Jayco’s Ken Walters Calls 100% PDI a ‘Fundamental Change’

Participating in the ribbon-cutting ceremony are, from left to right, Vice President of Finance Mike Richie, Vice President of Towables Manufacturing Leon Schwartz, Vice President of Sales for Jayco & Entegra Coach Nic Martin, Vice President of Quality Randy Gallmeyer, President and CEO Ken Walters, Vice President of Operations Devon Miller, and General Counsel Brett Hummer. (Jayco photos)

The late November announcement that Jayco is now performing a Pre-Delivery Inspection (PDI) on 100%  of all units across all brands – Jayco, Entegra Coach, Highland Ridge and Starcraft – is “one of the biggest things we’ve accomplished in the last couple years,” according to Jayco President Ken Walters.

“It’s quite an undertaking, really, when you think about a legacy of 50 years of a successful, highly regarded RV company to fundamentally change the way you do business in regards to the way you manufacture, and then create a PDI process that didn’t exist for 50 years. And then you have to convince a bunch of people that have done it one way for a lot of years – and very successfully – that there’s a better way,” Walters told RVBusiness.

“It was pretty tough, but our team bought in over time. We challenged them a couple years ago that we were going to get to 100% PDI and two guys, one VP of Manufacturing and one who we named VP of Quality – a 30-year and a 28-year guy – said, in not so many words, ‘Ken’s lost his mind.’ But they’re totally bought in.”

The Jayco PDI initiative began in January of 2019 and, by January 2022, 55% of all units were being PDI-ed, including 100% of all motorized units and units produced in the Idaho and Shipshewana, Ind., manufacturing facilities.

Ken Walters

“We started just at 5%, 10%, and then over the course of time, as we moved toward a goal, we got to about 40% and then 50%. We squeezed them in there a little bit, and we just ran out of space,” Walters said, noting that Jayco already had 100% PDI operations for its Idaho production as well as its Highland Ridge and Starcraft operations in Shipshewana, Ind. “So, over the course of that time, we got a cap-ex approved and started this new PDI facility. We’d already been at 100% PDI on motorized and this new facility allowed us to get the rest of the way there for the Middlebury towable product.”

Walters said dealers have already provided positive feedback, and Jayco’s internal measurements also note an uptick in quality.

“We measure everything, by defect per unit and by line. We share those results with the lines so they know where their line is versus the other lines,” he explained, adding that operation directors overseeing production lines have their pay tied based on PDI data. “So, we’re checking the checker with PDI, getting it through system checks, with the ultimate goal being getting better product to the dealers and a better customer experience.”

Walters also was quick to point out that Jayco’s PDI process is more than a cursory walk-around. Instead, each unit undergoes a complete systems check – plumbing, LP, electrical, slide motors, etc. – in addition to inspecting each unit for defects. Targets are set, he said, and then lowered as they are met.

“We continually lower the target of defects as we want to continually improve and, the biggest accomplishment, better product. That’s the most important thing. That’s the goal,” Walters said.

He added that problems uncovered during PDI are immediately relayed to the production line so systemic problems can be addressed at the source as soon as possible.

“You’re always going to have nicks and knacks – that’s the human factor – but what we don’t want to see are, for example, bubbled linoleum for four months straight. Now, we’ll remedy those problems before we continually do the same thing over and over and expect different results,” he said.

The benefit for dealers cannot be overstated, Walters added. Dealers have often complained about needing to repair delivered units before they can be offered for sale. Jayco’s PDI process is designed to significantly reduce that need.

We hear from our dealers that our stuff is showing up cleaner than it was,” he said. “That gives them less time in their bays, which are really valuable. They want customer-pay units in their base. They don’t want PDIs in there. And, again, it is a better customer experience for the end customer from the get go. The customer picks it up, there’s less items to note, and they’re not waiting on pieces and parts.”

Source: https://rvbusiness.com/jaycos-ken-walters-calls-100-pdi-a-fundamental-change/