Severe quality control flaw suspected at Kobe Steel plant

December 17, 2017

Tokyo, Dec.- A Japanese certification body for the standards of the International Organization for Standardization has found a possible severe quality control system flaw at an iron powder plant of Kobe Steel Ltd. , which is at the center of a data falsification scandal, Jiji Press learned Saturday.

At the Takasago Works in Hyogo Prefecture, western Japan, data manipulation has already been discovered.

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

Some Kobe Steel group plants have had their Japanese Industrial Standards or ISO certifications suspended or revoked. If the Takasago Works is slapped with a freeze or cancellation of its certification, the group's credibility would fall further, the sources said.

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

Kobe Steel was found to have falsified related data so that it looks as if the density levels of the iron powder meet the standards required by clients. Still, the company has said that there would not be major impacts on the performances of products using parts made from the iron powder.

But JIC Quality Assurance's extraordinary inspection conducted after the revelation of the data falsification scandal found that the Takasago Works' iron powder quality control system is suspected of failing to meet required standards, the sources said.

In the Kobe Steel group, the ISO certification of Nippon Koshuha Steel Co.'s plant in Imizu, Toyama Prefecture, central Japan, was suspended in November, and that of Kobelco & Materials Copper Tube Co.'s plant in Hadano, Kanagawa Prefecture, south of Tokyo, was revoked.

Earlier this month, Shinko Metal Products Co.'s headquarters plant in Kitakyushu, Fukuoka Prefecture, southwestern Japan, had its JIS certification canceled. Jiji Press