Gambling on Safety

Gambling on Safety

Distrubing decision by some very large companies show the need for Management "Contol" of Safety and Quality. 

Sometimes companies shoot themselves in the foot. They choose to “gamble” on Safety issues. It has been an historic fact that eventually they loose the gamble with a much greater loss than simply admitting the problems upfront.

General Motors Delayed Recall on Ignition Switch Killing 13

General Motors is coming under mounting criticism for its handling of a serious defect. Last month, the company recalled 1.6 million vehicles because of faulty ignition switches linked to 13 deaths. The cars, made from 2003-2007, could stall or fail to deploy their airbags.

It's an issue GM has known about for a while, and now Congress wants to know why it took the automaker almost a decade to warn the public about it.

Someone in GM management was faced with the decision to recall or not. The decision was a risk assessment as to the monetary loss do to lawsuits or the loss do to the recall. There should have been NO discussion and the initial recall for the Safety of the public MUST be the policy. 13 people might be alive today if they were truly concerned about public safety.

Another example is the Graco companies’ discovery of a buckle in their infant car seats that can be rendered defective that would cause them impossible to open in an emergency. Buckles can get gummed up by food and drinks, making it difficult to remove children. In some cases parents have had to cut harnesses to get their children out. The agency says the problem increases the risk of injuries in emergencies.

Graco Children's Products has added more than 403,000 child seats to last month's recall of 3.8 million to replace faulty harness buckles But the added seats won't end a dispute with the U.S. government's road safety watchdog. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration still wants Graco to add 1.8 million infant seats to the recall because they have the same buckles.

Graco’s response was telling: Graco said, “it didn't include the infant seats because they are used differently than the toddler seats, and because in an emergency, an adult can remove the whole seat from the car rather than unlatch the buckle.” WHAT? Honestly the company simply gambled on getting caught with same buckles on the infant seats.

Companies MUST make Safety a priority. They should have Goals and Objectives tied to Safety and make hard POLICY that is backed up by Management commitment to those policies. Yes, it costs money to recall product but, in pales in cost to the loss of gambling with human lives! 

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