Ford Motor Company used the slogan “Quality is Job One”. There’s more to it than just saying it, you have to mean it. You have to make sure the product you deliver to the new home buyer or developer is a quality product
Quality is expected in every new home or project you build. However, when quality is overlooked and the customer has a problem that needs to be repaired after it’s delivered, then the cost of those repairs become an expense to the offsite factory and a hidden line item for the customer, no matter if they are a new home builder or a developer.
Offsite factory owners and management seek to contain costs in the manufacturing process and there is no better cost to eliminate than the cost of poor quality. Scrap material, lost labor hours and especially service and repairs after the project is delivered and set, only add to unwanted and unnecessary costs.
In order to best eliminate these wastes, an offsite or modular home factory must plan a strategic approach to quality improvement to ensure it doesn’t become a hidden “Line Item” costing you thousands or even tens of thousands of dollars.
By following these five steps, quality can be improved and it shouldn’t cost either the factory or the builder a single cent for quality to be added as a line item.
1. Work as a Team
Quality won’t be substantially improved by one or two people. To really make lasting and meaningful changes in manufacturing processes, it will take a team-based approach.
One of the most important first steps is knowledge of the current process and how it got to this point. Why is the process the way it is today? There must be a reason or cause, and that reason should be considered so as not to repeat a problem of days gone by.
2. What is the Quality the Builder and Developer Expect?
Too often, factories want to make a product “better” but don’t really know what better means.
Someone at the factory should serve as the builder/customer advocate. This voice can come from the sales or marketing departments. Use the builder/customers’ perspective to define what the best-in-class product would be and meet those requirements while minimizing cost.
3. Share Repair and Service Costs in the Field with Everyone at the Factory
The cost to fix a defect in the field once it reaches a customer is dramatically higher than the cost to fix the source of the problem before it is created. It is essential that the production line people be trained to understand the cost multipliers involved with warranty repair or replacement and the cost of a damaged reputation. Once the staff takes this perspective, a desire to find a root cause for problem-solving is inherently developed. It’s surprising the number of cost-saving and quality improvements come from the people that actually do the work.
When I was a sales rep for Champion’s Genesis Home division twenty years ago, we offered a home with curved walls, a curved half wall with a matching curved oak top, an award-winning kitchen and even factory installed Bruce flooring, finished oak staircases and ceramic backsplashes in the kitchen and baths.
After one of these custom homes was delivered and finished by the builder, I took pictures of both the inside and outside of the home and posted them on the bulletin board of the factory lunchroom. None of the people that built that home on the production line had any idea what it looked like when completed. I got a lot of people telling me they were proud of the work they did on that house.
Having the very people that built the product on the production line see their quality work when completed will go a long way to improve your bottom line.
4. Look at the Root of the Problem
All too often, management tries to fix the symptoms of failure rather than find the root cause. And sometimes those fixes are just as bad as the original symptom.
If an offsite factory has started a builder/customer advocate program the root cause may not appear in the production line, rather it might only show its ugly head when the house is assembled in the field and that is why the advocacy program can help identify these root causes.
5. Adherence and Discipline are the Keys to a Quality Modular Home
Throughout the quality improvement process, it is essential that strong process discipline is employed.
However, there is a rather large gray area when it comes to building a custom modular home. Some of the processes and options being asked of the production line people could be new when the module comes down the line. The line worker may not know how to do it properly. These areas need to be identified before the modules hit the line and addressed with the people that will be assembling them.
This doesn’t mean that someone needs to watch over the worker’s shoulder while they are doing it. It means that the problem was identified, discussed with the people that will be doing it and let them know if they run into a problem that others will be available to help. A guess on the production could cost thousands of dollars in repairs in the field.
These are 5 general suggestions to help ensure quality is built into every home and not have Quality become a “Line Item”.
Related Articles:
- Apex Modular Homes Takes Employees On A Field Trip To Philly
- Improving Modular Factory Quality Isn’t A Two Week Fix
- Cutting Down On Those Expensive Service And Quality Issues
Gary Fleisher is the Editor in Chief of Modular Home Source and Offsite Builder. Email at [email protected]
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