The same quality standards – wherever we build your engine
Wherever your engine comes off the production line – from Peterborough to Hosur or Wuxi to Seguin – it will meet exactly the same high standards of performance, reliability and durability. Our quality won’t deviate, because we follow the same stringent processes and use the same quality components wherever we build your engine.
With manufacturing sites in China, India, North America, South America and the UK, Perkins is a truly global business.
Some Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) may believe that a Perkins engine produced in North America is superior to one tooled in Asia or assembled in South America. But it’s a misconception. Whichever manufacturing facility builds your engine, the same consistent global quality is 100 percent assured.
Here’s how we achieve it:
- Standardised working – every operator, regardless of where they are in the world, follows a consistent two-month training programme before they work on the production line. When they get there, they follow the same Caterpillar Production System (CPS) used in all Perkins manufacturing facilities, ensuring the same efficient processes, tested and validated components, and stringent quality controls are implemented at every facility.
- Consistent quality standards – we follow a methodology called BIQ (built-in quality). This is a process where we strive to catch every problem in the process, find its root cause and ensure it never happens again.
- Regional suppliers – whether they’re international names or local companies, all work to the same levels of excellence. All parts are approved in accordance with Perkins global advanced product quality planning process.
- Rigorous testing – state-of-the-art test systems, material labs and computer-aided design capabilities ensure that components can be validated and tested to Perkins global high standards.
- No-fault-forward mentality – we use in-process verification during the build of an engine. That means that operators follow clear, detailed instructions about what they have to do and the checks they need to follow. The engine cannot progress through the process until every detail is complete.
- Intelligent tooling – this helps us build with more precision when needed. So when we tighten a bolt, we use intelligent tooling to control the speed and torque, and even the angle that the bolt turns to. This is then checked within the software of the tool. If it goes out of parameters, we lock the engine in station and don’t allow it proceed until it’s been rectified.
- Automated measurement – offering variety to our customers is one of the Perkins key strengths, but it can provide challenges in manufacturing. Certain components can look very similar – they might only have a 2mm difference, but otherwise be identical. In those instances, we use various methods of measurement control after the operator fits the component. If it detects an error, we’ll stop the engine from progressing until it’s corrected.
All our systems and processes are followed to the letter by technicians across our global network. So the quality message is clear. Our consistency is global – and it never deviates.
Our commitment to exceptional quality means our processes never stand still. We’re always looking to innovate and find new ways to improve them – and we do this on a global scale.
Through a global manufacturing council, which all our facilities are members of, we review ideas that teams have globally. If it’s good for all our sites, we’ll roll that improvement out across the globe. By doing so, we ensure we continue to raise the bar when it comes to quality.
“Some OEMs may think that engine quality depends on manufacturing location, but it’s a false perception. We combine global processes with local execution to ensure that every engine is built to the same specification and quality standards, and all perform with the same level of performance, reliability and durability.”
Ian Jolly, manufacturing engineering manager with responsibility for our global processes