As many of us know and understand, recreational vehicles are very complex units, consisting of many of the same systems we find in our residential homes (i.e. plumbing, heating, electrical, audio/video, cabinetry, flooring, furniture, appliances, etc.). On top of that, the majority of today’s RVs have multiple rooms that mechanically slide out of the main body of the coach. With all of this lumbering down the road, over hill and dale, our coaches are going to take some punishment.
What will set our Heartland coaches apart from other brands is the engineering that goes into it (frame, suspension, walls/ceiling/roof and all other systems). What will ensure that the best laid plans (the engineering) are followed during the construction/assembly of our coaches is a robust QC program. As Heartland has grown, so has their QC program.
On November 7, 2006, I met with Heartland’s Manager of Quality Control, Rich Egnor. The purpose of my visit was to better understand Heartland’s current QC program, see it in action first-hand and ask questions about it.
Below are my observations and comments.
Summary:
It’s real! Heartland does have a rigorous written QC program and a QC Manager with a team of 13 inspectors. The team “can” halt the line and is the final word on “OK to Ship”.
Detail:
A few days prior, I contacted Scott Tuttle, Heartland RVs VP of Marketing and told him I would be in the area for business and would like to stop over at Heartland’s main plants after my business and meet with their QC Manager and go over their QC program. Scott agreed to this readily.
On the afternoon of November 7, 2006, I stopped at Heartland’s Bighorn/Big Country plant and asked for Rich Egnor. Rich met me at the reception desk, we donned safety glasses and entered the plant floor.
We began a walking tour/discussion in the corner of the plant where the frames come in. Here, frame VIN numbers are confirmed with expectations on paperwork. The frames are also evaluated to ensure they meet specifications. One of these tests are for frame squareness. During the frame evaluation, they also rotate the frame side-to-side, 360 degrees using specialized equipment that allows the frame to be lifted and rotated.
One cornerstone of the QC process is the indoctrination process the inspectors go through, learning the written program and working on the line with seasoned inspectors before working on their own.
While I did not obtain a copy of the written QC program, the sense I gained was that it is broken down into two primary areas. One area is cosmetic and the other is systems.
Cosmetics would include fit and finish of all types and varieties, inside, deep inside (unseen areas) and outside.
Systems would include the electrical, plumbing and hydraulic systems on the coach. Inspections include running, pressurizing and using these systems to ensure proper specifications and operations are met.
A colored tape marking system is used to mark actual problem areas on a coach and a checklist on a clipboard actually travels with the unit. Units on the line actually move or roll sideways on the line and are moved 2 to 3 times per shift with the last move being out the door and onto the plant lot for shipping. In that only 2 or 3 line moves are made per unit during its construction/assembly, workers actually perform many steps on a unit while that unit is stopped in one of the 2 or 3 spots on the line. The entire time units are on the line, QC inspectors are crawling in, over and around them.
At the end of the line, it is the responsibility of the QC inspector to certify a unit as OK to Ship. If it’s not yet ready to ship, they call in any and all departments to make any and all corrections required to make that unit ready to ship.
Conclusion:
I just want to say that I witnessed first-hand that Heartland indeed has a QC program with a host of inspectors and supervisors. This QC program plays an integral role in the construction of the coach. That said, we’re still talking about trailer built with human hands and inspected by humans. Expectation of a perfectly built trailer is unrealistic. An innovatively engineered, well appointed, well built, sharp looking, very serviceable trailer is what you should expect, and I believe more often than not, Heartland delivers. And I think most of us have experienced Heartland’s dedication to customer service should anything go wrong with your coach.
Jim Beletti
What will set our Heartland coaches apart from other brands is the engineering that goes into it (frame, suspension, walls/ceiling/roof and all other systems). What will ensure that the best laid plans (the engineering) are followed during the construction/assembly of our coaches is a robust QC program. As Heartland has grown, so has their QC program.
On November 7, 2006, I met with Heartland’s Manager of Quality Control, Rich Egnor. The purpose of my visit was to better understand Heartland’s current QC program, see it in action first-hand and ask questions about it.
Below are my observations and comments.
Summary:
It’s real! Heartland does have a rigorous written QC program and a QC Manager with a team of 13 inspectors. The team “can” halt the line and is the final word on “OK to Ship”.
Detail:
A few days prior, I contacted Scott Tuttle, Heartland RVs VP of Marketing and told him I would be in the area for business and would like to stop over at Heartland’s main plants after my business and meet with their QC Manager and go over their QC program. Scott agreed to this readily.
On the afternoon of November 7, 2006, I stopped at Heartland’s Bighorn/Big Country plant and asked for Rich Egnor. Rich met me at the reception desk, we donned safety glasses and entered the plant floor.
We began a walking tour/discussion in the corner of the plant where the frames come in. Here, frame VIN numbers are confirmed with expectations on paperwork. The frames are also evaluated to ensure they meet specifications. One of these tests are for frame squareness. During the frame evaluation, they also rotate the frame side-to-side, 360 degrees using specialized equipment that allows the frame to be lifted and rotated.
One cornerstone of the QC process is the indoctrination process the inspectors go through, learning the written program and working on the line with seasoned inspectors before working on their own.
While I did not obtain a copy of the written QC program, the sense I gained was that it is broken down into two primary areas. One area is cosmetic and the other is systems.
Cosmetics would include fit and finish of all types and varieties, inside, deep inside (unseen areas) and outside.
Systems would include the electrical, plumbing and hydraulic systems on the coach. Inspections include running, pressurizing and using these systems to ensure proper specifications and operations are met.
A colored tape marking system is used to mark actual problem areas on a coach and a checklist on a clipboard actually travels with the unit. Units on the line actually move or roll sideways on the line and are moved 2 to 3 times per shift with the last move being out the door and onto the plant lot for shipping. In that only 2 or 3 line moves are made per unit during its construction/assembly, workers actually perform many steps on a unit while that unit is stopped in one of the 2 or 3 spots on the line. The entire time units are on the line, QC inspectors are crawling in, over and around them.
At the end of the line, it is the responsibility of the QC inspector to certify a unit as OK to Ship. If it’s not yet ready to ship, they call in any and all departments to make any and all corrections required to make that unit ready to ship.
Conclusion:
I just want to say that I witnessed first-hand that Heartland indeed has a QC program with a host of inspectors and supervisors. This QC program plays an integral role in the construction of the coach. That said, we’re still talking about trailer built with human hands and inspected by humans. Expectation of a perfectly built trailer is unrealistic. An innovatively engineered, well appointed, well built, sharp looking, very serviceable trailer is what you should expect, and I believe more often than not, Heartland delivers. And I think most of us have experienced Heartland’s dedication to customer service should anything go wrong with your coach.
Jim Beletti