Jayco, Inc. opened its newest Pre-Delivery Inspection (PDI) facility on the Jayco campus.
The approximately 70,000-square-foot building in Middlebury, Indiana, will accommodate four lines running simultaneously, Jayco said. This is the fifth dedicated Jayco PDI facility.
As of Nov. 25, all Jayco, Integra Coach, Starcraft RV and Highland Ridge RV products began undergoing PDIs before being shipped to a dealer.
“Achieving 100% of our units being PDIed has been a true team effort,” said Ken Walters, Jayco president and CEO. “We know the critical importance of optimizing quality and reducing RECT. These are areas we have committed to focusing our time and investments to further support our dealer partners, reducing their costs and positively impacting the overall customer experience.”
Jayco’s 100% PDI initiative includes all manufacturing locations in Middlebury and Shipshewana, Indiana and Twin Falls, Idaho.
At the PDI facility, the Jayco predelivery inspection quality group ensures numerous vehicle systems are up to standard and that each vehicle is ready to be shipped to the dealer, Jayco Marketing VP Trey Miller said. Those systems vary, depending on the type of RV being inspected.
The PDI processes follow additional audits and quality checks performed on the production line before the units arrive at the dedicated PDI facilities, Jayco said.
Jayco began PDI processes in January 2019. By January 2022, 55% of all units were being PDIed, including 100% of all motorized units and units produced in the Idaho and Shipshewana manufacturing facilities.
Miller said achieving the 100% PDI goal has been “overwhelming” for the entire team.
“When (the goal) was originally rolled out, I think we thought, wow this is way out in the distance… but it happened a lot quicker than a lot of people thought it would. So, we are excited here in November, as of last week, saying we are 100% PDI on all of our brands.” Miller said.
The Jayco PDI process incorporates an additional key step in the manufacturing process to identify and fix any potential issues before RVs arrive at the dealer. Potential concerns are tracked and reviewed with the production lines to identify and implement improvements in processes or materials, the company said.
“This could reduce costs to dealers. It could reduce the time it takes to prep the unit prior to getting them out on the lot to sell,” Miller said. “It just saves time, money and frustration and ultimately that carries over to the end user customer service and their ultimate satisfaction. We are not only looking at it in terms of the PDI, but we are also looking at it in terms of the holistic customer experience and ultimately how the dealer is taken care of and how that end user, the owner, is taken care of. This is one more piece to make sure we are optimizing that experience.”
According to Jayco, the increased inspection efforts have resulted in Jayco towables, Jayco motorized, Entegra Coach and Starcraft RV being awarded the 2022 Quality Circle Award. RVDA gives the award to RV manufacturers achieving the highest rating in the Association’s Dealer Satisfaction Index (DSI) Survey. The DSI measures dealers’ overall satisfaction with manufacturers in reliability/quality, parts, warranty and sales.
In addition to PDI, Jayco customer service teams have been focused on continuous improvement and improving Repair Event Cycle Times (RECT), Jayco said. The company shares the RECT metrics with dealers monthly. According to Jayco, the results show improvement across the board month after month.
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