DCP’s Customer Joy

The Detroit Chassis “Customer Joy” Survey in July reflected performance for the previous six months and delivered a rating of 91%.

The performance rating remained steady since the last poll, with 44% of F-53 and 50% of F-59 manufacturers responding.

The survey revealed that manufacturers are adapting to following the Ford processes for customer concerns like reporting miss-builds when items are missing from the dunnage box but appreciate the way DCP previously handled these requests.

The rating’s sustainability is mainly due to DCP’s heightened focus on quality. Multiple customers favorably mentioned the noticeable difference.

State-of-the-Art Technology Command Center with Real-time Reporting

Detroit Chassis recently showed its new Command Center to visitors from an OEM automotive manufacturer and Commercial Step-Van Body Builders, and they were highly impressed.

This change is a dramatic move in the right direction away from the antiquated manual process that involved hours of tedious collection of paperwork, copying documents, distribution, and manual input. Maurice Lucas, Data Analyst, came aboard and quickly discovered opportunities to eliminate wasted time and energy by eliminating the old way of doing things, introducing the possibilities of a new process.

It involved training Quality Inspectors on the use of Tablets. Though met with resistance initially, they all agree that implementing this new technology helps them do their job. For example, Janice Johnson, Quality Team Leader, and Rob Colvard, Manufacturing Team Leader, were hesitant to use the new process when first introduced. Still, now they see the value in entering information that gets communicated in real-time, allowing
the organization to move quickly and respond to issues.

It works like this: Real-time data gets captured in Airtable for Downtime and Quality. Data is transferred from Airtable to a SQL database which then feeds the Tableau Analytics Website accessible online from your computer. This technology allows Operations, Quality, Engineering, and Materials to see issues as they occur to focus on driving Interim and Permanent Corrective Actions. The Team appreciates the system’s ability to track the problems by Zone, Workstation, Inspector, and Associate to determine the fix and reduce downtime and defects.

Great job, Team and thank you, Maurice! We appreciate your Silicone Valley thinking that propelled DCP forward. Our Command Center is a cutting-edge breakthrough and will help us achieve World Champion performance.

This process improvement is only one of the ways Maurice contributed to the Team. He also helped automate the data analysis process for Customer Service. Unfortunately, we will miss him as he returns to California. Still, we know that he will hold us in his heart, and though he will be miles away and living in a different time zone, he can continue to make a positive impact remotely.

Thank you for your contributions to the Detroit Chassis Team.
The Best Motorhome Chassis is Built in the Motor City.

Happy New Year

You are part of the Detroit Chassis extended community.  We are thinking about you, and we value our relationship with you.  Though we seem far apart, we want you to know what we are doing and how things are going.

This year, just like last year, is unprecedented, and the COVID-19 pandemic continues to challenge us and set new norms for us all.  Think about that for a moment: facial masks, social distancing, curbside pick-up, and virtual everything, including school

, church, and doctors’ appointments, and as the world tried to return to some sense of normalcy, variants of Covid 19 began to spread and are at record high levels today.  We fight our way each day with looming logistical issues as the transportation industry grapples under the weight of demand.  We must note what we learned to do better and make sure we hold on to what is best while discarding the rest, along with the threat of Coronavirus and ALL of its variants.  This pandemic, too, shall pass!

Detroit Chassis continues to come out on the winning side of the pandemic, thank God.  We were included in the list of essential services, and customers demanded more motorhomes, which meant more work for us.  Still, many businesses suffered significant losses that they will never recoup.  Unemployment numbers soar while jobs are plenteous, and still, thousands of people are dying every day.  The daily news, flooded with devastation, is hard to watch but necessary.

However, we stayed focused and brought 2021 stained with COVID to a successful close while holding to our Vision, Mission, and Values.  Detroit Chassis is….Committed People Delivering World Champion Performance to Achieve Customer Joy On-time, All the Time, Every Time.  That is our Vision.  This pandemic caused us to realize that we must be concerned about our community and everyone in it more than ever.  So, in collaboration with Wayne Health’s Mobile Unit, on-site health fairs are conducted monthly where Associates and family members can receive medical care.  No insurance is required.

We also held fund-raising campaigns for charities in our community, The Children’s Center, Gleaners, and the National Association of Black Suppliers’ Scholarship Fund. 

These services are in greater demand due to COVID because they meet specific needs.  However, we know these organizations struggle with raising funds through their traditional premier fund-raising events. Therefore, we have a responsibility and want to express our gratitude for what we have by sharing with others.

We partnered with UAW Local 155 and conducted the end of the year 2021 Charitable Contribution Campaign, which ran from Monday, December 6, 2021, through Friday, December 17, 2021, and exceeded our fund-raising goal of $12,000, and raised more than $15,000, in Detroit.

Detroit Chassis Avon partnered with UAW Local 2000, Unit 5, and contributed two boxes of toys to Lorain County Toys-for-Tots.  In addition, they conducted a food drive and collected two hundred thirty-eight (238) pounds of food for The Salvation Army Food Bank and decorated a Christmas tree with donated hats, mittens, and gloves.  Forty pairs of mittens and 13 sets of gloves with hats were collected and given to the Salvation Army for distribution in the community.

“Thank you, DCP, for your generosity and compassion!  Our community thanks you too.  Carlton and I are looking forward to doing our share.” – Michael J. Guthrie, Co-Chairman

With the help of company co-chairmen Michael and Carlton Guthrie, who matched our funds, we made a more significant impact in the lives of those around us.

This is how we do it!