By Alison Huth
Crusader Caravans has been in business for about 22 years. In that time, they have created a magnificent range of Caravans and have constantly sought to meet their customers’ needs and wants. Over the years one of the most important aspects of Crusader Caravans was to meet their customers’ expectations while meeting all the legal requirements demanded from every business in Australia.
When it comes to building a caravan, it’s not a simple product. You cannot just throw a few things together and hope it works. I was surprised to learn that there are 499 parts in a Crusader Caravan. If you take a good hard look at the Crusader range, you can see those parts ranging from a fridge to a kitchen tap. It’s not just the items on display, the construction of the chassis is immensely important, but not something that you see every day.
Every one of those parts plays an important role in the quality of the finished product. So, it’s important to make sure that you not only get good products, but that you have good systems to put them together. One thing out of place can cause problems, maybe today, maybe tomorrow. What would happen if an important part of the wiring system was damaged by someone putting a screw through it? How could that happen? Well, the person putting the wiring in place moved it by 10cm so whomever was then putting the screw into the wall hit the wiring because it was in the wrong place.
This is where RV Masters helps a manufacturer who is determined to deliver the best possible end product while ensuring that everyone involved in the building is putting in the right effort and quality control. Caravans are not built like cars – they don’t use a robotic system they need people to do the work all the way through the production line.
What does this all mean to you, the consumer? Why does a very successful business like Crusader Caravans need to be part of RV Masters? Well, according to Michael Paidoussis from Crusader Caravans, “RV Masters raises standards above legal requirements.”
How does it do this? The whole program has been designed to help the manufacturer meet the legal standards, while ensuring that you, as the consumer, benefit through product quality. The application looks in depth at every aspect of the business including finance. Once the business has completed the application, it must be reviewed. This is where the benefit of RV Masters comes into being. Each application is reviewed by specialists in that field. Each answer is considered, and if there are any questions, the specialist will contact the manufacturer and work on the issue.
“If you don’t review everything you stay stuck, you stagnate,” Paidoussis said.
An independent person doing the audit helps a business improve systems, look at new opportunities and get clearer pictures on such basics as what it costs to build a caravan. In today’s world the sudden increase in costs from external pressures mean that your system must be able to deal with these issues without putting the business at risk, or the customer’s order. If you employ people, you need to meet all the legal obligations that cover employment. You can shake your head here and say, ‘but every business has to do that!’ and you’re right.
However, Crusader has taken that a step further and have a weekly staff meeting where everyone is able to talk about any issues, look at future plans and ideas, express their opinions and comments. Every staff member is involved in the business, not just to do a single job and get paid, but to look to the future of their employment and learn the new techniques and ideas. When you’re looking for a brand, knowing that the manufacturer puts so much effort into the build and the overall quality of the business making the product does create a degree of confidence. You know that they are meeting all the standards. You know that they are managing their financial obligations.
When you have been in the market for a long time, you can take a couple of different directions in your business. You could stay the same, you’ve developed a good business, your customers are happy, your product is good. Why change?
An alternative is to always be racing to make changes so you can be the first in the marketplace to show off a new idea. Constant change made at lightning speed may not always meet the required legal standards, However, laws change, products change, customers change. Your first generation of purchasers are not the same as the purchasers of today. If you’ve been a caravanner for many years what did your first van look like in comparison to your van of today. You must change to stay in the market.
If you’re changing everyday, you need to make sure that you comply with every bit of legislation, and safety for your employees. Where does RV Masters come into play with this change? The checklist that has to be reviewed every year. Talking with Michael, he was very proud of the benefits that come with RV Masters.
“RV Masters adds a level of governance over our entire operation.,” he said. “We, and our customers, can have confidence in our product and in the longevity of our business. There’s a wholistic concept of knowing that every part of our business is integrated and made better.”
Having a range of external auditors conduct the annual renewal is advantageous to the manufacturer. If you just use internal people, an issue may be sitting in your systems that has been there for a while and is just accepted as the way to do things, because it is in the system. When an external auditor comes along, if something stands out, part of their job is to question that ‘thing’ that has been sitting in the system for a long time but seems, or feels, wrong to the auditor.
“An independent party doing the audit helps you to improve your business, to reach, achieve and improve areas,” Paidoussis said. “RV Masters helps highlight your balance sheet and cashflow position.”
While this is all very good for the manufacturer, the final beneficiary is the person who spends their hard earned money to buy the product. Consumer confidence and interaction of very important. When you have bought a van, you want to know a couple of things. One is that the van is top quality and the other is to ensure that, should something go wrong, the warranty is sound. Over the years I have heard a lot of people complain about the warranty, and it can be a problem. However, warranty is part of the RV Masters program and is under regular review.
Crusader Caravans has been recognized by the Caravan Industry Victoria as the Manufacturer of the Year 4 times in the last 6 years.
If you want to see a Crusader Caravan in action, here’s a link to a superb collection of Owners Photos sent in to Crusader. There are photos of vans on the edge of a cliff, about to be eaten by a crocodile, enjoying a sunset, or a sunrise. Dirt roads, sealed roads, grass and sand. So many photos of so many different models, each one showing how great a Crusader Caravan is.
