844 Cases of Quality Irregularities Identified at Nidec

Tokyo, Sept. 4 (Jiji Press)–A committee of outside experts set up by Nidec Corp. said Friday that it has identified a total of 844 cases of product quality irregularities committed by the major Japanese motor maker in and after 2012. The irregularities included changes in materials, manufacturing processes and designs without consent from customers. On the cause of the misconduct, the investigation committee said in a report released the same day that inappropriate decisions had accumulated at the company “under pressure from various business processes, including performance targets, cost reduction and delivery deadlines,” which led to the “formation and entrenchment” of an “unsound state.” “Misconduct of this scale in the sphere that concerns the nucleus of manufacturing is extremely serious,” lawyer Toshihiko Itami, head of the committee, told a press conference in Tokyo on Friday, adding that the company “must take the matter seriously and implement corrective measures.” Of the irregularities, 95.4 pct were changes in designs, materials and others without customer approval, while cases of falsification and fabrication of test and inspection results accounted for 2.6 pct, and violations of inspection and manufacturing conditions made up 1.3 pct. The total included 60 significant quality incidents related to suspected involvement by company executives and facility managers, and to possible violations of laws. The committee conducted a hearing with Nidec founder Shigenobu Nagamori. The report said that the company’s management imposed unreasonable demands and conflicting requirements resulting from top-down targets on employees on the ground, while denying the involvement of top leaders in the irregularities. The report called on Nidec’s current management team to centralize the management of quality-related information and establish a channel allowing employees and others at the company to seek consultations regarding malpractice. At a separate press conference held in Tokyo on Friday, Nidec President Mitsuya Kishida said, “We take the quality irregularities very seriously and deeply apologize for causing a lot of concern and inconvenience following our accounting fraud.” At the moment, the company has not found any cases that would affect product safety or require revisions to its past earnings, he added. The company plans to take disciplinary measures against those responsible for the quality scandal. Nidec, based in the western Japan city of Kyoto, will also reform its quality assurance division to prevent a recurrence. “We will drastically improve our corporate culture, systems and processes to renew the company,” Kishida said. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]