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Day in the life of Coachman Caravan's Despatch Inspector, Chris Cone

November 19, 2008

Coachman Caravans, one of the UK's leading caravan manufacturers, has a reputation for high quality craftsmanship and attention to detail. This quality is achieved through meticulous planning, first class design and commitment to thoroughly testing each caravan before it leaves the Hull factory.

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In fact, unlike other manufacturers, Coachman has a dedicated team of quality checkers, who work tirelessly to ensure every Coachman caravan is absolutely perfect. The team includes Chris Cone (Despatch Inspector), Vic West (Caravan Tester), Paul Bennett (Snagger), Andy Chambers (Sprayer) and Gavin Cone (Tractor Driver and Caravan Cleaner).

From light bulbs and electrical systems, to door handles and hinges, every part of a Coachman caravan is checked, tested then checked again before it is allowed to leave the factory.

Coachman's Quality Checking Team is headed up by Chris Cone, who has been with the company for over 21 years, having originally joined as a Watchman. Once Coachman's caravans leave the production line, they are moved to 'test row' - a dedicated testing area which has space for up to 24 caravans to be tested overnight. Test row is Chris's responsibility, as he explains in a run down of his typical working day:

I start my working day at 6am - luckily I only have a 5 minute walk to work so I don't have to get up too early!
My first job in the morning is to make a start on the day's paperwork, and to get all of the keys ready for the vans which are to be despatched that day. I get ready for up to four caravan hauliers to arrive, and by 7am, I have usually despatched eight caravans. Hauliers arrive throughout the day, and on a good day I can despatch up to twelve caravans.
I then collate all of the information from the previous day's despatches and vans moved off 'test row'. I produce testing sheets for each caravan that leaves the factory and pass any electrical problems from the day before to our Operations Director, Alan Roberts, for actioning.
I usually work on the vans 2 days before they are due to be despatched, to give Vic West, our Tester, enough time to thoroughly check each caravan and then give the rest of the team enough time to fix any problems. The vans are initially quality checked before they leave the factory, but because we pride ourselves on the quality of our caravans, we want to ensure each Coachman caravan is perfect before it leaves us. We do this by leaving the vans on test row overnight, where we have a mains hook up, taps and a portable gas bottle to check the gas, electricity and water systems. We also check the battery, road lights, fire and fridge, to make sure all are in good working order.
Every morning, I spend some time with Paul Bennett, our Snagger who fixes the vans, to discuss any problems Paul has, I start to check the exterior of the vans for blemishes or sealing issues. If I find any problems, I report them to our Spraying Specialist, Andy Chambers, who gets to work at perfecting the exterior of the van.
Once I have inspected the exterior, it's time for me to get inside each caravan and re-inspect them before they leave test row. I check the specification, bedding, furniture, hinges and all of the lights and fittings. I also check for aesthetic issues such as scratches - we do not want a less than perfect van leaving test row!
Any snags I find are written on a 'snag' sheet, which is passed to Paul for fixing. By mid afternoon, all the interiors should be checked.
It's then time to make sure all of the 'loose' items are fitted correctly and in full working order. Loose items include DVD players, MP3 players and microwaves. The specification of each caravan is different, so we must be on the ball to ensure each van has the right equipment.
Once the checks are complete and the caravan passes our testing criteria, Gavin Cone (my son!) moves it from test row to our park ready for despatch. Before the caravan leaves us, Gavin spends some time washing down the outside of the van, so it's as clean as possible for when we send it on its way the next day.
By 4.30pm my day is finished, unless we have a late despatch, It's really satisfying to see each caravan leave the factory, because we know how much hard work we have put into ensuring that each van is perfect. We are very focused upon quality and I believe our testing procedures set us apart from the competition.

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