Last month I had the privilege of presenting at the internal company compliance conference for Joyson Safety Systems, a large manufacturer of safety products for the automotive industry. I spoke on the topic of ISO 37301 and its new complimentary standards, ISO 37302 and ISO 370303, both wonderful additions to the Compliance Management System that ISO has outlined in these standards. I will present the same material in an upcoming webinar on August 19th at 11 AM EST, you can register here.
Joyson Safety Systems is a new company, formed as a divestment of Takata Industries. This was a consequence of the massive recall of over 80 million vehicles which had defective Takata airbags installed. As the NHTSA explains,
“The propellant in the inflators breaks down after long-term exposure to high temperature fluctuations and humidity. This breakdown can cause the propellant to burn too quickly, creating too much pressure for the inflator, and in extreme cases the inflator explodes, shooting shrapnel toward vehicle occupants.” and “… the root cause of the problem: airbags that use ammonium-nitrate-based propellant without a chemical drying agent.” which has led to “the largest and most complex safety recall in U.S. history.”
The Takata airbag issue was due to the use of ammonium nitrate in the airbags, with the improper storage of this chemical at the Mexico plant that made many of the airbags concerned and the lack of a drying agent. Ultimately, it is likely that Takata used ammonium nitrate because it allowed for a smaller, cheaper design. Many other competitors opted for safer designs, but that were slightly more expensive.
In total over 80 million vehicles have been recalled worldwide, hundreds of people have died, top executives were charged with criminal offences in the United States, and Takata was hit with over a billion dollars in fines and settlement charges. Takata had also falsified data regarding seatbelt safety. This mountain of compliance failures led to a monitorship program and a corporate restructuring of the organization. Wikipedia.
Long story short, compliance pays dividends. The investment in a compliance management system such as ISO 37301 will not prevent all corporate failures, but it does facilitate the creation of a culture of compliance and provides management with the structure and tools to bring policies down to the operational level and ensure continuous effort to reduce non-compliance and risk.
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