On the subject of China (I'll figure out how to split this out into its own topic)....
I could write a book, and have written the equivalent of many books, on this subject. I've been on both sides of inspections (making the product and inspecting it) and inspections just don't work.
An analogy I used to use was when they installed commuter lanes in the SF Bay area in the 80's. Everyone knew the rules - a minimum of 2 people in a vehicle to ride in the commuter lane. Every day I'd see lots of traffic cops writing tickets for solo drivers while, behind them, there were lots of solo drivers in the same commuter lane; The cops were too busy writing tickets to even notice them. Bottom line, you couldn't hire enough traffic cops to catch all the solo drivers and it really required (still does) some fundamental change in mindset and change in people's basic behavior, in addition to changing local conditions, to get folks to use mass transit &/or carpool.
Mass transit in the Bay Area? What a joke. When I commuted, it was easier for me to fly to Singapore (18-20 hours in the air) than drive 22 miles to the office. They initiated a new commuter train service but, at the other end, it required 3 buses and a minimum of an additional hour to get where I was going. The infrastructure isn't there to support the change in behavior.
Inspecting product is no different. I've employed armies of inspectors on several continents over the years, but they couldn't possibly catch all the defects. Don't blame the inspectors for missing things - they didn't build the defective product
Was that a revelation? Just like the traffic cop didn't cause the solo drivers to drive in the carpool lane
When I built the product, there was no way I would/could rely on internal inspectors to find the defects. When outside (government and aerospace OEM customer) inspectors were based in our plant, I'd spend countless hours training them on what they should be looking for, but it really was a huge waste of time and money.
It took many years, but I finally figured out that the responsibility lays with the people who manufacture the product. They have to be given the tools, training and environment to make the product right in the first place. Easily said, but tough to change cultures and mindsets around. It's a long road, but it's worth it in the end, and it works. I'm tough on suppliers, but they usually tell me I helped make them a better supplier to all their customers. They also achieve major cost savings and free production capacity as a result of less rework and scrap.
In the last few weeks, I've considered offering my services to Mattel, but I'm sure they have thousands of folks doing the same thing. I actually think it needs a major education effort in China, similar to what Japan went through when McArthur invited
W. Edwards Deming over there to help rebuild Japanese industry and educate them on how to manufacture things correctly. China, with its vast cottage industry, is going to be a much tougher nut to crack, way beyond my useful lifetime.
Of course, the responsibility is not all at the suppliers' end. Mattel has to adequately design and spec the product, but I have no insight into whether this was done correctly or not.
Rats! I promised myself I wouldn't be drawn into these kinds of discussions, but all this blaming inadequate inspection is just baloney
Apologies to anyone who's opinion I might have stepped on. No offense intended.
