Automakers have been put into the spotlight and are undergoing scrutiny for its vehicle production that makes use of supplies from Kobe Steel. Kobe Steel is Japan’s third-largest steelmaker and are suppliers to Ford, GM (General Motors), Honda, Mitsubishi, Subaru, and Toyota.
The Kobe Steel scandal
A scandal around falsified data has raised its head. Apparently Kobe Steel employees have falsified data on the strength and durability of materials. These include copper and aluminium products that are used in cars, airplanes, trains, and even possibly a space rocket.
Subaru has issued a statement saying it had done an internal investigation. It reported that the only product purchased from Kobe Steel was aluminium which is used for the bonnets of some of its models. The company commented saying, “Based on the verification conducted by Subaru, we have confirmed that this aluminum panel material satisfies all of our internal safety standards”. Subaru is also working with its suppliers to further investigate.
Toyota’s spokesman Takashi Ogawa has issued their statement saying, “We are rapidly working to identify which vehicle models might be subject to this situation and what components were used”. He continued that they recognize the breach of compliance principles on the part of the supplier is a grave issue.
It’s estimated that about 5% of the company’s annual sales of aluminum products is now under scrutiny. The potential cost of replacing affected parts sits around $133 million (R1,85 billion) which excludes legal costs. In an interview with Bloomberg, an analyst at Tachibana Securities Co. commented saying that the impact is unclear at this point and if it were to lead to recalls, the cost would be massive.
Japan’s perfectionist ways
Japan has an obsession with quality that dates back to the post-war era where exporting became an important focus. It was imperative for the Japanese to squash a reputation for poor craftsmanship. In 1950, a US engineer and statistician told companies that in order to perfect the manufacturing process, companies should use the technical skills of factory workers and machines.
It was then that the Toyota Production System developed by Taiichi Ohno culminated. This revolutionized assembly lines and workers had freedom from external control. They also had the power to freeze a process if flaws were spotted. In that way, a culture of worker empowerment developed to produce high-quality standards which also encouraged lifetime employment. Today, that concept still runs through much of Japan’s workforce.
Quality control as such has lead to somewhat of a perfectionism stride, especially in Tokyo. So the scandals emanating from Kobe Steel on fabricated data is a breach of the country’s order. It’s enough to mark against Japan’s industry and question the perfection of its products even though its nation has put long and tiresome efforts into being known for high quality.
However, it seems that Kobe Steel hasn’t been the only Japanese manufacturing company to raise concerns. Nissan has pulled a recall on more than one million cars and Takata has an ongoing airbag recall. Kobe has admitted to delivering falsified steel products to more than 200 companies. And among these are Honda, Toyota, and Subaru, as well as Hitachi train manufacturers.
The Japanese industry minister has also commented on the matter. The government has instructed watchdog bodies to consider examining all certified Kobe Steel Ltd. Plants. This comes in efforts of dealing scrupulously with the quality control scandal.
