At Haas Automation, pride and product go hand in hand. Building a machine the Haas way means much more than just meeting production goals and passing the inspection tests. A Haas CNC machine has to be ready to produce in the real world before it leaves the facility, and the proof is in the cutting ...

“We will hold a machine until it is correct,” says Sheldon Khougaz, production department manager. “Of course we’re trying to build them as quickly as possible to meet production schedules and satisfy customers, but if the machines are not quite right, we won’t ship them until they are. They’ll be right no matter what it takes.”

However, this quest for perfection is dependent on the ongoing dedication of all employed in the design and fabrication of Haas products, from the outside suppliers to the after-sale support groups.

“With every product we build, our engineers develop improvements that are then incorporated directly into the Haas line,” says Sheldon. “In addition, constant feedback from customers in the field provides even more information on how to further improve products.” This close developmental relationship between Engineering, Manufacturing and operators in the field yields the most efficient designs, reducing the number of components while improving accuracy and simplifying service.

Personal pride plays a big part in building CNCs the Haas way. Every employee is charged with responsibility for their own work, but ingrained consistency is the hallmark of accountability.

The most important characteristic of the assembly teams is their attention to personal pride. “Everyone is responsible for their own performance, and they check their own work,” says Sheldon. “That’s a lot better than 100 or so inspectors running around the floor looking over somebody’s shoulder. We depend on our people to be professionals, and to build the product right the first time.”

In addition to this personal approach to quality control, Haas maintains computerized production controls that provide for easy accountability and across-the-board problem solving.

“We try to get our individual assemblers to be consistent so all of the machines are made the same,” explains Sheldon. “This way, if there is a problem, we have an established baseline we can work with, and we can address the problem without having a lot of variables to deal with. In simple terms, it makes for a more consistent product that is easier to troubleshoot and get right.”

New Hires

To further improve assembly line efficiency, new employees are trained in the Haas way of building, no matter what their prior experience. “When someone new is hired, we don’t even let them out on the shop floor for two weeks,” says Sheldon. “Every new hire goes into the service department, where a group of instructors trains them in all the basics. At the end of this program, they are tested and graded to see if they’ve mastered the material.

With current production levels in excess of 500 CNCs per month, computerized production controls keep track of every machine on the floor – though most machines are out the door in a matter of days.

“In the beginning, it’s not how quick they can do the job, but how well. The quality of the work is probably the biggest thing that we look at,” continues Sheldon. Once the new hire earns a place on the shop floor, the “lead” man on the crew will take him under his wing and bring him up to speed.

“We’ve found that when your lead is actually helping you as a mentor, you tend to learn quicker,” explains Sheldon. “And you don’t get the impression that your boss is hovering over your shoulder. You take that feeling out of the equation, and replace it with a feeling of learning with your peers in each individual area, and you build a successful team. You can also get a pretty good idea of their enthusiasm level when you’re working together.”

Engineering Quality

“We have two basic sections of engineers,” says Sheldon. “We have the design group and we have manufacturing engineers. The designers do just that, they specialize in new products, improvements to existing products and adaptations for old machines. The manufacturing engineers work with the existing products to try to figure out a better way to make them.

“When a worker on the floor has a question, problem or ongoing difficulty with a certain assembly procedure or part, they can work with the manufacturing engineers to improve the part or create new tooling,” says Sheldon. “By working with ideas from the people on the floor, the inspectors or management, they find solutions and come up with better ways to build or do something.”   With nearly 300 quality control tests on every CNC Haas manufactures, there are few parameters that don’t carry a signed paper record verifying accuracy and proper operational capability.

The same philosophy exists in the CNC control group. Haas designs and develops its own dedicated hardware and software based on the real-world needs of the operator. This integration of control and machine has resulted in one of the easiest to use and most reliable controls ever developed.

Field Input

As mentioned earlier, operators in the field are instrumental in reporting any weak points in a machine subjected to extended service. This is a very valuable indicator of long-term trends, and leads to design modifications that improve reliability and operational performance.

Testing

Before leaving the plant, the typical Haas machine is subjected to a never-ending series of more than 300 quality control tests, including a test cut that proves the operational cutting capabilities of the machine in a real, working-world environment.

In addition to the formal testing, the machines also run whenever someone isn’t directly working on them. “We have a minimum of 48 hours run time on every machine, and usually they run quite a bit more than that,” says Sheldon. “In fact, the machines run all night to make sure they don’t have a problem when they leave here.”

Considering the short amount of time it takes to move a machine down through the assembly process, it’s amazing how many tests actually take place in addition to the attention the individual employees put into their own workmanship.

“From the time the machine enters the Castings Area, travels to Sheetmetal and Final Assembly, the larger machines are only in-house five days, with only three to four days required for the smaller models. If it spends more than a week on the floor, something is wrong!”

Field Service = Satisfaction

But no machine capable of working 24-hour days can be considered fully reliable unless after-sale support is 100% behind the product. Backing up the high-tech design and manufacturing operation is the Haas Service department. This group of 25 dedicated technicians and 16 applications and training engineers is prepared to help with all service, applications and training needs.

This dedication to quality service continues in the field. To keep their skills and troubleshooting abilities sharp, all Haas dealers are required to send their service personnel to the factory at least once a year for hands-on training. Intensive courses in maintaining Haas machines, combined with thorough testing, ensure the utmost competency of every technician.

To ensure prompt service and minimize downtime, each dealer is required to maintain a large stock of service parts. With a network of dealers worldwide, operators can be assured of a prompt response, supporting the commitment to the exclusive Haas 98% Up-Time Guarantee.