Senior Management Failures at AS

[rmkrum]

Originally Posted by vintageracer

They Are!

As stated by folks I know that work at Boeing now state that the "New" management philosophy at Boeing is NOT to build the "Best" airliner possible just build an adequate "Market Competitive" airliner.

But they still have to keep in mind that their "market competitive" airliner absolutely must conform with ALL the regulations and laws in EVERY market they sell it in that make it reliable, safe, and economical...or they won't be able to sell it...

Airstream does not have to face quite that stringent a level of regulation or conformity to laws in multiple countries that Boeing has to...

(Boeing Retiree, 20+ years service. Still say, "If it isn't Boeing, I'm NOT going...")

[Martee]

Originally Posted by turk123

Old news. Elon is now making about 3800 cars a week and will achieve 5000 by the end of the month. He now has three lines running and has done one impressive job of building an American car company. An American success story.

Umm.... Just saw Tesla Model 3 numbers off the assembly line today, for June 20 at 11am PST, the count was 6,838 cars. A very long way to go for production of 20,000 cars per month. Also, Consumer Reports rated Tesla Model S last on reliability, based on over 23,000 owners repair and reliability reports.

Does Consumer Reports cover RV trailers in their annual reliability studies? Would sure be interesting to have 20,000 owners of each Airstream, Jayco, Winnebago, and other RV manufacturers to be ranked on reliability. Does anyone know if the RV industry already has such reports.

[OTRA15]

Originally Posted by Martee

. . .
Would sure be interesting to have . . . Airstream, Jayco, Winnebago, and other RV manufacturers . . . ranked on reliability.
. . .

Consumer Reports would not want to incur the great expense of tracking the industry's mediocrity as thoroughly as they do for cars IMO.

[Len n Jeanne]

Justin, thanks for chiming in.

I like the idea of an advisory board, provided it doesn't substitute for ongoingly monitoring this forum to get a more representative diversity of feedback. I would suggest, depending upon the size of the board, if you put one together, that you actually include one or two members without much technical expertise. Many of us were total newbies to RVing and most things mechanical when we bought our first Airstream. Now that we're seasoned (sort of) RVers, we see posts by newbies and posts by people without technical know-how all the time. Also posts by people who have never taken a long road trip or towed much of anything before. A more helpful manual, for starters.

What are the interior design issues for tall, wide, or short people? Do any of your designers/engineers actually like to cook? Boondock? Spend a few weeks at a time in one of your RVs?

Hey, thanks for listening.

[vintageracer]

The wood floor used in Airstream trailers for last 60 plus years would be a good place to start making changes for the better. You gotta wonder what they were thinkin way back in the day when they decided to say "Let's make the floor out of WOOD in our beautiful new Aluminum trailer and let's insert the edges of that wood floor into an aluminum J channel on the outside edge of the trailer wall right below the insulation where the water will drain or stagnate when this trailer starts to leak". This wood thing works so well let's continue to use wood floors for the next 60+ years. Oh that's right an Airstream trailer will never leak. The wood floor and J channel was a lousy idea 60+ years ago and nothing has changed in that regard.

The honeycomb aluminum floor used in the 77-79 20 foot Argosy trailers was a great idea HOWEVER setting that aluminum floor on 24 inch centers instead of the standard 12 inch centers was not such a good idea. The only WOOD that should be used in a $100K Airstream is in a cabinet or a floor covering!

Why was the aluminum floor in whatever engineering design not adopted from Argosy for use in the Airstream trailer brand like so many other Argosy ideas that ultimately ended up on Airstream's?

[Anders79]

Justin - Thanks for posting. I appreciate that Airstream is even looking to be more pro-active. I for one would be more than glad to volunteer to sit on any advisory panel.

[PharmGeek]

5 year Aas owner since bought new bunkhouse in 2013 fall - 35 years of age - wife and 2 small kids - be glad to help out if you all need feedback

I have some ideas about educational instructional video content etc

[PSchw]

Originally Posted by jhumphreys

Good evening Airstreamers-

My name is Justin Humphreys and I am the COO- here at Airstream. Yes, management does monitor these forums and we do take the posts we see very seriously. Many product changes have happened based on the comments and posts we see here. We also have an agency who helps us monitor all social sites and we try to reach out to anyone we find with a problem personally.

