The Resident Engineer Programme has improved the overall skills at Gemba, allowing defects to be addressed quickly and effectively.
Eight UD Trucks Specialists Assigned as Resident Engineer
Since 2017, the UD Trucks Resident Engineer programme has been devoted to maximising the quality and durability of UD branded trucks across different markets.
Eight UD Trucks specialists, each with vast experience in product development accumulated over several years, are currently assigned as a Resident Engineer in one of three countries – Japan, South Africa and Australia.
Their job is to identify and report on issues that may lead to quality issues with the Quon in Japan and Quon, Quester, Croner and Kuzer in overseas markets. The programme has also helped improve the overall skills at Gemba, allowing defects to be addressed quickly and effectively.
Hiroyuki Saiki, in charge of UD Trucks production quality and Resident Engineer for two years, said, “It’s been about four years since the launch of new Quon, and we can now very effectively anticipate the durability issues that might arise due to high mileage and wear and tear on parts.”
With the success of the Resident Engineer programme, it is expanding in scope to include private dealer activities in Japan. In addition, the programme is becoming more diverse and global, with members joining from Australia in 2019 and South Africa in 2020. Australia covers Quon and Croner while South Africa covers all UD Trucks products.
