After erecting labs with 700 staff to test 30,000 batteries, Samsung has concluded that neither its hardware nor software was to blame. Instead, Samsung says the battery had issues.
Battery A had a design issue: There wasn’t enough room inside the battery for routine expansion of its component electrodes. Battery B had a welding issue caused by a manufacturing defect, which didn’t appear until production ramped up after Battery A was pulled from the market. (The resulting microscopic burrs poked through barriers inside the battery).
The core of the problem was that Samsung didn’t have the quality controls needed to identify the battery problems before they reached consumers.
Classroom discussion questions:
- What responsibility might Samsung share in setting the specifications and requirements for the Note 7 batteries?
- How can a phone maker prevent this kind of problem in the future?
On question 2, when I worked for Motorola in the 70’s and 80’s, there was a process called ALTAMONTE, or Accelerated Life Test. The test simulated 6 years of use under harsh conditions. I’d be surprised if Samsung wasn’t using that (or a similar) methodology. It certainly could have prevented the problem!
Excellent observation. Thanks, Ken.
So, what kind of ‘seal’ can they use to assure customers ala Tylenol? Any ideas?
Dick, I don’t have a good answer to that. But yesterday’s New York Times (Jan. 24, 2017) writes:
“How could such a technologically advanced titan — a symbol of South Korea’s considerable industrial might — allow the problems to happen to begin with? The answer to that question gets to deep shortfalls that former employees, suppliers and others who watch the company say may have contributed to the incident. Samsung, like South Korea as a whole, fosters a top-down, hidebound culture that stifles innovation and buries festering problems. Pushing to make the battery thinner and more powerful, Samsung opted for an exceptionally thin separator in its battery. As the critical component that separates the positive and negative electrodes in a battery, separators can cause fires if they break down or contain flaws”.