Chinese caught redhanded botching quality

Its not just China that has these problems. I used to work in Quality Control for an American company based in the UK. We were put under a lot of pressure to pass things which really weren't satisfactory. Management's idea was the best Quality Controllers were the customers and if the product was wrong they would send it back. Really it was a cost cutting exercise. They even gave us the job of supervising the manufacturing process as well as checking the final product so if there were complaints we would get the blame. A chance of voluntary redundancy came up and I took it .

John

Unless of course its on the Thomas range.

Quality lapses do occur but at least in the developed world you have a chance of auditing the supplier. I dread to think what will happen when we start to get the Chinese to make aircraft parts or parts for nuclear power stations.

Kevin

Boeing have already started sourcing parts from China and Airbus already have work sub-contracted to Malasia

Adrian

Quite right. It could never happen in a British supermarket.

(kim)

(kim)

Head of the Chinese company involved has committed suicide.

Andy

I hope it is nothing more than the folding seat back tables or the toilet seats. Kevin

In article , Kevin wrote:

I assume you are talking about the withdrawal of over 19million toys by Mattel and the way that the media have not let the facts get in the way of a good Chinese bashing story.

Mattel have now admitted that the recall of 18.2 million toys in the last few days and the 4.4 million toys last november was not due to the Chinese manufacturer which followed the specifications but to Mattel's American designers who designed toys that "can shed small, powerful magnets that when swallowed by children can connect across intestines and rip through a child's bowels like a gunshot". This problem was known about before last November as their statement says "the decision was an acknowledgment that a previous solution -- adding glue to the toys -- did not fix the flaw disclosed last November when Mattel recalled 4.4 million Polly Pocket toys sold worldwide" Initially a spokesperson for Mattel had implied lead in the paint was to blame for the withdrawals thus implicating the Chinese manufacturers. However there now seems to be some doubt about this and even the Daily Mail is now only claiming that a batch of 49000 toys were involved.

This batch came to the UK where the EU regulations allow zero lead in paint for toys. Other parts of the world have different regulations and it may well be that Mattel specified this cheaper lead based paint for those countries and this batch was shipped to the UK in error. Even so remembering that those of us who grew up in the 1950s would have had toys, beds, cots etc with much higher levels of lead in the paint and would also have injested higher levels of lead from exhaust fumes than in this batch of toys was it such a big deal even if the manufacturers were in error compared to the serious intestinal damage that has been caused by the magnets as specified by Mattel.

I am not saying that there are not major problems including quality control with the moving of the Wests manufacturing base to China which is exaserbated by the great shame a Chinese feels by the loss of face by admitting that he cannot do something. What I am saying is that this story is not a good example as it shows the West's ability to design and specify a safe product for children in a very poor light.

Alan

Earlier it was - see

"The recall involves wooden vehicles, buildings and other train set components for young children ..."

RC2 not Mattel

"John Firth" wrote

This appears to be the attitude of all the major model railway manufacturers. I remember some years ago visiting Hornby's factory in Margate at the time that they actually manufactured models themselves and was shown the quality control process where each loco was allegedly tested on an oval of track and through a couple of sets of points. I specifically asked whether every loco was so tested and was assure they were. I then handed over the loco I'd received from them the previous week and asked if they were all tested how come I'd been supplied one without a motor?

I'm now totally convinced that *nothing* gets tested, or if they do it's on a sample basis. I suppose there's nothing wrong with that, but it does mean that the retailer or customer becomes the mug who has to sort out the problems.

John.

Now a Hornby loco that can operate without a motor ? That would solve some of my DCC installation problems !

There are two distinct methods of operation as far as manufacture in foreign parts :-

A dedicated factory

OR

Manufacturing facilities

I assume with Hornby it's a 'manufacturing facility' so we must rely on both the quality control in China & the measures Hornby take when the finished products enter the UK.

OK I have never seen a railway modeler chew or suck one of his loco's but when working on a loco or rolling stock paint dust could be a problem.

Perhaps we are at fault taking these things for granted ?

Modern manufacturing process are sufficiently accurate that "quality" is almost automatic given adequate design. ie 99.9% of any product is of marketable quality. A bad product is more likely to be caused by bad design.

What the Chinese might be questioned on is in their material usage and standards. ie such things as brass where phosphor bronze is required, lead based paint where non-lead paints are specified and antibiotics etc in food production.

Regards, Greg.P. NZ

When you consider the number of parts in an aircraft I'm sure there are already Chinese parts - nuts, bolts, rivets, wiring, electronics ...

Shot himself in the back of the head?

Greg.P.

Your information is out of date.

I work for a company that is very concerned with ethical sourcing and China has a very good employment regime and generally high production standards.

Counterfeiting is far worse in other parts of the world.

"Dragon Heart" wrote

Maybe we're taking them too far. As a young child I played with (and probably sucked) painted lead soldiers and as a baby slept in a cot which was almost certainly coated in lead paint. I would guess my Dinky Toys were also painted with lead paint.

John.

Dead right, never did me any harm.

Never did me any harm.

Pardon?

(kim)

"Kevin" wrote

That sounds like a rather biased and bigoted attitude. One the latter point alone one has to accept unreservedly that the quality of Hornby products improved no end when production was shifted from the UK to China, and the same was also true when Bachmann moved from Hong Kong to the Chinese mainland.

I'm afraid with the Chinese you get what you ask for (so I've been told). If you ask for something to be painted red - then it will be painted any shade of red, using any type of paint. However if you specificy a particular shade of red, and state that lead-free paint is to be used then that again is what you get.

John.