As far as the original poster’s point is concerned, yes, Airstream uses TPS and has been on our lean journey for ten years. Would love to talk over the phone and let you know what that means and how we have approached it. You can reach me at jhumphreys@airstream.com. Maybe we can schedule a call to discuss?

A quick question for the group, I am considering the idea of forming a customer quality council where we can share ideas and listen to suggestions from our customers. Haven’t worked out the logistics but I am thinking about on conference call once a quarter and potentially an annual meeting in person in Jackson Center once per year. We would be looking for a blend of Airstream veterans and newbies who have some technical expertise and experiences that may help us build a better product. Does that sound like a good idea to this group? Just a thought at this point, but wanted to throw it out there for feedback. We get customer feedback in a variety of ways, but this would be a more formal approach worth considering.

Despite what some may feel, Airstream absolutely cares about quality and we measure it in a variety of ways. We’ve made some big investments and are looking to make the largest investment yet with a new plant. Airstream does survey customers on product quality and we now call every new owner after six weeks of ownership to check in with them on their new Airstream. I try to make some of those calls myself.

Overall, I believe we build the best RV in the business, but know we have made mistakes and have to continually push ourselves to improve. I appreciate the candid feedback and look forward to making each of you proud as we continue to find ways to improve. For those of you who have posted that we let you down in any way, I want to personally apologize on behalf of the entire company.

Thank you all for your passion for our products, your business means the world to 971 hard working families here in Jackson Center, OH!

Happy Airstreaming-

Justin Humphreys
COO- Airstream, Inc.

I think this is a good idea and I would be willing to participate.
2013 Interstate Lounge not extended
2005 SkyDeck

Peter

[blacklab]

As per Justin Humphrey's post above, we scheduled a time to chat. Justin invited two of his colleagues to join us, Eric and Kevin, who manage Production and Quality Control.

It was an open discussion and they all were responsive, respectful, and informative.

Without getting into the details, here are my key takeaways:

1. Kevin and his colleagues are indeed actively engaged in and committed to "continuous improvement" as embedded in the Toyota Production System/Lean Manufacturing.

2. They recognize the frustration that some Airstream owners have with repeated quality failures and they are determined to improve.

3. They do not accept, indeed they reject, the notion that quality issues are just a part of being in the RV industry. Rather they are dedicated to not using that as an excuse for quality failures at Airstream, and they believe that Airstream must be, and can be, significantly different.

4. I sensed a real excitement and optimism as they look forward to the production improvements and efficiencies they expect from their new manufacturing facility, which they hope to have in operation by this time next year.

5. I greatly appreciate the time that Justin, Eric, and Kevin took for our discussion. As a former CEO of a 350 person company, I understand how busy they are. So, my thanks to them.

6. My wife and I look forward to joining the Airstream family in the not-to-distant future.

Cheers,

Bryan
Portland, Oregon

[Hans627]

Originally Posted by blacklab

As per Justin Humphrey's post above, we scheduled a time to chat. Justin invited two of his colleagues to join us, Eric and Kevin, who manage Production and Quality Control.

It was an open discussion and they all were responsive, respectful, and informative.

Without getting into the details, here are my key takeaways:

1. Kevin and his colleagues are indeed actively engaged in and committed to "continuous improvement" as embedded in the Toyota Production System/Lean Manufacturing.

2. They recognize the frustration that some Airstream owners have with repeated quality failures and they are determined to improve.

3. They do not accept, indeed they reject, the notion that quality issues are just a part of being in the RV industry. Rather they are dedicated to not using that as an excuse for quality failures at Airstream, and they believe that Airstream must be, and can be, significantly different.

4. I sensed a real excitement and optimism as they look forward to the production improvements and efficiencies they expect from their new manufacturing facility, which they hope to have in operation by this time next year.

5. I greatly appreciate the time that Justin, Eric, and Kevin took for our discussion. As a former CEO of a 350 person company, I understand how busy they are. So, my thanks to them.

6. My wife and I look forward to joining the Airstream family in the not-to-distant future.

Cheers,

Bryan
Portland, Oregon

Bryan,

Thanks for the report of your telecom with the AS folks. Very interesting. I too was a CEO of a company that supplied the auto industry and was deeply involved in the TPS and "lean" manufacturing. It is the way to go for AS and I'm glad to see them excited about the opportunities for improvement it will bring for them.

Again, thank for the thread and the report and your willingness to share!

