Why quality is down

[DQDick]

This weeks issue of RV Travel's newsletter has an article related to this and here is just two paragraphs from it: Part of the reason for the poor quality lies in Elkhart, Indiana, where most RVs are made. The RV makers there are struggling to find qualified employees to keep up with demand. At Dicor, a 130-employee company that makes RV parts and accessories, between 30 and 50 percent of job applicants fail the drug test, according to company president Gregg Fore. “On a bad week, it’s more than 50 percent. Five years ago, it was between 10 and 20 percent,” he told the South Bend Tribune.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention listed Indiana as one of the worst states in the nation for drug poisoning mortality rates. Kyle Hannon, president of the Greater Elkhart Chamber of Commerce, told the Tribune that failed drug screenings now are a “huge problem among Elkhart manufacturers.”

[K0LCB]

That explains a lot. I thought some of the drivers around here were crazy, but I guess they're just stoned.

[waynemoore]

What a sad state of affaires.

[1retired06]

Suspect it is only going to get worse.

[kdeiss]

A few years back I had a customer tell me they would have 10 Job Applicants 8 would fail the Drug Test and only one would show up the first day!
This has been goings-on for sometime not only in Indiana!

[mlh]

It's everywhere. You get out in the rural countys and its there to.
Lynwood

[DQDick]

A lot of the rest of the article was about how once they do hire one they don't think they should have to get up at 6am or work a five day week or basically work at all.

[jcurtis934]

My guess is that the drug problem there is similar to other states in that is due to hard core drugs, the nasty manufactured stuff. Sad state of affairs that these folks aren't intelligent enough to know how addictive and deadly these are. Go figure. John

[TLightning]

quote:Originally posted by DQDick

A lot of the rest of the article was about how once they do hire one they don't think they should have to get up at 6am or work a five day week or basically work at all.

Part of the problem is the schools and parents. Recently, part of our school system moved the start of school to an hour later. It seems the kids "couldn't" get there on time. Rather than the parents making the kids get up (and go to bed earlier) and/or the school punishing them for being late...they both caved. Sends the wrong message to the kids.

[BB_TX]

We have the same problem with our small business. When we finally find someone hire-able, they may or may not last a week. And we are out $170 for drug/background/fingerprint checks each time. Downside of a good economy is the lack of available good workers at wages you can afford.

[Phil P]

Hi

I have stated before that the problem is in Elkhart. I read sever years ago in a news paper from the area that the state raided the Montana plant and arrested a large percentage of the employees for fraud because they were collecting unemployment while working indicates not only a problem with employees but with a company that isn’t doing their due diligence when hiring.

This is one of the reasons my next 5th wheel will be manufactured in Kansas.

Phil P

[richfaa]

[quote]Originally posted by Phil P

Hi

I have stated before that the problem is in Elkhart. I read sever years ago in a news paper from the area that the state raided the Montana plant and arrested a large percentage of the employees for fraud because they were collecting unemployment while working indicates not only a problem with employees but with a company that isn’t doing their due diligence when hiring.

This is one of the reasons my next 5th wheel will be manufactured in Kansas.

Phil P



Remember that well it was also drug related. These assembly line jobs are fairly low paying and low skill level jobs. Working conditions are not exactly the highest. I am not sure it would be any better in Kansas.

A large part of the work force is Amish but the "Amish workmanship" can not work in a fast paced assembly line environment .Most Amish work to supplement their income as their real work is farm related.

[waynemoore]

Ok the question of collecting unemployment and working at the same time has nothing to do with the company. There is no way for the company to know they are collecting unemployment. So let's not blame the company it's the employee that is the problem. Oh what a second it's always someone else that is to blame not me? That's the big problem here. It's parents who will not make their kids take responsibility for their actions. Ok off the soap box, whose next?

[DQDick]

The unemployment thing is at least under control in Kansas. Kansas employers are required to report all new hires to the state who then checks them against their data base. It started out being a way to catch dead beat dads, but it has expanded to catch other cheaters as well.

[hybridhauler]

As a country, we have fallen away from the PRIDE of workmanship that we had in the past. My generation was taught to do a job and concentrate on the quality of the work done. In today's market place, the main focus is the revenue generated by the company and not craftsmanship. Nowadays, its all about the dollar. As far as workers go, many people today just go thru the motions so they can draw a pay check.

[richfaa]

We are talking about the Rv industry here..Quality is not job one. Tour a plant how can there be high quality with 18/22 units off the line in a 8 hour day.

[rohrmann]

The labor issues created by the drug problem in Indiana and the Elkhart area is a real problem, and I don't think increased wages would make a big difference, but maybe it would help. This might be a reason for all the RV manufacturers to add or at least put some QC people on the lines to help monitor the building of their products.

[Phil P]

Hi richfaa

You and I both know that the 15 to 20 units a day are not the problem I spent 40 years picking up equipment from plants that had that type of production rate without the problems the RV industry in Elkhart has. Then if you had a problem the manufacturer addressed it immediately. Then you get into the auto industry and they go as far as GM did for me in 2014 by refunding my purchase price and providing me with my choice of a new vehicle which I had to pay for it was not free but I didn’t get penalized for the 28,000 miles we put on the defective vehicle.

My state also requires the employer to advise the state of new hires for more than one reason.

Phil P

[Bigboomer]

Thanks Dick,

Read the same article and just shook my head.....pretty sad actually. And to think that it is not just this industry but all....imagine these same people building airliners, tanks, trains!

Shame that we live in the "Entitlement Generation"!

[sambam]

There is a general malaise in this country and it starts at the top where our politicians are held to a different set of rules, apparently, than us "little people". Until there is accountability and consequences for personal decisions and actions, at all levels, things will not change.