Behind the Scenes at Harris Boats - Manufacturing

Our next glance behind the scenes of our production facility centers on our manufacturing process. Once a boat has been designed and tested, it’s time to put it into production. Our manufacturing professionals know the importance of putting together a quality boat that’s not only fun, but safe for use. Harris prides itself on attention to detail, and it shines in the final product.

Pontoons use an aluminum construction because of its light weight and natural resistance to corrosion. Both factors allow for a larger platform, so we can enhance the user experience with roomier floorplans and upgraded amenities. The manufacturing department works closely with the design engineers to improve the building of the boats. The design of weld joints has greatly improved over the past several years, allowing us to take stress out of the welds which in turn helps us bring a better product to the end customer.

Recent additions of aluminum rollers grant us the ability to create tubes that are structurally more round with greater consistency. Our quality systems allow us to prove with capability studies using Six Sigma Pareto Charts to verify that consistency has significantly improved. The goal is customer satisfaction, with a focus on safety for employees, as well as the consumer.

Lean manufacturing is a staple of our manufacturing process. We look at materials flow and operator communication, so the right people have the right product at the right time. Doing things consistently allows us to continually improve quality, as well as reduce waste of materials and time. It’s important that we design building a quality product directly into the process itself so we limit the time needed for post-production inspection.

It allows us to empower our employees, so they know they are a valued stakeholder in the company with personal input into the day-to-day operations of the facilities. Confidence that our employees have the tools and the competencies needed to work effectively makes the manufacturing process flow smoothly.