Managers strive to prevent shutting down Ford Motor Co.’s (F.N) Kentucky Truck Plant’s Super Duty pickup truck production lines, which costs millions.

Kentucky Truck Plant manager Joseph Closurdo said he paused production for three days early this year as part of a new quality control strategy. The halts allowed engineers and suppliers time to replace problematic parts while workers assembled a new generation of Ford’s lucrative heavy-duty trucks.

Last week, Closurdo said on the plant floor, “We would shut the build down if we weren’t meeting one of the targets” for quality.

Ford is exploring a novel approach to quality concerns with the debut of the revamped Super Duty trucks, including stopping the production line rather than constructing and repairing them afterward.

Ford’s Super Duty series debuted in 1998. Ford must launch the newest generation successfully to meet earnings projections this year. The carmaker will disclose first-quarter earnings Tuesday afternoon following the New York stock market trade.

Luxury Super Duty vehicles, heavy-duty pickups meant to pull huge trailers or perform tough commercial activities, may cost over $100,000. Analysts predict Ford’s Super Duties earn billions annually.

Jim Farley’s top priority is reducing Ford’s quality-related earnings loss. Ford spent $4.17 billion on warranty claims last year, surpassing GM.N. Ford needs a strong Super Duty launch to meet earnings projections this year.

Ford officials believe investing more to uncover quality issues early will pay off.

“We raised the bar.” “We started shipping when we saw consistent delivery on those targets,” Super Duty Chief Engineer Andrew Kernahan told Reuters. “We were delayed.”

Kentucky Truck hired 300 quality inspectors and extra engineers to find fault reasons and create new digital technologies to spot issues before vehicles left the plant.

Workers now utilize cameras to relay photographs of electrical connections to software that checks for appropriate connections.

Engineers created command centers with huge screens than sports bars to display assembly station data across the facility. For example, process engineering manager Claire Yarmak built a 16-screen command center called Claire’s Corner.

“The complexity of this vehicle is huge,” Yarmak stated. In addition, a front seat that reclines into a bed creates new problems. Yarmak’s displays stopped the line when a sleeping seat sensor failed.

Kentucky Truck sent workers to drive 28,000 of the first new-generation Super Duties on a 25-mile (40 km) route near the factory to check for squeaks, rattles, and infotainment system issues, which lower external quality survey scores.

Touch buttons. “Make sure it works,” urged test-driver David Jones, a 34-year Ford veteran whose father worked at Kentucky Truck.

Kentucky Truck started with the simplest industrial trucks and went up to models like the Tremor diesel, which has more electrical technology and luxury trimmings and costs $119,000.

Closure stated more pricey King Ranch and Platinum Super Duty variants are being produced presently.

Kentucky Truck’s multiple assembly lines produce one Super Duty, Lincoln Navigator, and Ford Expedition SUV each minute.

Closure said factories launching the future Ford models, including a revised Mustang, are learning from the Super Duty introduction.

“It’s the benchmark,” he remarked.