Bob

[Acheron2010]

I admit I am just into my first week of using my 2019 Flying Cloud 26, so I will try to express my experience with filtered stars in my eyes.
I did research for years before purchase, and came to the dealer with quite a list of issues and problems I have gleaned from this board, first-hand inspection and camp fire sharing of previous owners. He was gonna get slaughtered.
As I started my inspection and briefing of the new trailer, I had to start keeping quiet, because the AS tech doing the walkthrough with me was interrupting me with the changes and improvements they made to the 2019 model. As we started to lay down to examine the bottom of the trailer, I was ready to ask about steel wool packing for holes. Gee, the bottom of the trailer is completely sealed. Well, what about the leaking gasket in the front compartment door? No light penetrates - very well sealed. Well, what about the flimsy lug nuts that crush? Better lug nuts. Yea, some of those hidden door hinges come apart - my own theory is they are not constructed for a moving home, but are easily put back together. My door lines up, my HVAC, electrical and plumbing all work, it tows like a dream, and is quite functional, ergonomic and comfortable inside.
I came away with the definite impression that Airstream listens to its customers (better than my former corporation ever did) and makes improvements where they can.
Very nice to see the company personally involved on this board.
If I could make a suggestion - in future product demo videos made by Jackson Center and large dealerships (Patrick at Colonial Airstream, for example) take a few seconds to point out the improvements in the new year model.

[ROBERT CROSS]

Where is that CQC? Here on the Forums?
All customers, new, loyal?

Assembly example, overtightened clamp, causing a long term leak at the grey tank valve.
Not hard to correct...pride in purpose. 👍

Bob
🇺🇸

[jftompkins]

The communication from the COO reminds me of Steve Jobs in his last year on the planet at Apple as CEO spent time in the call center.... “hi this is Steve may I help you? This discussion of affirms our decision to purchase a 2017FC23FB.... our first Airstream after 30 years of camping/TT.... an amazing experience.... having worked in the power plant business as an engineer.... my 2cents...might want to re-look at that side vent on the refrigerator.... for better convection flow/draft up rather than the computer fan.... as Albert Einstein wrote the patent for the this cycle with the intention of no moving parts.... then sold it to Electrolux a Swedish appliance manufacturer.... he was a pretty good engineer too.

[Tmdumbauld]

Originally Posted by blacklab

As per Justin Humphrey's post above, we scheduled a time to chat. Justin invited two of his colleagues to join us, Eric and Kevin, who manage Production and Quality Control.

It was an open discussion and they all were responsive, respectful, and informative.

Without getting into the details, here are my key takeaways:

1. Kevin and his colleagues are indeed actively engaged in and committed to "continuous improvement" as embedded in the Toyota Production System/Lean Manufacturing.

2. They recognize the frustration that some Airstream owners have with repeated quality failures and they are determined to improve.

3. They do not accept, indeed they reject, the notion that quality issues are just a part of being in the RV industry. Rather they are dedicated to not using that as an excuse for quality failures at Airstream, and they believe that Airstream must be, and can be, significantly different.

4. I sensed a real excitement and optimism as they look forward to the production improvements and efficiencies they expect from their new manufacturing facility, which they hope to have in operation by this time next year.

5. I greatly appreciate the time that Justin, Eric, and Kevin took for our discussion. As a former CEO of a 350 person company, I understand how busy they are. So, my thanks to them.

6. My wife and I look forward to joining the Airstream family in the not-to-distant future.

Cheers,

Bryan
Portland, Oregon

This is really encouraging as another soon to be owner. Thanks for sharing! Tim. Raleigh

[Foiled Again]

Glad to hear that Thor is finally jumping on board with lean manufacturing and continuous quality. Getting.a.buy-in from employees, especially ones who have always done ot the old way. And there is no "done job". Backsliding is always easy.

What simply flummoxes me, is the NEST. After the hideous review I have seen here, I had to go see one for myself. As a single woman who is aging painfully.... the possibility of keeping on going on small adventures woth a light and low maintenance fiberglass pod is a ray of hope. Well WAS one.

Seeing is believing... that I had better run to meet Oliver and Casita owners before I waste a nickel on Nest. Sweet heaven above, deadline or not, who let that thing see the light of day? I have a highly developed sense of sarcasm and a great vocabulary, but words fail me when trying to describe my reaction. Negative to the power of 10?

If there is a re-launch, I will look again with hope and dread, if I haven't died of old age first.

A new launch like this says that real change is not happening.

