This story first appeared in the December issue of Dieseltalk – CLICK HERE to download the magazine FREEWhen it comes to transport, we know everything is done big.
But to see and appreciate only the big stuff is to miss the small details and precision that goes into building a Kenworth truck down under.
DIESELtalk took a tour of Kenworth’s manufacturing operation with plant tour guide Brian Dickson as the plant ramped up production to meet a rapidly growing market.
After revealing the Legend 900 as a limited edition re-release of the iconic T900 at the Brisbane Truck Show in May, orders for the classic Kenworth flooded into local manufacturer PACCAR Australia.
The first Legend 900s were delivered in the last few weeks, with production scheduled well into the new year.
However, for all the nostalgia, it’s the new Kenworth T610, which began production in January, that will have the biggest impact on sales.
As noted recently by a prominent Australian transport journalist, this model has probably had more written about it than any other new truck release in the past decade – it is a game-changer for the industry, and for Kenworth.
The production line needs to keep up with the demand without compromising on quality or safety as the top priorities.
As well trucks for its Kiwi customers, PACCAR in Bayswater, Victoria, makes Australian trucks for Australian conditions.
With 1000 staff, including 500 workers on the production line and another 500 in the office, it could easily be described as an army of people building Kenworths from start to finish.
It takes around three months from the point of order, through the design process, to produce the end product for Australian, New Zealand and Papua New Guinea customers.
Dickson explains some of the points that set the Australian-made trucks apart.
“Australian Kenworths are built for our environment, to better manage local applications and conditions,” he says.
“The right-hand drive cab is designed specifically for Australia.”
As one of the few right-hand drive Kenworth markets in the world, everything on a new truck is virtually bespoke, even the skeleton, which one would expect to see in pre-marked and pre-drilled cookie-cutter format.
The chassis rails are fed through the side of the enormous building, marking the beginning of a custom Kenworth build.
“No holes are drilled in any of our chassis that won’t be used,” Dickson says.
“There is no scratching or scribing on the chassis to locate holes because that can cause microscopic cracking on corrugated roads and potholes under heavy loads.”
Instead, workers use masking tape and a pencil to mark the high tensile steel which has a hard 20-year life ahead of it.
Watching people at work in this environment is fascinating. Each person has their assigned task but must be constantly aware of their safety and that of the worker next to them, all while ensuring their task is completed seamlessly within the timing of each station.
Every 30 to 40 minutes a chassis moves along the production line to the next build station.
A morning shift starts at 7am and finishes around 3.30pm in a staggered arrangement that means there’s plenty of time to change over staff at workstations at an efficient but calm pace.
“We want people to move at a good pace but nobody is to feel rushed – when you rush in this environment, mistakes are made and safety becomes compromised,” Dickson says.
“We don’t compromise on safety.”
Kenworth actually builds its truck chassis upside down, with axles, suspension and preliminary wiring, hoses and fluid lines put on first by a team of four to six people.
Extreme-duty orders such as mining and heavy haulage trucks are built in a bay off the main production line.
Progressing through a couple of stations, the whole truck slides into what looks like a giant sarcophagus – actually it’s the first painting booth.
Although “booth” suggests compactness, it is quite the opposite, in fact – roughly 15 metres long, at least 4m high and wide enough to park a LandCruiser lengthways in its thoroughfare.
Four expert paint sprayers (one in each corner) suit up like they’re about to set course for Deep Space Nine – head to toe in puffy but slender paint suits, fully gloved and armed with spray guns ready for what feels like a surgical procedure.
It’s actually more like a bizarre tribal dance routine performed in a haze of green or red, black or white.
Positive electrostatically charged paint goes around corners on to the negatively charged chassis thick and fast for the ultimate shine.
Painters have gentle hands, waving their guns like wizards. As the floor lowers they work in and around the trucks in a diagonal X-formation to ensure coverage of every square centimetre.
The glazed form then slides into an equally oversized oven where the new skin will bake hard for half an hour in 60-degree heat then dry for an hour. Here, equally careful, patient hands add details such as oil filters, shock absorbers, minor lighting and so on, to maximise time efficiency.
Dickson explains the logic needed to keep the production line moving.
“You can’t have a chassis sitting here drying while others bank up behind so we stagger the scheduling of jobs depending on the size and complexity of the order. So scheduling is a huge task in itself.”
While the chassis dries at the far end of the plant before making a U-turn to start taking its final shape, out the back is what looks like a military-style stockpile.
It’s one day’s stockpile of up to 30 Cummins X15 and PACCAR MX-13 engines, and rows of Eaton Fuller automatic gearboxes, waiting to be transplanted into customer trucks.
Behind the engines is an ABS brake-testing area, rumble strips and “Belgian blocks” designed to test and twist chassis designs for compliance, durability and strength. PACCAR also performs in-house crash testing on a purpose-built rig.
As engines and gearboxes are shoehorned into the now-dry chassis, cabs also receive their first lick of paint in a second robotic spray booth.
A third of the cab is painted by full automation, the other two-thirds by hand. It also receives hand-painted customised colours as ordered.
With powertrains engineered into each body, filled with fluids and checked, painted cabs are then fitted out by a team of trimmers who install seats, dashboards, insulation and bedding.
As the critical stages of a truck’s completion approach, meticulous detail and care has to be shown to avoid delivering an imperfect vehicle.
“Kenworth as a company takes quality very seriously and that’s why we try to deliver customer products in perfect condition,” Dickson says.
It’s another point toward the care placed on worker scheduling, production line pace and making sure fatigue and stress are minimised at every opportunity.
As an example, Kenworth developed a method of using specifically designed protective covers over the doors to prevent them being bumped into. And it makes sure electricians don’t carry screwdrivers in their pockets to avoid accidental damage when brushing past surfaces inside the cabin.
When a truck is complete, it’s given a final inspection for electrical systems, accessories and ancillaries, before being sent to quality control – the very last opportunity to ensure it’s ready for delivery.
It’s the last chance to get everything right. And it’s also the moment that the engine roars into life.
“The truck will have everything tested; the engine, gearbox and all the hardware is checked; and careful attention it taken so there are no squeaks or rattles or faults,” Dickson says.
“Once that truck is signed off and approved, and only a few people are qualified to do so, it leaves the bay and is officially deemed no longer ours – it belongs to the customer.
“It’s a very proud moment with each truck we finish and park ready for delivery.
“That’s somebody’s pride and joy; it’s where they’ll sleep, earn their living and ultimately keep them safe on the job.
“It’s our job to make sure we give them arguably the best quality Kenworth in the world.”
