Equipped with highly sophisticated technology, the new material laboratories at the Hoşdere plant are a vital part of the extensive programme implemented to further improve product quality. This is where the composition, performance and durability of all service products, materials and supplied components used by Mercedes-Benz Türk A.Ş. in the production of buses and coaches are fully tested before use or installation. These activities go a long way towards ensuring continuous production quality and, therefore, product quality as well as helping to dramatically reduce the costs incurred as a result of rework, parts or services provided under warranty and goodwill gestures.

On one level, the in-house material tests carried out by Mercedes-Benz Türk A.Ş. support the local component supply industry by ensuring that the know-how required for the manufacture of high-quality products is pooled effectively. In this way, possible sources of errors such as the delivery of defective parts can be avoided from the outset. Another part of this process involves actively giving advice in the case of critical production processes as well as providing comprehensive and on-going support for component suppliers’ industrialisation activities. Initial sample release for supplied components, for example, is only granted once the parts have successfully come through the in-house laboratory analyses. In addition, samples of all supplied parts and materials are taken on a regular basis and undergo thorough analysis.

On another level, the specialist staff employed in the new material laboratories work for the individual production divisions of the company itself. As well as carrying out tests and analyses in the laboratory, the 16 members of staff here are responsible for production process monitoring. Their tasks include defining and moni-toring all production processes at Mercedes Benz Türk A.Ş. In other words, the individual laboratories are also responsible for all of the welding, coating and bonding processes used during production. To help them fulfil these tasks, they have been equipped with state-of-the-art technology and staffed by experts in their respective fields.

The test laboratory for metallic materials carries out all the tests for determining the composition, hardness, bending resistance and brittleness of sheet metal, steel and ferrous components. It is also responsible for all welding processes at the newly extended Hoşdere plant, since this is another area in which quality assurance is a top priority. The quality of the welding work is checked at regular intervals, including daily audits in the bodyshop for the chassis, skeleton and panelling welding teams. The quality of safety-related parts is fully checked in the individual production areas on a daily basis. These tests are backed up by destructive testing which is carried out regularly in the laboratory. Every two years, the welders attend certified welding courses in the affiliated training laboratory.

As well as being responsible for all bonding processes at the Hoşdere plant, the laboratory for non-metallic materials assesses the tensile strength, pressure resistance, bending resistance, tear strength and adhesion of all non-metallic materials such as fabrics, rubber, wood and plastics. It also carries out hardness tests. Other work performed includes flame-retardance tests, oil analyses, gas chromatographic analyses, thermal analyses of plastics, resistance tests, the assessment of anorganic fillers in plastics as well as colourfastness tests on the fabrics used in the buses and coaches.

The corrosion and paint laboratory tests the corrosion resistance of materials, paint adhesion, paint colourfastness and the behaviour of various materials in the cathodic dip priming process.