Nissan Creates Large Staff of Quality Inspectors

Nissan Motor Co. is boosting the number of quality-control inspectors and engineers more than twentyfold to 5,300. The goal is to halve the number of quality complaints on new cars by 2012.

The company’s Infiniti luxury brand ranked slightly above average in the 2008 Vehicle Dependability Study released this month by J.D. Power and Associates. But the Nissan brand came in below average and far behind rivals Toyota Motor Corp. and Honda Motor Co.

“Quality commitment is one of the three commitments in our GT2012 business plan, and Nissan is putting in a lot of focus and effort to meet our commitments,” spokeswoman Pauline Kee said.

As part of the push, Nissan will roll out more quality-control training for workers and boost the number of engineers helping suppliers with quality issues to 1,000 from five. Meanwhile, the ranks of engineers certified as quality inspectors will be increased to 4,300 from 250.

Ten directors also have been tapped as quality control heads responsible for any quality breakdowns, the company said. The goal is to catch parts problems earlier.

Nissan is targeting the number of customer complaints logged within three months of a new model’s release, the ratio of defective components and the need for repairs.

Filed by Hans Greimel of Automotive News, a sister publication of Workforce Management. To comment, e-mail editors@workforce.com.

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