it part of the day. It would take 5 minutes. I’ve been on 100s of job sites and know many builders. There is a direct correlation between well kept job sites and call backs. Nobody wants to work on a messy job site, it’s bad for moral. They will not take pride in their work if they are not required to clean up as part of the job and product.

[rmkrum]

Hm. Data point: our 2007 was totally clean under cabinets and places you can’t get to easily. Not even a scrap of wire or any fasteners. Wonder what changed lately.

Agree that cleaning up and sorting out stuff in workspace is part of a high quality operation.

We discovered this when we ran radio wiring down the entire street side under the kitchen cabinets and bathroom to the desk in the rear. No debris anywhere.

[Al and Missy]

Originally Posted by rmkrum

Hm. Data point: our 2007 was totally clean under cabinets and places you can’t get to easily. Not even a scrap of wire or any fasteners. Wonder what changed lately.

Agree that cleaning up and sorting out stuff in workspace is part of a high quality operation.

We discovered this when we ran radio wiring down the entire street side under the kitchen cabinets and bathroom to the desk in the rear. No debris anywhere.

Apparently the problem is worker-related, or cyclic. While your 2007 was clean, my 2001 and 2002 were not. Wiring harness slack was left loose, harnesses on the floor under the sofa and up the wall were not secured, the wiring in the radio cubby was just wadded up, pushed in behind the radio and caught on something making it very difficult to get the radio out, screws, wiring insulation and rivet tails on the floor, etc. While not necessarily a functional issue, it speaks to the worker's overall desire to do a quality job and management's level of concern.


Al

[turk123]

[quote

As an architect and builder, this is a shame. It takes very little effort and i would argue zero cost. Just make it part of the day. It would take 5 minutes. I’ve been on 100s of job sites and know many builders. There is a direct correlation between well kept job sites and call backs. Nobody wants to work on a messy job site, it’s bad for moral. They will not take pride in their work if they are not required to clean up as part of the job and product.[/quote]

I am a land developer and builder and I agree. It seems as if the trailers go down the line with all the workers thinking someone else will get the sawdust and loose screws cleaned up. They never get cleaned up.

My 27 international went to the dealer who said he would go over the entire trailer and it would be clean. They have a 17-year old that does that job. Enough said. We found all kinds of sawdust and screws on the floor.

I think the best way to handle this is a vacuum at every workstation that has a job to do on the trailer. It doesn't move on until the work perfored is cleaned up! That simple.

AS management please incorporate that into your new factory. Your dealers are not doing it nor should they.

[OTRA15]

Originally Posted by turk123

. . .
I think the best way to handle this is a vacuum at every workstation that has a job to do on the trailer. It doesn't move on until the work perfored is cleaned up! That simple.
. . .

Yup!

Many of the QC issues discussed here are so brain-dead-simple, it is amazing that upper management has not laid down the law.

Missing captains at the helm result in lots of shipwrecks.

. . . and we are not talking about crumbs on the floor, but whole loaves of bread left lying about . . . IMO.

Things so obvious that a child would react . . . "What?"



Maybe the Airstream ship is changing course, but it will take time IMO.

[Gene]

Like most problems with Airstreams, trash left in hidden areas happens to some people and not to others. Some workers care, some do not. Management seems unable to notice the problem and fix it. It has been going on for many years. Our 2008 was built in the summer of 2007. When I was replacing the drain valve on the fresh water tank, I found trash including aluminum pieces cut from something. When I opened the access plate some trash fell out on me and the aluminum scrap with its sharp edges managed not to cut my hand as I felt around for more stuff. Who knows what is under the plastic tanks wearing holes in them?

I did lots of work on the trailer myself and can’t remember what else I found. I remember the water tank experience because some of it fell on my face. And the stock drain valve is the cheapest you can buy, works badly and it located in a hard place to reach. The water line drains are also difficult to use because they stick and are behind a wheel. So, poor design, cheap materials, sloppy workmanship.

I’m glad for those of you who have few or no problems. To those of you who constantly say there are some chronic complainers and discount the experiences of people who have had problems, maybe you should just be glad you are lucky and maybe your next Airstream will be built by the workers who don’t care. Airstream’s president told me a decade ago they did have a quality control program. I replied—why are there so many problems? He had no answer.

[crispyboy]

It's been a few years since I have taken the tour.
I assume Airstream assemblers are using cordless tools to do their work. What if Airstream bought a couple of cordless vacuums such as:





The vacuum could be placed in the trailer after the flooring has been installed. The vacuum would remain in the trailer until it rolled out the door. Move the vacuum back down the line to start the process over again.
I have worked on a 1981, 1989, 1994 amd 2007 trailers. Each trailer had it share of debris in hidden places.

[turk123]

Wow! 99 bucks and problem goes away! Great idea!

Oh wait! When it gets to the end of the line, someone would have to dump the filter bag. They would just throw the whole thing away. Cost prohibitive!!!

I own a plaza that has a Verizon store in it. Every 3-4 months I would find an entire vacuum in the dumpster out back. I finally tracked it down to the employees of Verizon. "I'm not going to clean that dirty thing! I just tell management that the vacuum is no longer working and they get me a new one".

Zeeshh!

[OTRA15]

A central vacuum line running the length of the assembly line would work. One collector outside someplace. Lots of plants have these.

[J. Morgan]

When the problem becomes bits of construction debris left in places no one will ever see apart from disassembly, I’m going to have to say that the QC program is largely becoming a success. #JustSayin

In the end does it really matter that I found “debris” that had been encapsulated in my Airstream for forty years?