[blacklab]

There is recognition in the TPS/Lean world that there is no such thing as a "steady state", you are either improving your quality or it is declining. Being able to have true "continuous improvement" is hard, and few accomplish it successfully. But, it is indeed essential.

One of the biggest hurdles to "continuous improvement" is human nature---both for management and employees. At its core, "continuous improvement" says that the way you are doing it today can be, and must be, improved. To many, that is taken as a criticism of them and the way they are currently doing things. And, human nature recoils at criticism. Getting past that blockage is critical. Converting that sense of criticism, however, into a recognition that the way it is being done today is simply the "current state" to be replaced by a "future state" with improvements and then repeated ad infinitum. All companies who are successful at TPS/Lean do so, and those who don't fail.

It took GM 15 years (some say 20+) to see consistent and lasting results from their TPS/Lean efforts. AS says they've been at for 10 years. Based on many posts in this Forum about design and quality failures, including recent reported issues with the BaseCamp and now, perhaps, the Nest, one could wonder how much progress AS has made in those 10 years. Yet, while I do recognize that my insights into AS are very limited indeed, my sense is that senior managers such as Justin, Eric, and Kevin understand the imperative of accelerating their TPS/Lean implementation to reduce AS failures.

Cheers,

Bryan

[ROBERT CROSS]

....that some AS's make it thru the build process with few defects while others are plagued with many?

Seems to this observer that it might be more efficient to concentrate on the reasons for the ups and downs in the build, rather than eliminating percieved unnecessary steps.

Consistency of purpose would result in improved quality. 👍

Bob
🇺🇸

[Foiled Again]

Bryan, great post. I agree change is hard and human nature, well looking at my own tells me how fickle, feckless and easily distracted I can be. I owned a Chevette... and an AMC Gremlin... okay 20 year struggle might just be reasonable. How long did the Hebrews have to wander in the desert before they found the promised land?

OTOH, Denial is NOT a river in Egypt.

How many golden calfs do you have to see before you know God is not gonna be happy?

Even someone who has never heard of continuous improvement etc. should still be able to see clearly enough to know the difference between "well, it is passable" and "no way we can put our name on that."

Really? Airstream couldn't afford to buy a Casita and put it next to a prototype Nest and not see a glaring lack of build quality? Couldn't build and junk six or seven prototypes and actually do better with each one?

Thanks for helping me see how long it might take to get to "better"..... but when someone asks me, they will get a bucketful of "let the buyer beware."

[blacklab]

Bob,

Based on the info that is available on this Forum, it does indeed appear that some AS units come out of production with few (or no) significant issues, while others don't.

As you may know, TPS/Lean is not just about eliminating waste and inefficiencies, but about "standard work" to ensure that each step and process is being done the same, regardless of which production line the product is coming from. Getting that "consistency" you mentioned is exactly what "standard work" is focused on.

In my recent telephone chat with Justin, Kevin, and Eric it was clear to me they know they must solve the problem of inconsistency (lack of "standard work") in order to decrease their quality failures.

Cheers,

Bryan

[gypsydad]

We all want to believe the company listens...that is the sign of a good company I would buy from again. This being our 4th AS, with the last 2 purchased new from the dealers, you can imagine my frustration last week when we found our closet door with mirror still attached, laying on the floor between dinette and refrigerator when we arrived at Glacier Park. No rough roads on the trip, and we thought we had it fully closed when we left during our check list for travel, so not sure what happened. After closer inspection, the door is quite heavy for the 6-#8, 1/2" "Flathead" wood screws holding the hinges in. (note, the hinges are manufactured for countersunk heads). They had pulled out of the closet wall. True value hardware had countersink #9, #10- 1" screws. We replaced the shorter screws with the larger 1" long #10's. Took both of us to replace the door due to weight and awkward position needed to re-attach the hinges.

Point being, we have had cupboard doors with this type hinge come off in prior AS's and my buddy just had his 2017 23D cabinet doors also come off with same issue...screws too short, and not countersunk. this is an easy remedy if QA would look at what they are using during assembly and make the change.

We also had our shower door come apart at the top frame on this trip...still have not talked to AS about a fix yet....being the 4th of July week, but I need a whole new door it looks like. Can not use shower as it is. I will contact AS next week...trying to take it in to a dealer could be 4-6 weeks before they have time to look.

I still think AS makes a great product, but these little things can sure frustrate owners when a little more thought could have been put in during design reviews.