Photo: Chrysler
By significantly raising the quality levels at the Sterling Heights Assembly Plant, Chrysler hopes to boost customer satisfaction and reduce production flaws more than it ever did before. In order to do that, the Detroit automaker recently inaugurated a Quality Assurance Center, which represents the final step of the new 200 mid-size sedan's quality control process.
Each and every day, QA workers have one major task: randomly select vehicles from the assembly line and conduct quality audits and detailed technical measurements on functions such as heating, cooling, fit-and-finish and emissions. SHAP employees identified and implemented more than 3,500 quality controls for the 200 sedan over the course of a year and a half.
“The goal is to design each workstation so it’s impossible to make a mistake,” explained Doug Betts, senior vice president of quality at Chrysler. “The best expert on how to error-proof a specific assembly job is the person who does it every day – that’s why it’s so important to have all workers engaged in World Class Manufacturing.”
Even though the primary objective of this increased level of quality control is to prevent issues from occurring in the first place, SHAP increased the number of dedicated quality inspectors to 50 as an extra layer of protection for customers. That's a bold move from Chrysler if you take into account that the development fleet of the 200 was tested for more than 17 million miles in all kinds of situations and on all types of roads.
As final preparations before market launch this June, the 200 was tested on the all-new Road Test Simulator inside the Chrysler Technology Center. Recreating the abuse a vehicle endures at the hands of a motorist who drives in more severe conditions than 95 percent of all drivers, the RTS also makes use of a wide range of on and off-road surfaces, putting lots of wear-and-tear miles on the vehicle in just one month's time.
No wonder the 2015 Chrysler 200 comes with a five-year/100,000-mile powertrain warranty in addition to a three-year/36,000-mile bumper-to-bumper coverage. This model will also be the first mid-size sedan in North America to get a fuel efficient nine-speed automatic gearbox, produced locally in Tipton County, Indiana.
“The goal is to design each workstation so it’s impossible to make a mistake,” explained Doug Betts, senior vice president of quality at Chrysler. “The best expert on how to error-proof a specific assembly job is the person who does it every day – that’s why it’s so important to have all workers engaged in World Class Manufacturing.”
Even though the primary objective of this increased level of quality control is to prevent issues from occurring in the first place, SHAP increased the number of dedicated quality inspectors to 50 as an extra layer of protection for customers. That's a bold move from Chrysler if you take into account that the development fleet of the 200 was tested for more than 17 million miles in all kinds of situations and on all types of roads.
As final preparations before market launch this June, the 200 was tested on the all-new Road Test Simulator inside the Chrysler Technology Center. Recreating the abuse a vehicle endures at the hands of a motorist who drives in more severe conditions than 95 percent of all drivers, the RTS also makes use of a wide range of on and off-road surfaces, putting lots of wear-and-tear miles on the vehicle in just one month's time.
No wonder the 2015 Chrysler 200 comes with a five-year/100,000-mile powertrain warranty in addition to a three-year/36,000-mile bumper-to-bumper coverage. This model will also be the first mid-size sedan in North America to get a fuel efficient nine-speed automatic gearbox, produced locally in Tipton County, Indiana.
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