[crispyboy]

Originally Posted by J. Morgan

In the end does it really matter that I found “debris” that had been encapsulated in my Airstream for forty years?

Yes - As stated in a few threads before there is often a direct correlation in quality and cleanliness - they go hand in hand - pride of workmanship.
I am sure you have heard of the old story of assembly line workers putting beer cans in the new car door so they rattle. May or may not be true but it goes hand in hand with the quality of some of the 70's automobiles.

[Ray Eklund]

I never once, in 12 years of owning Airstreams, found one loose coin or any paper currency stashed in between any wall or appliances.

It tells me that somethings are important.

If employees had an 'apron' to put trash into while working, and not put the trash into their pockets, with holes, we would all be better off.

[GMFL]

My fresh water tank had to be replaced due to trash left behind. A pop rivet that was trapped between the tank and metal frame rubbed a hole in it causing a leak.
http://www.airforums.com/forums/f443...3d-181076.html

[markdoane]

Originally Posted by crispyboy

... I am sure you have heard of the old story of assembly line workers putting beer cans in the new car door so they rattle. May or may not be true but it goes hand in hand with the quality of some of the 70's automobiles.

I think it was more a case of union workers trying to harass management. The build orders had a special code for vehicles ordered by executives.

They were supposed to get "special attention".

... and the beer cans went in the rocker panel so they were there forever.

[J. Morgan]

Originally Posted by crispyboy

Yes - As stated in a few threads before there is often a direct correlation in quality and cleanliness - they go hand in hand - pride of workmanship.
I am sure you have heard of the old story of assembly line workers putting beer cans in the new car door so they rattle. May or may not be true but it goes hand in hand with the quality of some of the 70's automobiles.

I’m going to disagree. It didn’t make a bit of difference to me, and the trailer is approaching fifty years of age..... (I did find a forty year old magic marker that was still good to use)

I’m going to go even further. I refit my entire interior, many places I cleaned and vacuumed before covering up an area, and many places I didn’t. Sometimes I was on a roll, sometimes I was in a hurry, but in the end, no one will know whether I cleaned the space out or not until or unless it gets taken apart. Some of that debris has been trapped for about five years now......

Maybe,,,,,, it’s just not that big of a deal after all. Sometimes, good enough is good enough. Take that from someone who was once somewhat of a perfectionist.....

[turk123]

Originally Posted by Ray Eklund

I never once, in 12 years of owning Airstreams, found one loose coin or any paper currency stashed in between any wall or appliances.

It tells me that somethings are important.

If employees had an 'apron' to put trash into while working, and not put the trash into their pockets, with holes, we would all be better off.

Bosses making a plant tour that day! Everything got cleaned up that day!

[TG Twinkie]

Leaving a mess behind makes one wonder about the quality of work in those hidden spaces.
Employees not only put beer cans in the rocker panels. They put ball bearings in there as well.
Which begs the question. Why was beer allowed on the premises?

[Foiled Again]

EDUCATION leads to BUY-IN

35 years ago an eager beaver could start a call center/answering service with almost no money... a successful one with $5 - $20 thousand. Today I wouldnt try it with less than $2 million, mainly to acquire tech, get 2 to 4 highly qualified management people, advertising, and the bulk for education, motivation and retention of good people. Only one constant remains... helping "vampire employees" leave quickly is the biggest morale booster ever. Creating team spirit is the best profit builder.

Way back any operator with a 2 to 4 line phone, a one line yellow page ad (ask your parents to explain) and a table and chair could serve a dozen clients and gross $2K per month... and dump it when the reality of working 7 days a week for 18 hours a day hit.

I was almost certain that 3 or 4 of our staff had decided to start one.. Complete with poaching our client list and leaving us short handed. They thought we were rich and they were grossly underpaid.

The whole problem not only ended, but raised bottom line profits by almost 20% for an initial cost of $150 and 20 minutes (paid time) per operator.

The educational materials? 3 $50s for prizes, a copy of our weekly & annual payroll cost highlighting overtime figures
a copy of our monthly phone bill, subtotalled by telephony and yellow page cost, and an analysis (dipstick only) of our cost to acquire 1 new customer and the cost to lose old customers... one high dollar, one small fry.

The operator who got the closest on each of the topic got 50 bucks cash.

Each person had 10 minutes and a calculator. Every participant guessed at least 60% low on every answer. 3 different people "won" and every employee nearly passed out when we openly showed them the actual books. Almost every single one used their unpaid lunch break to sit with me and figure out where they had gone wrong... All three of the "entrepreneurs" abandoned their plan feeling they had dodged a big bullet. And all of them still NEEDED more money withput having to work (oh, horrors!) Overtime!

Our biggest avoidable expense? overtime... due mainly to last minute callouts and tardiness.

A perfect atrendance bonuses paid for.by the dramatic drop in overtime pay... roughly 3/4 of our staff happily stayed and the remainder were strongly encouraged to find success elsewhere.

Hate and discontent during the transition? Yessir! Screaming, crying, rending of garments.. "I did not take your bonus away, you threw it away because you overslept for 30 minutes, and topped that by taking another 2 hours to show up... when you live 3 blocks away" Caused several "F U I Quits" which was my goal.

We lost almost all of the burnouts, hostiles (paranoids) and perpetual victims. The remainder? At the low end, connected a few of the dots between customer retention and referrals lead to higher wages. Gradually some superstars emerged from the pack.

When we sold to a big player much later, all of our employees were grabbed up like gold and most have been promoted. I got a spontaneous call where I was told that the best acquisition they had ever had... was not the biggest dollar one, it was the one that got our staff. When a CPA says that, hmmm.[emoji16]