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! 

QUALITY GATE INSPECTION

DC Echo: Vol 4, Issue 5

The cross-functional Operations and the Quality team work to improve quality performance daily. The group discusses daily CAR, CAL, and TRAVELER performance and presents weekly data in higher-level team meetings. In an effort to further improve quality performance The team now reviews weekly performance with production and team leaders and also with quality technicians.

Nigel Ward, Quality Inspector for Team 18, met with Ranson Smith, Senior Quality Manager, and Matt Freeman, Sr. Quality Engineer and CAL Supervisor, to analyse defects identified in his area. Nigel’s area generated 13 defects the first week and 18 the second week.

Nigel was not only shocked to learn that data was reviewed at this level but also at the number of defects recorded from his area. He quickly put a plan in place to elevate his team’s performance and saw immediate improvement! He and his Team made a substantial commitment to ensure that no defects escaped his quality gate. Nigel’s area went from producing 13-18 defects per week to ZERO!

This performance got the attention of the senior leadership team, and I interviewed Nigel in a meeting with Ranson Smith and Matt Freeman. I asked Nigel, “How did you do it? And, what was your thought process?” Nigel explained that he was first surprised to know that data was captured and discussed in detail. He wanted to do what was necessary to produce better performance, so he focused on delta critical operations. Nigel then moved on to other tasks to ensure that each job was correct. Nigel told me that he learned from his mistakes. He reviewed challenging areas intently and learned to pay closer attention to detail.

Nigel has been with Detroit Chassis for approximately four years and a Quality Inspector assigned to the CAL area for a little over four months, so he is relatively new to this area. He appreciates the acknowledgment and plans to continue to produce the best quality performance possible. THANK YOU FOR YOUR COMMITMENT NIGEL.

The Best Motorhome Chassis is Built in the Motor City.

Detroit Chassis bids farewell to David (Dave) Taylor after many years of outstanding support of the F5X program Friday, July 9, 2021. Dave came to Detroit Chassis in late 2018 with over 30 years of experience in chassis design and development, program management, and manufacturing after retiring from a global auto manufacturer.

Before coming on board with Detroit Chassis, he was the PVT Manager/Resident Engineer/Design Supervisor. Dave started his career as an engineering co-op student at Ford’s Rouge complex and has held various design and manufacturing leadership positions within the Commercial Vehicles and Product Development Departments. He was assigned to Detroit Chassis early in his career as the Ford Vehicle Team Manager in 2000 and then led and launched many of the OEM chassis programs. Dave also led the design team that launched an all-new commercial stripped chassis in 2010.

Thank you for all of your heartfelt contributions to the Detroit Chassis team. Dave, we are going to miss you!

Take care, Dave!