Iron quality-control flaw suspected at scandal-hit Kobe Steel plant

in #http7 years ago

A certification body for the International Organization for Standardization has found a potentially severe quality control flaw at a Kobe Steel iron powder plant at the center of a data falsification scandal, it was learned Saturday.

Data manipulation has already been discovered at the Takasago Works, a manufacturing base for iron powder in Hyogo Prefecture.

The Tokyo-based private certification body, JIC Quality Assurance Ltd., will re-inspect the Kobe Steel Ltd. plant after corrective measures are taken. But if the steps are found insufficient, the plant’s ISO certification may be suspended or canceled, informed sources said.

Some Kobe Steel group plants have had their Japanese Industrial Standards and ISO certifications suspended or revoked. If the Takasago Works is slapped with a certification freeze or cancellation, the group’s credibility will tumble further, the sources said.

Iron powder is molded to make automobile and parts with complex shapes.

Kobe Steel falsified related data so that it looked as if the density levels of the iron powder met clients’ standards. Still, the company has said that no major impacts on performance can be expected from products that use parts made from the suspect powder.

But JIC Quality Assurance’s extraordinary inspection after the data falsification scandal broke found that the quality control system for Takasago Works’ iron powder might not be up to the required standards, the sources said.

In the Kobe Steel group, the ISO certification of Nippon Koshuha Steel Co.’s plant in Imizu, Toyama Prefecture, was suspended in November, while that of Kobelco & Materials Copper Tube Co.’s plant in Hadano, Kanagawa Prefecture, was revoked.

Earlier this month, Shinko Metal Products Co.’s headquarters plant in Kitakyushu had its JIS certification canceled.

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