It is generally believed that recall campaigns happen only in the automotive industry. This is due precisely to the fact that the car and possible faulty spare parts can lead to the death of the buyer. And thus human lives may be at stake. In other industries, this procedure is much less common. As a rule, it is launched in order to prove to the market readiness for dialogue in case of difficulties with the quality of manufactured products. The ATF plant also faced such a problem, and in this article we will briefly describe how we managed not only to solve it, but also to get out of a difficult reputational situation with image victories.
In July 2021, a critical discrepancy was revealed in our company – leakage of terminal boxes and oil leakage. The defect was massive. The solution to this problem arose immediately – a recall campaign for terminal boxes was launched and announced among all customers.
A thorough investigation using modern techniques made it possible to identify and eliminate the cause of the defect: cracks in current insulators resulting from the presence of hidden cavities. Active work on corrective actions began – the foundry equipment was transferred to a supplier with all the necessary competencies and experience for the production of high-quality insulators. The material of insulators has been changed, optimal casting modes have been developed, a quality control methodology has been developed and implemented. Also, due to the traceability of products, a risk group was identified – a list of terminal boxes on which a defect may occur. Thus, work was set up to quickly replace not only leaking appliances, but also those whose quality we could not be sure of.
I must admit that our company faced reputational difficulties as soon as we notified all our customers about the alleged marriage. But our main task was precisely to align the image as a reliable supplier of quality products. For such a positive positioning, the management and quality service of our plant will spare neither effort nor money. And thank you to our loyal customers for their patience and for helping us to pass this path of growth.
A set of measures aimed at eliminating leaks of terminal boxes has shown its effectiveness. In total, more than 500 terminal boxes were replaced as part of the recall campaign. The boxes were changed, or the costs were compensated in case of installation of other-made boxes.
The changes and improvements we have made have shown their high efficiency: for example, since the introduction of a set of measures aimed at eliminating the causes of leakage of terminal boxes, we have implemented 2,950 devices. Not a single case of leakage has been detected!
Our quality service is not limited to replacing non-conforming products, it is constantly working to improve the quality level. Regular internal audits and meetings of key persons of the company are held to form preventive actions in the field of quality.
As the famous hero of the movie “The meeting place cannot be changed” said: – The rule of law in the country is measured not by the presence of thieves, but by the ability of the authorities to neutralize them! To paraphrase the legendary quote, we note that the work on the quality of the company is measured not in the number of precedents, but in the ability of the company’s management to correct them, draw appropriate conclusions and not repeat.